I was excited to see the mural representing the new library building which now covers the front of the old library. It is an inspiration to vote YES on Articles 2 & 3 on November 6.

Libraries are the heart of a community, the place any and all may go not just to borrow books, but to meet new people, to hear lectures, for study time with a tutor, to do research, to learn how to use the computer or smart phone. For some the library is their only access to a computer or internet. A library is a place for young and old, rich and poor, all are welcome and served.

This proposed new library will provide more space, some 7,000 square feet of for current needs and 3,000 square feet for future expansion, at a cost of about eleven cents a day (about $40 per year) for the average Rockport taxpayer. Where else can you get so much for so little?

Yes, the full cost of the new library is more than the $1.5 million we will vote on, but the rest of the cost will be covered by private donations. A group of wonderful Rockport residents, the Rockport Library Foundation, has been working hard to secure donation pledges. Even if you are unable to make a tax free donation to the Foundation to help cover the remaining cost of the library, please vote YES on Articles 2 and 3 on November 6.

Helen Shaw lives in Rockport