Residents young and old congregated outside the main entrance of South Hadley’s brand new public library to celebrate the grand opening of the $7.8 million project earlier last month. The morning consisted of welcoming remarks, a ribbon cutting ceremony, building tours, refreshments and musical performances.

Because of its unique location on the bank of the Connecticut river, the building committee took extra care to make sure that natural and cultural resources were protected during the construction project, according to Library Director Joseph Rodio.

Along with views of the river, the two story, 22,000 square foot building features individual study and meeting rooms, kids and teens sections, more computers, and a lot more space for residents to utilize the building than the old library allowed.

“The old library was very cramped and didn’t offer space for quiet study or reading, and the meeting spaces were very limited,” said Rodio. “The new library has lots of expanded space, but the best feature is that people can use it much more comfortably than ever before.”

In his remarks at the grand opening, Chairman of South Hadley’s Selectboard John Hine countered the idea that communities don’t need libraries in our technological day and age. “There’s nothing more important or noble for our community than to provide our children the opportunity to develop and grow,” said Hine. “Schools and libraries are a primary function of that.”

High School Librarian Rebecca Mazur said she was “incredibly impressed with how thoughtfully the library was designed, both inside and out.” Mazur said, “It filled me with pride that our town has this incredibly beautiful new resource that I think will be good for every one of our town citizens, no matter how old we are, what we’re interested in, or what our abilities are.”

Massachusetts State Representative John Scibak agreed that the library will be a “focal point” for South Hadley. “I’m grateful that we have this resource that we can be proud of,” said Scibak.