Officials shed light on reason for upcoming Wicomico Co. Library move

SALISBURY, Md. – A big move for the Wicomico County Library is all but a done deal.

Thousands of books will find their new home at the old Ward Museum, and library director, Seth Hershberger, said it was just time to be out with the old and in with the new.

“That’s the primary driver for us, that we need a better facility,” Hershberger said. “This is a feasible, affordable way to attain that for Wicomico County.”

But with the former Ward Museum building being deemed unfit for the art it used to house, some have questioned the safety for the library’s assets.

Hershberger said thanks to some state funding, the library will be able to complete all the necessary renovations for safekeeping of books and other library resources.

“We do have access and are eligible to request up to 84%of the cost of a capital project related to a library, from the Maryland state capital library project fund,” Hershberger said.

And with this big change set to be finalized in 2026, county executive, Julie Giordano, has high hopes for the future of Salisbury.

“Downtown is going to have a whole new feel, and I think that it is appropriate for us to move the library out of there,” Giordano said. “I think that once all has revealed itself, I think the people of Wicomico County are going to be really ecstatic.”