BY NICHOLAS BROWN

The new Epsom library is getting glowing reviews from the critics. Dawn Bellorado, a book lover and a mother of two young children raved, “It’s absolutely beautiful – my children are going to love it.”

Nathaniel Vigneau, 17, who recently checked out Stephen King’s latest terrifying tale said, “It’s a good library, really nice.” Local merchant and Gossville Gazette purveyor Bruce Graham said, “The way this has shaped up, I’d be surprised if it’s not busy all the time.”

So far, it’s been busier than expected.

“We’re doing a lot of new cards everyday,” said librarian Nancy Claris.

Claris said she expected circulation to increase by about 50 percent with the opening of the new library this year.

“It may be higher than that,” she said.

A dedication and open house for the library is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m.

It will be the town’s first dedication for a new library in 104 years.

In August of 1902, the Epsom library had 304 books, and the library building, which served that function until just recently, cost just under $1,000 to build. Town efforts to get a new library have been nearly two decades old, said Claris, and really took off about four years ago.

The library trustees are still raising some money for the final touches on the building, which will come in at a total cost of about $1,050,000. Of that, $650,000 has been raised by private donations.

Each of the building’s 62 outer windows will be decorated with plaques for donors to the project, and most of the library’s rooms are named after donors who’ve been vital to the project’s success, Claris said.

In total, the new building has more than 7,000 square feet of space, and includes multiple reading rooms, a large public meeting area, adult and young adult stacks, a small room for tutoring or studying, private offices and a large children’s room with a nearby arts and crafts room.

The additional space will allow for new programs, like crafts clubs and reading groups, said Claris. The library each summer also runs a large youth reading program, but lack of meeting space in the old library has meant the program’s big events have been held in other spots around town.

“We’ve never had space for those types of things,” said Claris, who’s worked in the old building since 1979. “We can do some of those things now.”

In order to complete the move in December, the old library had to shut down for about two weeks while volunteers and library staff prepared boxes upon boxes of library materials, including everything that had overflowed from the building into an outside storage trailer.

“That whole time was amazing,” Claris said. “People would just stop by, wander in, and ask what they could do to help.”

The library staff also got some help from several inmates at the Merrimack County jail, which sent a six-person crew for the community project.

“They were great,” said Claris. “I think they were just happy to be out.”

While some of the decor from the old library – like a decadesold painting of an Epsom Town Meeting by deceased local artist Billie Worth – have gotten new life in the new digs, some finishing touches are still on the way.

Epsom native Genella McDonald has been doing much of the interior design work. By the open house, the library staff hopes to have picture rails lining many of the library’s walls for rotating art exhibits.

Those kinds of elements, like the artwork, will give the whole space the feel of a traditional library,” said McDonald.

“Traditional” may be a good look if – considering the town’s history with libraries – the building’s to last another 104 years.