GUILFORD – Local residents on Monday voted to pay off the remaining debt of $18,575 on the nearly $500,000 expansion at the Guilford Memorial Library.

Residents especially appreciated the hard work of library officials and patrons in raising approximately $480,000 to enlarge the facility. The move to pay off the remaining debt with town funds came as library officials exhausted efforts to find the remaining funds.

The group won grants, held bake, plant and book sales, and asked for contributions in newsletters during the project.

Until Monday’s vote, the only contribution from the town was the $10,000 paid for additional land next to the library. This excluded the annual contribution that residents provide the library for its maintenance and operation.

Selectmen felt it was the only fair way to help support the addition to the town-owned library, since the town has funded similar projects at the fire station, the medical facility and the town office.