Milford Library Requests Funds from Council

The Milford Library provided details on their programs over the past year as they requested their annual grant from Milford City Council. Board President Yanelle Powell stood in for Executive Director Lea Rosell who could not attend.

“I am here on behalf of our wonderful, fearless Executive Director, Lea,” Powell said. “I will briefly highlight the key partnerships and new programs. During the fiscal year 2025, the library continued to serve a as major community hub. Some key lights include, we had 130,587 visitors and 137,878 items were checked out. The library had over 14,000 Wi Fi and computer uses. And this is incredible, the library held 941 programs, workshops and classes. And from those programs, we had 17,653 attendees 1,770 new library cards. These numbers show the library’s role as not just a place for books, but as a center for education, workforce and technology education as well as community connection.”

Powell then provided information on the library financial standing. She stated that the library received almost $800,000 in funding from the City of Milford, Kent County, Sussex County, the State of Delaware along with grants, donations and fundraising. The largest expense for the library was salaries and benefits, but that reflected the importance of a trained staff who provided services, programs and community support to our community partnerships.

“Another organization that is near and dear to my heart is the Milford Museum,” Powell said. “We partner with them on the American History series. We also partner with the Music School of Delaware for youth programming, the Mispillion Art League for arts education and the Milford School District. We have a little food pantry through the Food Bank of Delaware, and they also donate snacks for our youth programs.”

Powell pointed out some of the new programs such as Chair Yoga, Coffee and Crafts, a writing workshop and a cookbook club. Other popular programs are Pizza and Paperbacks, Toddler Time and Storytime.

“New digital resources we have is the Mingle Languages, Newsbank, Northshore Digital Literacy Platform, Family Search, Genealogy Center and the Library of Things,” Powell said. “If you haven’t checked out the Library of Things, you should. There are some random things in there.”

According to Powell, the library will celebrate its centennial in 2027 and in preparation of the next 100 years of service, they are upgrading the building.

“We’re launching our Centennial Transformation project, and that project will be the main things are renovation. The renovation will address the key building needs, including the HVAC replacement and bathroom upgrades,” Powell said. “Our bathrooms are out of order at least every two weeks. We are undergoing electrical improvements, new study rooms and collaboration spaces, improving the youth services areas, updating furniture and signage.”

Powell stated that the construction timeline was slated to be deployed was July 2026.

“Demo starts in September of 2026 and the actual construction of the renovation project November of 2026 and then hope to be complete June 2027,” Powell said. “So, the total estimated cost will be $4.9 million. The library has secured over $3.3 million in additional funding but additional requests are pending.”

Powell stated that the library was requesting $30,000 which represented a seven percent increase from the previous year.

“The Milford Library remains a vital resource for learning, access and community engagement,” Powell said. “Thank you all for your continued support of the library and the residents we serve, and then I will be happy to answer any questions. But before I do that, I just want to shout out. I don’t know if you have been to the library since Lea has been on board. She’s transforming library from the traditional “shhh.” Kids come in hungry; we feed them. Kids come in by themselves; we try to keep them together if they want, the teen center. But she really has transformed the library, so kudos to her.”

Councilwoman Katrina Wilson stated that council heard good feedback from the library.

“I have not so much a question but a thank you for some of the programs,” Councilwoman Nadia Zychal said. “Some of the history programs that are presented in conjunction with the Milford Museum are fabulous. I encourage anybody, if you have a free Saturday, to look up and see what is on board. You might learn something you had no idea about.”

Powell pointed to Milford Museum Executive Director Tom Summers who was present and said council should thank him for the history programs.

“I do have one comment with all the great things the Milford Library does and one of the great things they do is Music in the Park which is absolutely wonderful,” Councilman Jason James said. “I’ve been lobbying for a few years for additional days of music in the park, so if you guys can find it in your budget or find entertainment that would like to perform, that would be great. The community seems to love it.”

Powell stated that they were talking to the high school about a place to hold the event in case of inclement weather.

The funding request will be discussed at budget hearings in either May or June.