Rockport held its official, albeit, belated grand opening of the new public library, July 31.

Below are comments that were delivered at the dedication ceremony.

Jonathon Duke – Rockport Town Manager

Good morning. 

My name is Jon Duke and as Rockport’s newly installed Town Manager, it is an honor to take part in the dedication of our new Rockport Public Library. As a lifelong resident of Rockport and as someone who grew up just a few doors up this street, this event has great personal meaning. Many of you know the history of our library and this location, but for those unfamiliar we owe great thanks to Mary Louise Bok. 

Though our library had its beginnings across the street in what is now the Rockport Opera House, it was the gift of this land from Ms. Bok in 1943 which set the ground from which this building blossomed. 

There were a variety of additions and improvements from the original structure, built in 1949, which served all of us so well for nearly seventy years. The vast majority of these projects were funded once again from the generosity of generations of benefactors who valued the Rockport Public Library and its mission. 

Growing up in this neighborhood, the library was an integral part of our daily lives. The Town’s long serving librarian, Marjorie Dodge, was a neighbor as well, and she looked after all of us. As some of you know, I previously worked for the Town as a child. I was given responsibility of raising and lowering the flag daily at what we now call Memorial Park. For the sum of $5 per week, I would ride down the street on my bike, with the flag inside of a basket firmly attached to my handlebars, and attach the flag to the pole without EVER letting the flag touch the ground. However, once my job was done, I was an 8-year-old with a set of wheels, and an empty basket on his bike. Inside that old library a whole world awaited… or least as much of world that could fit in that basket. 

Now certainly our world is different today. Technology changes how we work and live, but today’s world requires all of us to connect. 

The Rockport Public Library in the 1980’s may have leaned a bit more on the Dewey Decimal system, microfiche, and periodicals than our modern building with the latest technologies and software. But most of all a common thread runs through both buildings… community. 

The value of this building as place to feed one’s brain with fiction or non-fiction remains, but I think we all recognize after the past 18 months how much interpersonal connections are critical. Our need to connect as neighbors, as residents, or as friends is an absolute necessity. We cannot let technology or social media stand in the way of our shared need to become more than individuals… but truly be a community. As we’ve already seen in the months since the building opened, it’s clear our residents and patrons are grateful for the gift that this building is and in rediscovering each other. What a gift that is for all of us.

I want to thank the Rockport Library Foundation, the Friends of Rockport Library, the volunteers, the donors and our residents of the Town of Rockport for making this day possible. 

Thank you.

Ben Blackmon – Library Director

Hello and Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming out on the best day of the summer. 

My name is Ben Blackmon and I'm the library director here at the Rockport Public Library. 

And I am going to say everything that you would expect me to say as the Library Director.  This place is AWESOME! I'm so lucky to get to work in this wonderful building in the best community. 

I also want to share a secret with you. I want to tell you what libraries are really about. Yes our mission is literacy and to help folks with their technology needs and to provide a safe space for everyone. But the truth is libraries are really here to try and make your day just a little bit better every time you come into the building. I hope you will visit us often and let us make your day just a little bit better. 

I also need to thank the library staff for all their work in getting us to now. Thank you Ben Odgren and Keith Drago for all your help. 

Helen Shaw – Rockport Library Committee 

The seed for the establishment of the current Rockport Public Library began with the 1943 contribution of Mary Louise Curtis Bok of land to the town of Rockport for the building of a public library. In 2010 Library Director Molly Larson fostered the growth of that seed with a grant from the Davis Family Foundation to investigate the feasibility of expanding the library or building a new one. 

I want to thank Molly and past members of the Library Committee, the select board, and the Friends of the Library for keeping the energy for a new library moving forward. I also want to thank the people of Rockport who participated in the many committees that worked to develop the vision of the library you see here today. The support of all those people, of all those who use and love the Rockport Public Library, continues to guide the Library Committee in its role as guardians of this amazing new library. 

Thank you.

Denise Munger – Rockport Select Board

As so many of you who are here today know, getting to this beautiful library was a process, one that had its fits and starts over the many years it took to get here.  Yet, not only do we have one of the most beautiful library buildings ever, but we did it on budget and on time.

A number of Select Board members were involved over the course of the many decisions that got us to today.  Of these, I want to specifically mention and thank Bill Chapman, Ken McKinley, Debra Hall and, of course, Doug Cole, all staunch library supporters who did the right thing at the right time (and in some cases many right things at many times) to keep the dream alive and move us forward.

Our former Town Manager Rick Bates was instrumental in ensuring Town support for the library and kept the project moving, finding Town resources when necessary to take the next step.  Thank you, Rick, for spearheading this, even when the going got tough.  And thank you for the weekly updates with construction photos that allowed those of us near and far to track the library progress.

Bettina Doulton and Charlie Frattini of Phi Builders & Architects were the key to this happening – without their willingness to step up at great financial cost to them and take on this project, we would not have the amazing building we have.  Throughout the darkest days of COVID, Charlie and the crew were here working away, giving all of us hope that something good was happening when all else seemed so dark and uncertain.  This project was on budget because of the incredibly generous gift from Bettina and Charlie of providing the Town with a fixed price contract, and on time because of Phi’s dedication to this project and the Town of Rockport.  We can’t thank you enough.

Steve Smith, as the project architect, had the vision for this fabulous building, which truly marries the old with the new -- classic New England architecture with a contemporary feel.  New visitors to the Town assume the library has always been here since it fits in and anchors our beautiful village.  Throughout the library, you will notice many lovely details designed by Steve and executed beautifully by Charlie and his team.

Town residents, Brinkley Thorne and Mazie Cox, designed the kitchen and beautiful program space downstairs, and generously funded its building, finish details and furnishing.  A wonderful space that is popular for small meetings, remote workers, quiet readers -- and will be used for future town-wide programming. Thank you to Brink and Mazie for their vision in creating this space.

And to top it off, generous donors funded interior designer Nadine Cole who designed a wonderful palette of paint colors, flooring, and furnishings that light up the interior, and make the space fun and warm.  She worked closely with our lighting designer Emily Gorecki, who incorporated lovely lighting fixtures and ensured just the right level of light to make every space and room a delight to be in.

But none of this would have happened without the tireless work of Joan Welsh and Bill Leone who headed up the Rockport Library Foundation, as well as the other members of the Foundation including Ann Filley and John Viehman – this work involved weekly meetings for nearly 3 years, countless individual meetings with potential donors, follow up letters and phone calls, accounting and database management, creation of marketing materials, not to mention sleepless nights worrying about whether the money could be raised.  The Town of Rockport owes a huge thank you to the Foundation, all volunteers, who raised over $2.3 million for the library and furnishings. 

Together this amazing team created this wonderful space that is the new Rockport Public Library, a space we can all be proud of and enjoy for generations to come.  A heartfelt thank you to each of you.

Joan Welsh – Rockport Library Foundation Chair

• It truly “takes a village... a town to build something so wonderful for our community. 
• Thank you all—the 450-plus donors listed on the wall inside—for making this possible.
• Especially thank the Library Committee... Helen Shaw and the other members of the committee... who provided the early seed money to launch our capital campaign.
• Thanks, too, to the Parks & Beautification Committee, Chair Haunani Wallace and her many, many volunteers here in white shirts today... for these beautiful gardens and park.

A Ribbon Cutting followed speakers.