Construction Updates
January 11, 2025
Interior demolition at 10 Dixon Avenue is 99% complete—walls that once delineated individual office spaces have been cleared out to create large, open rooms for collections and programs.
On the first floor, the construction crew will now begin installing the structural support needed in the North Wing to support second floor collections in the Art Books Room, Local History and Archives Room, and the Woodstock Authors Room. A new Activity Room and Collections Wing has been created for children, with a separate Teen Room at the eastern end. Staircases are being constructed for fire safety and ease of access throughout the building.
View the photos below for the latest views of the building’s interior, and watch this space for more news of our progress as we go!
View into the north wing, where non-fiction collections will be housed.
Murals will line this hallway leading to the children's spaces
The future Children's Activity Room, a dedicated space for programs, crafts and exploration.
Looking through the future Children's Activity Room to the Children's Collection Wing
This space will be enclosed for our new Teen Room.
Space for fiction collections and computer desks.
Looking through from Fiction to the front entrance.
The new Art Books Room, with wall space for exhibitions of local history materials and artwork from community members.
The future Local History and Archives Room.
Preparing to install a new staircase in the south wing.
The future Sussman-Blythe Community Room on the second floor.
Viglielmo Family Donates $25,000 for a
New Pollinator Garden at 10 Dixon Avenue
The Viglielmo Family (Jeffrey, Pamela and Melissa) has generously provided a $25,000 donation so that we can install a pollinator garden at our new home! The garden will be named in memory of their parents Dr. Jules D. Viglielmo & Carol J. (Fletcher) Viglielmo, both long-time Woodstock residents who valued education and the environment. Located on the grassy area west of the parking lot, the pollinator garden will feature a ADA-accessible pea gravel walkway and benches for public use. The area beyond the garden will be rehabilitated, mowed, and maintained for use as an outdoor program area. We are grateful to the Viglielmo Family for their support of both their public library and the health of our local ecosystems.
Alan Sussman Donates 1,200 Books and Large Naming Grant for Community Room at 10 Dixon Avenue
Long-time Woodstock resident and book connoisseur Alan Sussman has donated a major sum of money to the Woodstock Library for the construction and furnishing of the Community Room at the new Library at 10 Dixon, along with 1,200 books from his private collection.
The large community room on the second floor of the new Library will be used for community meetings, Forums, readings, concerts, and other large group activities. It will be lined with custom bookcases underwritten by Mr. Sussman, which will hold his special collection of 1,200 books. These books will be allowed to circulate with the public. The room will be accessible by elevator as well as stairs.
In honor of his gift, the room will be named the Sussman-Blythe Community Room. (Victoria Blythe is Alan Sussman's wife).
Library Director Ivy Gocker stated, "It has been a pleasure working out the details of this generous gift with Mr. Sussman, a true book lover and philanthropist. Thanks to his contribution, we can proudly report that we have now raised well over $200,000 in private donations to the new library project."
Victoria Blythe and Alan Sussman have lived in Woodstock for more than 50 years. Both were partners in the legendary Kingston law firm Ricken, Goldman, Sussman and Blythe. Victoria obtained a PhD degree in English while practicing law and later taught literary theory at New York University. Alan obtained an MA in Jurisprudence and taught law and philosophy at Bard College, where he established Bard’s Rare Book Collection. They were married in Vijayanagara, India, on December 31, 1999.
Top 5 reasons to be excited about 10 Dixon
The Junior Friends of the Woodstock Library give a whirlwind tour through our future library at 10 Dixon Avenue and highlight some of the exciting features we can expect to enjoy once the building is open to the community.