New Canaan Library outlines $3.12 million town grant request
Town Council · Meeting of January 26, 2026
New Canaan Library previews $3.12 million budget ask, signals capital request for 1913 building. Library officials, identified as Ellen and Library Director Cheryl Capitani, told the Board of Finance and Town Council Library Liaison Group the proposed operating budget carries a 3.5 percent increase, $105,500 above the current year, with a town grant request of $3,119,000 covering 94 percent salaries. The library said it hit 1 million visitors since opening its current building and was a finalist for a global library-of-the-year award, losing to a Canadian institution.
Officials plan to bring the town a detailed capital proposal within weeks for the vacant 1913 legacy building, where renovation costs could match the $2.4 million already spent relocating out. "We lost to the Canadians," Ellen said of the award, calling it "still an incredible honor." The library's endowment has recovered to roughly $2 million toward a $10 million goal.
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Source: the Town Council meeting of January 26, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — January 26, 2026 — The New Canaan Library outlined a $3,119,000 town grant request and signaled plans to seek separate capital funding for its vacant 1913 building during a review with the Board of Finance and Town Council Library Liaison Group.
Library leaders told the group the library's proposed operating budget represents a 3.5 percent increase, or $105,500, over the current year. The presentation, delivered by a library official identified in the meeting only as Ellen, was framed as a repeat of an earlier Board of Selectmen presentation for liaison members who had not attended that session.
The Full Story
Ellen, joined by Library Director Cheryl Capitani, told the liaison group the library's town grant request covers 94 percent of the library's salary costs and represents what she called a "pretty straightforward budget request." The library highlighted a 5 percent year-over-year increase in visits and said it has now recorded 1 million visitors since its current building opened, a cumulative milestone. Officials also touted a 2025 finalist honor from the International Federation of Library Associations, which recognized the library as one of three finalists worldwide for best public library of the year; the library lost to a Canadian institution.
Much of the discussion centered on the library's 1913 legacy building, which has sat largely unused since the library relocated years ago. Ellen said the library plans to bring a detailed capital grant proposal to the town within the next few weeks, ahead of Board of Finance budget hearings. She said the library has formed an advisory committee led by Steve Carl and Lauren Patterson, engaged local architect Amanda Martocchio, who previously served on the building committee for the library's new construction, and completed preliminary design and cost estimates. Ellen said a lawsuit filed by preservationists over the building's future was recently dismissed.
Liaison group members pressed for detail on the library's finances. Capitani said the library's primary print-collections vendor, Baker and Taylor, folded this year, but a secondary vendor absorbed the library's business without disruption. Ellen said the library added a cybersecurity insurance policy this year on its auditor's recommendation and is moving to eliminate most late fines through automatic renewals, joining roughly 90 percent of Connecticut public libraries that are already fine-free. Kim Norton, a liaison group member, asked about the change after noting she does not always return books on time.
Officials said the library employs 44 people, including 24 full-time staff and the equivalent of eight to 10 additional full-time positions filled by part-time and teen workers. Capitani said a starting reference librarian salary with a master's degree is about $62,000, and that library pay has become competitive with peer institutions over the past decade. The library's endowment stands at roughly $2 million after a recent bequest, officials said, following a $2.4 million withdrawal used to help fund the move to the new building; the library's bylaws require a $3 million balance before any draw, and Ellen described a long-term aspirational goal of $10 million.
"We were one of only three libraries around the world. We were up there with China and Canada competing for this best public library of the year award. And while we lost to the Canadians, it was still an incredible honor for us." — Ellen, New Canaan Library official
"I wouldn't be surprised to see that we would be required to spend as much as we have already spent." — Ellen, New Canaan Library official, on potential legacy building renovation costs
"It is a tremendous resource for the town." — Eric, chair, Board of Finance and Town Council Library Liaison Group
Why It Matters
The library's forthcoming capital request for the 1913 building is the item most likely to reach residents' wallets. Ellen said renovation costs, including ADA-compliant restrooms and code upgrades, could match or exceed the $2.4 million already spent relocating out of the building, with inflation pushing costs higher still. The library plans to bring a formal written proposal to the town within weeks, ahead of Board of Finance review and an eventual vote before the full Town Council.
Separately, the library's operating budget request of $3,119,000 will move through the same budget process this spring. Officials also flagged an ongoing town parking study, run by the Planning and Zoning Commission and funded through the library's memorandum of understanding with the town, with results reviewed by the library and Planning and Zoning the day after this meeting.
Key Motions & Votes
No formal votes taken at this meeting.
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Board of Finance and Town Council Library Liaison Group meeting, January 26, 2026