November 13, 2023—The Friends of the Berryville Library have announced that they will be able to set a date to break ground on the new library in 2024, if $300,000 more can be raised by December 31.

An anonymous local supporter has put up an additional $100,000 and challenged the community to match it 3 to 1 by the end of the year.  If this $300,000 can be raised, the library building committee will set a groundbreaking date in 2024. 

According to Berryville Library Advisory Board President Joe Scott, “We have already raised $2.8 million, which is 80% of our $3.5 million goal.  If we can raise this $300,000 by the end of the year, plus the $100,000 gift we will receive from our anonymous donor, that will put us at $3.2 million of the $3.5 million goal. We will still have $300,000 left to raise, but we feel comfortable that that is an amount we can raise while the building is under construction.” 

Gifts can be dropped off at the library or made online at berryvillelibrary.org/building anytime. On November 28, National Giving Day, KTHS and the Friends will host a Library Give-a-Thon, an old-fashioned telethon, so people can call in their gifts anytime that morning.

The effort to raise this money kicked off in April 2021 with a five-year plan to break ground in 2025.  The new library will be located on land donated by the City of Berryville across from the City Pool Park. According to Berryville Library director Julie Hall, “We are flying towards the final chapter of this story and are so very close to being able to start construction.  We thank everyone who has given so much already, but your ongoing support right now is critical to our ability to reach that last page. Every gift made between now and the end of the year will make a great difference.  The race is on!”

All gifts to the Berryville Library Building Project are tax-deductible and can be made as a one-time donation or a multi-year pledge. All gifts of $1,000 or more will be memorialized on a naming wall in the new library.  There are several naming opportunities still available for gifts over $10,000. The Berryville Library Legacy Project offers a unique way to honor families or other important parts of Berryville or Carroll County history. A gift of $10,000 earns the right to name and place an iconic or historic image from Berryville or Carroll County on the end of a shelving unit in the new library’s Central Atrium.

For more information about the plans for a new library, visit berryvillelibrary.org/building.  For questions about naming opportunities, planned giving options, or the Berryville Library Legacy Project, contact Kristy Noble Tesch at (870) 654-6565 or email at [email protected].