Walking into the Holmes Public Library in Halifax is, in itself, a feel-good experience. A bright, cheery atmosphere with a friendly greeting immediately upon entering and the visual of seemingly endless books, proudly displayed art projects, and community members engaged in their various tasks gives an “all is right with the world in this space” kind of feel. Such a feeling can be hard to come by in times like ours, but the library is one space you can count on for all to feel and be welcome in the truest sense.
Overseeing this altruistic, community realm is Dylan Benoit -the new Director of the Holmes Public Library. Benoit has taken the Holmes Library to new and exciting heights in the short time he has been there. Though his path to this career was not linear, it is obvious that his can-do attitude and belief in the importance of education warrant him perfectly suited for his newfound role.
Benoit attended Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School and has a varied background. He earned a degree in graphic design and attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he earned a psychology degree in 2016 and a history degree in 2018. After being a teacher for youth who could not attend public school due to mental health issues, and then teaching history at his former high school, Benoit found he did not agree with the teaching methods, styles, and philosophies schools rely on as the standard.
Benoit came to appreciate and understand the importance of positive guidance and redirection when needed to help kids and teens improve habits now so that they were free from the oft-dire consequences later on in life if good habits are not fostered at a young age. “I tried to help students understand that it is easier to form good habits and fix bad ones in your youth because your brain is literally more malleable, flexible, and constructive right now than it ever will be again. The brain actually becomes rigid and set in its pathways as we age -meaning that when we are young, our brains explore new networks and adaptations, but when we are older it mostly defines, refines, and perfects the pathways we have already established.”
Benoit found that he yearned for an environment where learning and education were more self-directed rather than mandated so that it was more meaningful and suited to the unique strengths, interests, and talents of each person. “My wife was working at the Taunton Library and it dawned on me that the perfect education system, where all the pieces of information are available in one place to be sought out and put together in a meaningful way through self-discovery-is a library.” Benoit started working at the library in 2022. He worked at the Taunton and Marion Libraries and then moved to the Avon Library. Within a year and a half, Benoit was made the Assistant Director of the Avon Library.
Upon the retirement of longtime library director Jean Gallant, Benoit was approached to apply for the position of Director of the Holmes Public Library. With their first child expected weeks after the hire date of July 16, 2025, Benoit was hired and given some initial time off to be with his wife and new baby boy.
Benoit began to enhance the Holmes Public Library right away. A myriad of programs, classes, and uniquely tailored interest groups formed and started to meet regularly. Benoit’s founding beliefs in personal growth, backed by methods in clinical psychology and the humanistic psychology movement, have turned the Holmes Public Library into a true learning center where books are just one way to discover. “I was inspired by the concepts in Carl Rogers book, On Becoming a Person. It is all about a growth-promoting environment for our patrons that helps people find their place in the library.” Benoit has focused the library programming on helping patrons of all ages feel welcome, valued, capable, and affirmed of their abilities and potential.
The results for such an individualized focus for patrons has taken the attendance at library programs to unprecedented levels. “Our programs have so many attendees now that we are struggling to keep sufficient staff and resources to hold them,” Benoit explains, “One of our workshops recently had 85 people attend, and an average book club has about 25 people -whereas the other libraries I was working at considered it a success to have four people show up. We have had a 10-20% increase in program attendance, but no increase in staff or resources to keep up with the demands.”
The groups and classes at the Holmes Public Library range from the common, but beloved, book clubs and writer’s workshops, to composting classes and seminars on finances. You can learn about cooking in the Cookbook Club where Benoit prepares a dish to share with attendees from the book featured, or how to implement suspense in your writing via the twice-a-month, online Author’s Talks where well-known authors give classes on mastering the craft and patrons can ask the author two questions each. All of these programs are created, run, and promoted by a staff of five and made possible and funded by the Friends of the Holmes Public Library, as there is no budget to pay for these classes and workshops independently.
The Holmes Public Library’s boost in popularity, and the reawakened valuing of it, has also proven that it more than pays for itself in services to the community. In 2025, there was a budget of about $350,000 for expenses. Benoit says that cost was outperformed by a long shot in the value of services rendered. “We saved and were valued at $860,000 last year in terms of media checked out, services offered, and money saved in the community. We were getting about 3,000 views on Facebook each day, and we are averaging about 35-40,000 visits from patrons in our community each year.”
The belief the libraries are just for books is challenged more each year as libraries expand their offered media and services. The Holmes Public Library is diversifying its classes and workshops to include farming and gardening -as a great interest in this topic has been expressed by the community. “Our summer reading program began in March this year because the theme is ‘Plant a Seed, Read’, so we wanted to take patrons on a learning journey starting with planting seeds in the spring and watching them grow and learning how to tend a garden as the season progresses.”
The Holmes Public Library also offers a free Seed Library and the circulation desk assistant is enrolled in the Massachusetts Master Gardener Program and willing and able to chat all things garden with patrons who are ready to learn. Benoit wants to further this learning experience and connection with the natural world in the future. “We are going to put a raised garden bed in the front of the library and grow some food to be used in the cookbook classes where I would love to eventually secure the permitting and financing to purchase and install a small stove in the library so that cooking demonstrations can take place using the food we have grown on-site,” Benoit says enthusiastically, “And if that goes well, we would love to install a little community garden in the front of the library with multiple raised beds and some fencing to keep the plants safe.”
Another focus Benoit has for the Holmes Public Library is to draw in age groups that are less frequent patrons of the library. “If we can offer video game rentals at the library, it not only is a good idea financially for parents and players to check out and trial a game before buying it, but it gets a lot of teens in the library. Video games were one of the most checked out things at the libraries I worked at before. I think we need to explore that option.”
Regardless of services and media offered, patrons make up the most important aspect of a library. Benoit points out, “A library is only as good as its patrons. We have a great combination of an amazing staff, a very supportive Friends Program, and a strong group of regulars that we see every week. It makes this library really personal and unique.”
Unfortunately, with town finances looking bleak and cuts looming in various town budgets, the Holmes Public Library is “on the chopping block” for budget and staffing cuts. “We are already really struggling to keep up with the huge increase in demand for library services with no increase in staff or budget,” Benoit explains, “It is a shame that the value of the library in offering not just the usual things, but free things in a time where money is tight for all, is being overlooked. We save community members money with free media rentals and with our Library of Things where you can check out items you might use once in a while but they are expensive to purchase. We have things like museum passes, workshops to teach job and life skills, free access to the internet and hotspots -there are lots of things here that can save people money.”
Financial value aside, the Holmes Public Library is far more than a municipal building with material things inside -it is a learning center and refuge for the community -a gathering place where a price or budget cannot be placed on what can be gained there in enrichment and enlightenment. When asked what he hopes people take away from their experience at the Holmes Public Library, Benoit says, “That today is a good day to make a good habit. Fight the good fight with yourself. Education is freedom and it makes life a lot better for ourselves and everyone else.”
With society increasing in chaos and volume, and situations often seeming beyond our control, Benoit has some sage advice, “When you are feeling depressed and hopeless, the most beneficial thing you can do for your mental health is to go and do something kind for others. It creates a positive pathway in your brain that helps you realize and feel that you are a good person -and that makes it easier to love yourself. Here at the library, we spend our days helping our community and it makes us happy.” So, if you are in need of a pick-me-up on a day when you are struggling or feeling a bit gloomy, then it is an especially good day to visit the library. Everyone there is ready and willing to help, and you will find that regular visits to the library are one of the best good habits you can form.