Standing in front of the old and soon-to-be-new J.V. Fletcher Library on Main Street in Westford, library leadership and local and state leaders ceremoniously broke ground to recognize the beginning of a $32.5 million expansion and renovation project.
After the group donned hard hats and scooped sand with silver shovels in the blazing sun, they moved the speaking program inside the adjacent First Parish United Church.
During the speaking program, lifelong Westford resident, State Rep. James Arciero (D-Westford) recalled going to the library as a child and coming home with his arms full of books by Beatrix Potter, author of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit.” He also remembered when he was in seventh or eighth grade and the library expanded, and it became a place for middle school students to study.
“[J.V. Fletcher Library] is important for our families. It’s important for our education system. It’s really important as a meeting place for our community,” Arciero said.
Senator John J. Cronin (D-Worcester and Middlesex) told the group that anytime a new construction project can break ground these days it is a “minor miracle,” due to rising costs. He attributed the success of the project to the people in the room—library leadership, town leadership, library supporters and Westford’s citizens.
Library Project Details
Behind the historic front façade of the library, which will not change, work has already begun. Construction started on May 21, 2025 with the removal of trees and interior demolitions, said Ellen Rainville, the library’s director.
The expansion will double total library space, increasing it to 35,159 square feet. Children’s space will double, tween, teen and young adult space will triple, public meeting space and silent and tutoring spaces will increase and a “reading patio” will be created outside the children’s space. In addition, the project will improve the flow of traffic and parking.
The goal is for the project to wrap up and for library staff to be back in the Main Street building around January 2027 and to open to the public after that, Rainville said.
In the meantime, the J.V. Fletcher Library is settled into its temporary location—a few suites in 515 Groton Road, an office building on the edge of Westford along Route 40. Most of the entire circulation collection has been moved to the site, curbside pick-up is available and story hours and summer reading program events are being held at sites around town, Rainville added.
The $32.5 million expansion will be paid for by a combination of state and local taxpayer money. A breakdown of the funding: $8.6 million in grants from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners; $1.5 million from the capital fundraising efforts of the J.V. Fletcher Library Foundation; and $23 million from the Town of Westford through a debt exclusion approved by voters that will raise taxes until the project is paid off. There is also the potential of funding to preserve historic elements of the original building.
In an interview prior to the event, Rainville emphasized that library construction funding is safe from recent federal budget cuts as the bond was passed by the voters of Westford and grants are coming through the state-funded Massachusetts Library Board.
After July 1, there will be an impact of federal cuts to library programs that could affect shared databases and reduce digital book purchases statewide, she said.
“This past fiscal year, [J.V. Fletcher] library reduced hours due to the failed [Town of Westford] override, and that hour reduction will continue into fiscal year 2026,” she said.
Breaking Ground for the Future
About 50 people gathered for the groundbreaking, many of them, longtime library supporters.
Marianne Fleckner, library trustee and library trustee liaison for the J.V. Fletcher Library Foundation, thanked the people who work to fundraise and advocate for the library, including those who make the museum passes happen, work on the book sale and supported the library at town meetings and for the ballot questions that passed to fund the project.
“We stand here today, but it took 10 years to get here,” Fleckner said.
After the speaking program, she said, “It’s the voters of Westford who believe in us, believe in the library and believe it is the cornerstone of the community.”
To close the groundbreaking ceremony, Rainville spoke of the 200-year history of the library, telling the group gathered that, after the men marched off to fight in the Revolutionary War in Lexington and Concord, they returned home, founded Westford Academy, and then, in 1797, founded the subscription library, which was ultimately gifted to the town—it was the beginning of the town’s “continuous library legacy.”
“Today’s symbolic spadeful marks the celebration of the next transformative chapter of the J.V. Fletcher Library as we usher in a versatile library design which will serve residents well into the 21st century,” Rainville said.
