JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
County and library officials on Tuesday unveil a commemorative plaque in the front downstairs lobby of the new Berlin branch of the Worcester County Library, on Harrison Avenue. Earlier that afternoon officials from the town, county and state gathered for an official ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening. The new $6.25 million library was opened in July and is several times larger than the previous library, on Main Street.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Aug. 9, 2018) Following a Tuesday afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Berlin library on Harrison Avenue, the Worcester County Commissioners gathered in the downstairs lobby for a separate unveiling of a commemorative plaque.

The inscription credited the seven-member commission, as well as County Chief Administrative Officer Harold Higgins, the Worcester County Board of Library Trustees, Library Director Jennifer Ranck, contractor Whiting-Turner and architect Jeff Schoellkopf.

County Commissioner President Diana Purnell said the new library “represents an investment in our county as a whole, and in Berlin and in our children.”

“We’re really pleased, because the job is well done,” she said.

Purnell said the library benefitted Worcester senior citizens.

“If you think about your seniors that don’t have a lot of interaction with the community, they can come here, they can feel relaxed, they can feel safe, they can use the computers, they can do all those things,” she said. “That’s very important.”

Commissioner Ted Elder said the new building also thrilled him.

“This is our future for our children’s education and it’s just a tremendous investment,” he said. “It’s built to stay a long, long time, it’s an extremely efficient building and it’s really been a great, great collaboration of people that brought this together.

“This is one that you have to look to as a template for the way you put things together,” Elder added.