Fryeburg Academy breaks ground for Bion R. Cram Library

Groundbreaking was held recently for the Bion R. Cram Library and classroom building at Fryeburg Academy.Construction on the new library comes as the crowning achievement of a year-long capital fund-raising campaign that began with the trustees of the academy pledging nearly one-third of the $2.5 million that has now been raised. Building quickly on this example, the trustees of the Fryeburg Fair pledged an additional $300,000, all of this setting the stage for Bion Crams $500,000 challenge. Hundreds of alumni and friends of the academy have done the rest. At this point, just $100,000 remains to be raised to complete the fund-raising campaign, reflecting a small increase in the cost of construction.The contractor of record is RLR Enterprises, of Conway.The new library and classroom building will be approximately 15,000 square feet and will create a new quad for the campus, occupying the open area adjacent to the Eastman Science Building and behind the LaCasce Cafeteria and Gibson Music Buildings. The Cram Library will hold a collection twice the size of the old library and will provide state of the art computer access. Four classrooms, a new learning center, and a fully equipped computer lab will round out offerings of greatly needed additional instructional space within the new building. Fryeburg Academy is an independent secondary school serving over 550 day students from the seven surrounding western Maine towns and the Mount Washington Valley, as well as nearly 120 boarding students from several states and 26 countries around the world. For more information about the capital campaign, the new Cram Library or Fryeburg Academy, call, write or email the Academy at: 152 Main Street, Fryeburg, ME 04037-1329 ; (207) 935-2001, Ext. 128; alumni@fryeburgacademy.org.