NEW VINEYARD — Eight bids were submitted Monday for the New Vineyard Public Library expansion project by the 2 p.m. deadline, Fay Adams, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, said.

One bid was not accepted because it was received after the deadline.

All eight bids were hand delivered Monday, Adams said. Contractors said they waited until the last minute because construction jobs are so competitive and prices continue to change, she said.

They will be delivered to the architect in charge of the project.

The New Vineyard Library Association, which owns the building on Lake Street where the library, Town Office and Historical Society are, raised more than $200,000 through donations and grants to fund the project.

It created a Library Expansion Committee in October 2010.

The project will increase the library’s 580-square-foot space to 1,600 square feet, Trustee Richard Hargreaves of the New Vineyard Library Association said Monday.

The library will move to the end of the building where the society space is currently located so the addition and renovation project can be done. The other two entities will shift spaces, but it is not known what order they will end up in.

A community room, a new drilled well and on-site septic system are included in the project.

A survey done in 2008 indicated the library was a very important service to the townspeople, trustees previously said.

Construction is expected to begin once a contractor is engaged and the weather permits, Hargreaves said.

“When construction is completed, New Vineyard will have a completely accessible, full-service library which will include a wireless computer room as well as areas designed for children, for teens and for adults,” he said.

dperry@sunjournal.com