Marita Comets, director of the Levi Heywood Memorial Library, reported to the Gardner Public Welfare Committee on Sept. 30 that the library will extend its open hours to 50 per week after the city funded three part‑time hires.

"Starting this week, we will be able to extend our open hours to 50 a week, and this does meet the state's requirements," Comets said, adding the change will raise the library's state aid award by about 12.5 percent. The library plans an open house on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. to mark the new evening hours.

Comets outlined infrastructure items the library will pursue: updating staff and patron computers (she said nine machines cannot be upgraded to Windows 11), exploring grants to replace the building HVAC, and modernizing the fire and security alarm systems, which have already been moved to a wireless platform. She also said a new internet‑based telephone system will replace the facility’s aging copper‑line phone system.

On collections and programs, Comets said the library held 131,304 items as of June 30, 2025, and provides access to roughly 8 million items through the CW MARS library consortium. The library plans to expand Spanish and Portuguese materials, add read‑along books for children, build an adult comics section and explore a "library of things" for borrowing nontraditional items.

Comets highlighted program growth: the library ran 507 programs with 8,656 attendees in fiscal year 2025 and plans expanded teen outreach, including forming a teen advisory council. She said the summer reading kickoff had more than 300 attendees and the program enrolled 170 children, 25 teens and 149 adults.

Councilors praised the expanded hours and asked about accessibility and bilingual staff. Comets said a few staff members can offer basic Spanish greetings and the library regularly brings in community volunteers for multilingual story times. She said updating the website is a priority to improve access to digital collections.

Why it matters: restoring and expanding hours helps the library meet state certification requirements and increases state aid while broadening services for residents, including youth and multilingual patrons.

Next steps: Comets said she will request additional hours for the teen librarian during the upcoming budget process and will pursue grant funding for HVAC replacement and computer updates.