Nov. 2005 - The Town Planning Board again votes to assign a priority ranking of Urgent to the New Library Building project on the CIP (Capital Improvement Program).

April 2005 - Artist's renderings of interior views of the new library are unveiled during National Library Week. These poster-sized drawings are placed near their counterpart areas in the library to show patrons the difference between the current space and the proposed space. View the artist's renderings online using Adobe Acrobat.

• Circulation 
• Children's Room 
• Reference 

April 2005 - Voters do not approve article 14 which proposed the addition of $200,000 to the Library Construction Capital Reserve Fund.

Dec. 2004 - Once again, in consideration of voter sentiment, the Trustees decide not to put a new library construction article on the 2005 warrant.

Oct. 2004 - The Town Planning Board votes to assign a priority ranking of Urgent to the New Library Building project on the CIP (Capital Improvement Program).

May 2004 The Trustees hold a New Library "Brain-storming" meeting for anyone with ideas on how to proceed with the plan and a willingness to help. They stress that the need for a new library has not gone away. We have the location; we have the design - now we need a plan to educate the public, gain widespread support, and win the vote!

April 2004 - Voters do not approve article 9 which proposed the addition of $300,000 to the Library Construction Capital Reserve Fund.

Jan. 2004 - In light of the large tax increase experienced by Merrimack residents, the Trustees decide not to put a new library construction article on the 2004 warrant.

July 2003 - The Building Committee is asked to rate the Harcross Chemical site as a possible location for a new library. Using the same criteria as was used in June 2002 to evaluate the Post Office and Town Hall sites, the Committee scores the Harcross site a 62 out of a possible 90. While there was a general agreement that the Utilities Availability, Visibility, and Image & Visual Quality of the site were all very good, other comments indicated that the site's history of chemical pollution and flood plain building limitations influenced their ratings on Legal/Political Matters and Engineering.
View an updated Site Comparison Chart that includes the Harcross site.

Jan. - April 2003 - The Trustees and Building Committee promote the proposed design in a number of ways. They hold information meetings and meet with clubs and groups within the community to provide information about the proposal and answer questions. Several information meetings are held for the general public at the library.

Jan. 2003 - The architect completes the design development process and a model of the proposed design is on display at the library. Conceptual designs can also be viewed online using Adobe Acrobat.

• Site Plan 
• View of Outside from Daniel Webster Highway 
• First Floor Plan 
• Basement and Second Floor Plan 

Dec. 2002 - A contractor conducts a traffic study in December of 2002.

Aug 2002 - Through the fall, the Trustees and the Building Committee work with an architect developing a building plan for the new library. The final size of the new building is determined using recommended library standards along with the town's projected population figure. View a chart comparing the allocation of space in the current building, library standard recommendations, and the space allocation proposed new building.

August 2002 - The Building Committee recommends that the Library Board of Trustees propose, on the April 2003 warrant, building a new library on Route 3 adjacent to the Post Office.

June 2002 - The Building Committee develops a set of site characteristics to assess and evaluate building sites under consideration. The characteristics are Site Capacity, Accessibility, Image and Visual Quality, Visibility, Demographics, Neighborhood Compatibility, Legal and Political Matters, Utilities Available and Engineering. Out of a possible score of 90, the site adjacent to the Post Office scores 79.5 and the Town Hall site scores 53.5. As a result, the committee recommends building a library on the site adjacent to the Post Office. The committee's comparison of the two sites and final recommendation report are available to be viewed using Adobe Acrobat.

Spring 2002 - The Board of Trustees reconvenes the Library Building Committee. The committee is given a charge from the Trustees to develop a proposal for a new library that will meet the needs of Merrimack library users and Merrimack voters.

April 2002 -

Oct/Nov 2001 - Focus group meetings, led by an independent professional facilitator, are held. Their purpose is to gather information from Merrimack residents to help plan the future of the Merrimack Public Library.
View the Focus Group Summary, prepared by the facilitator.