The Foundation for the Brookfield Library, established in 2017, instituted a capital campaign in hopes of finding ways to raise money to fund a new library. When a benefactor generously donated $1 million to the library, these hopes became immediately attainable.

Linda Sokol Francis gifted the library $1 million, which was accepted on Sept. 26, according to the Brookfield Landmark. Sokol has been a tax preparer since age 17, an accountant since 1968 and a financial advisor since 1975, she said. She has 1,400 households of clients and over $300 million under management in her financial planning business.

“I want to give back to the community that gave to me,” Sokol said. “My grandkids are [at the library] all the time. They’re homeschooled. It’s just a very valuable asset to the community. A community without a good library isn’t going to draw people with kids.”

Following the donation, a contract was signed agreeing to the renaming of the library. The new library will be named the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library, honoring Francis’s donation. After failing to pass a referendum, Sokol’s donation is what made the construction of a new library possible.

“She donated the money because she really believes in the community and in the library,” President of the Foundation for the Brookfield Library Jo Ann Day said. “She has been a long time resident. She, her family and her grandchildren all use the library quite a bit.”

The new library will cost around $10 million, according to the Brookfield Landmark. On top of the foundation continuing their work of seeking money, the library has received approval for a $3.5 million loan from the First National Bank of Brookfield. In addition, the library has over $5 million saved in a special building fund.

“The donation that was made by Linda Sokol Francis is transformational,” Library Director Kim Coughran said. “It is what is making this process possible, and without it we would not be moving forward.”

The current Brookfield Library, located at 3609 Grand Blvd., was built in the 1980s and will be torn down and turned into a parking lot with green space. The new library will be built at 3541 Park Ave., across the street from the current library.

The new library will consist of a basement, main level, and upper level at a total of 21,000 square feet. This is a major upgrade from the current library, which consists of only one main floor in which adults and children intermix, Coughran said. The new library will have a separation of adult and children space.

“I think the library is a great place for the people of the town, but it has lost some of its value as it has become somewhat outdated,” Brookfield resident Christian Gatsos ‘19 said. “Bettering the library would be great for the town.”

Other new additions will include study rooms, a quiet reading room, a children’s area on the main floor, adult area on the top floor and a separate maker space including 3D printing on the top floor. A 110-person meeting room will be installed in the basement with a divider that can allow for two simultaneous meetings.

“I like to refer to [the additions] as public library standards- things that our residents don’t really understand are missing,” Coughran said. “You see them in play in most public libraries, [and] you absolutely don’t see [them] here. Brookfield [residents] are going to find them to be very welcomed here and eventually I would have to say people are going to say to themselves, ‘how did we ever live without having these?’”

The project is currently in the early stages of seeking approval of the site and building, Day said. The new library is projected to be complete sometime in 2020.