Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library: busy, beloved and out of room

This profile is part of our look at why Cape Ann still needs its libraries, which started with a reader's question.

A library that has outgrown its building

Manchester's library is busy. It lent about 18 items per resident last year, counting loans to people from other towns. The typical Massachusetts library lent about 10. It ran 626 programs, more than twice as many as before the pandemic.

But the 1887 building was not built for how libraries work today. "I would be remiss if I did not mention our greatest challenge: space!" the director, Cynthia Gemmell, wrote in October 2025.

Here is what residents told the library when it asked them, through 8 small group talks, 2 public forums and a survey with 212 answers:

• People who use wheelchairs cannot use the restroom, and in some cases cannot get around the building.
• There is no meeting room, so programs interrupt other people. The library rents a hall at First Parish Church for some events.
• There are no private places to work or study.
• The books are cramped, and the children's room has an outside door that leaves it "highly exposed."

"Accessibility is a particular problem as anyone who has used our public restroom, climbed to the teen loft or tried to maneuver a wheelchair, scooter or stroller in our stacks can attest," Gemmell wrote in January 2025. In the same note, she agreed with a resident who said "we need to stop being nostalgic about the library of our past."

What the town is doing about it

A state grant that did not come through. In April 2024, Town Meeting set aside $150,000 so the library could apply for a state construction grant. Twenty-two libraries applied. In January 2025, Manchester learned it was not chosen. Libraries on the waiting list may not be funded until 2029 or 2030, the library says.

Planning anyway. The trustees formed a building committee and a fundraising committee. In March 2026, an architecture firm talked with them about a master plan. The director's list of needs: a program room, a bigger children's room away from foot traffic, a bigger teen space, better access upstairs and in the stacks, quiet study space, storage and offices.

Fixing the restroom first. Town Meeting voted 178 to 15 in April 2026 to spend $250,000 on library improvements, including a restroom that wheelchair users can use. Voters approved the money at the ballot box in May, 370 to 78. The town estimated a one-time tax increase of about $62 on a $1 million home. The work was expected to go out to bid this fall.

On more space, the library's 2026 to 2030 plan says, "while it may take time to realize a physical expansion, we are committed to making this goal a priority."

How the library is changing

• Borrow almost anything. The "Library of Things" has about 65 items for adults, including a telescope, a thermal camera, a car code reader, a pressure washer, a canning set, birdwatching kits, a ukulele, snowshoes and coding robots. Every pair of snowshoes was checked out during the cold snap in February 2026.
• Tech help. "Digital Advice" offers 20-minute one-on-one help with phones, e-books, photo backups and hotspots, plus drop-in hours.
• Saturdays. After years of requests, the library opened Saturday mornings in summer 2026.
• Local history online. Old issues of the Manchester Cricket, from 1888 to 2009, are now digitized and free to search, paid for by the Friends of the Library and the Cricket.
• Reaching people outside the building. In-person visits are falling, but more people are joining programs held outside the library, the director told the trustees in March 2026, according to the minutes. Wi-Fi use is up, too. The library counted 5,339 Wi-Fi sessions in the year ending June 2024, up from 678 in the year ending June 2019, according to a federal survey.
• Classes for adults. Recent offerings include beginning French, meditation and a knitting group.

A library and a memorial

Manchester's library grew out of the Lyceum Association, a club started in 1830. When the club broke up in 1871, it gave its books to the town. That became the Manchester Free Public Library.

Thomas Jefferson Coolidge gave the town its building. The architect Charles F. McKim designed it in cut stone. It was dedicated in October 1887 as a library and as a memorial to Manchester residents who died in the Civil War. A children's room was added in the 1960s. The stonework was restored in 2005 and 2006, and the children's room was rebuilt in 2013.

By the numbers

Source: Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners public library data for fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2025. Dollars are not adjusted for inflation. Loans per resident include items lent to people from other towns. The state did not report library cards, Wi-Fi use or website visits for 2025.

Where the money comes from

The library is a town department with a board of trustees. Town meeting sets its budget. Last year the town paid $553,737, about 89% of the library's operating income. That is about $103 per resident, more than twice the state median.

The state also sent Manchester $11,748 in library aid for fiscal 2026.

In the director's words

We asked Director Cynthia Gemmell to answer the reader's question. She had not responded as of Nov. 6.

What's on at Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library

Programs, classes and events coming up at the Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library, from the library's own calendar.

How to get involved

• Get a card. It is free for anyone who lives in Massachusetts.
• Join the Friends. The library's Friends group had 160 members last year, the library reported to the state.
• Weigh in on the building. The trustees meet monthly in public and are planning for more space.
• Speak up at budget time. The library budget is voted at town meeting. Read our guide to Manchester's budget.