Friends Take the Cake

At their annual meeting on August 31, the Friends of the West Tisbury Library were presented with a surprise birthday cake to celebrate the organization’s 30th anniversary.

The anniversary comes at a propitious moment in the library’s history. In July of this year, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners announced that West Tisbury would receive a $2.98 million grant to help pay for renovation and expansion of the library building it has severely outgrown.

Library director Beth Kramer said the grant wold never have happened were it not for the design work funded by the Friends, who gave more than $103,000 to pay for the architect and owner’s project manager required by the state grant process. To date, the project has cost the town virtually nothing.

The project is estimated to cost $6 million, and the West Tisbury Library Foundation is conducting a capital campaign with a goal of $1.5 million.