A new library is on the horizon for the City of Boca Raton, FL, following the June groundbreaking for the new Boca Raton Downtown Library. The 42,000 square foot facility will be the second of two libraries approved in a 2003 $19.8 million bond measure; the Boca Raton Spanish River Library opened in 2008. Costing $10 million, the Downtown Library is designed by PGAL of Boca Raton in the Mediterranean architectural style of Addison Mizner (1872–1933), emblematic of south Florida, and includes pedestrian-friendly walkways and a plaza. The building, expected to be completed in 2013, is targeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, with additional enhancements supported through the Friends of the Boca Raton Library, which contributed $250,000, and the Rotary Club of Boca Raton, which added another $50,000. Originally founded in 1893, the 17,600 square foot Rockville Public Library, Vernon, CT, is about to undertake a 6000 square foot addition/renovation that will last about 18 months. The $3.4 million project at the privately owned nonprofit institution serving the town of Vernon (pop. 30,000) will include the addition of a dedicated young adult space, a 30-seat community education room, an elevator, handicapped-accessible restrooms, more public access computers, and enhanced reading areas. Donations support the construction, along with a $1 million matching grant from the State of Connecticut Bond Commission, released on June 4, 2012. Safe, not sorry: Crowder College, Webb City, MO, in September will begin a project to add an 8700 square foot tornado safe room, which will also serve as classroom space for the constrained campus, according to the ­Joplin Globe. A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant of $1.1 million plus Crowder’s contribution of $383,000 will fund the construction, which features input from Paragon Architecture, Inc., of Springfield, MO. The college also has plans to increase space for parking, add a non-FEMA-sponsored facility, and make renovations to the existing building in future efforts. The flexibility to incorporate classroom use will be welcomed by the school, whose enrollment has shot from 20 in 2000 to 823.