MONT VERNON – The Mont Vernon Library Charitable Foundation announced recently that it has been awarded a matching grant worth up to $655,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant will support building a modern, accessible 7,600 square foot library for the town of Mont Vernon. The new facility will replace the current 1,200 square foot 1909 building, addressing the historic building’s many shortcomings and providing the space, technology, and accessibility to allow library staff and visiting presenters to offer high quality cultural programming for central southern NH residents. A major improvement anticipated by residents is the accessibility of the one-level design. The library is an important gathering space for town residents and the new facility will greatly enhance this important capability.

John Quinlan, Mont Vernon Board of Selectmen Chair, said, “Winning this grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities is a great step forward in our effort to build a library for Mont Vernon’s next one hundred years. The new library will be the centerpiece of our ongoing efforts to revitalize our village center.” Mont Vernon Library Charitable Foundation President, Cindy Raspiller, commented, “This award is a significant boost to our ongoing library capital campaign and will allow us to make the dream of a new Daland Memorial Library a reality sooner.”

NEH announced 23 Infrastructure and Capacity Building Challenge Grants, totaling $11 million. These grants leverage federal funding to strengthen and sustain humanities infrastructure and capacity-building activities at cultural institutions. NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo) said, “NEH is proud to support these exemplary education, media, preservation, research, and infrastructure projects.”