page_title: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
section_title: Library
hierarchical_section_title: Shrewsbury, Massachusetts / Library
caption_attribution_description: Public library, Massachusetts
context_page_description: Shrewsbury is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Shrewsbury, unlike surrounding towns like Grafton, Millbury, Westborough, and Northborough, did not become a mill town or farming village; most of its 19th-century growth was due to its proximity to Worcester and visitors to Lake Quinsigamond. The population was 35,644 according to the 2010 US Census, in nearly 12,400 households.
  Incorporated in 1727, the town is governed now under the New England representative town meeting system, headed by the Town Manager and five-member elected Board of Selectmen whose duties include licensing, appointing various administrative positions, and calling a town meeting of citizens annually or whenever the need arises.
context_section_description: The Shrewsbury Public Library was established in 1872. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Shrewsbury spent 1.4% ($1,164,563) of its budget on its public library — about $34 per town resident. Following the 1978 library expansion project, another expansion was needed. In 2004 and 2010, officials completed research showing inadequate space, poorly maintained roofs and heating/cooling systems, lack of handicap accessibility, and a growing demand for library services. In 2010, a project was proposed that would create a new 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m²) facility for a total of approximately $19 million. The main library closed to enable construction of the new building and opened in temporary accommodation at 214 Lake Street on 26 October 2014. As of June 15, 2016, construction on the expansion project was substantially complete and work on punch list items was ongoing.
  The new library celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 21, 2016.
caption: Shrewsbury Public Library, 1899
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