The Cormier Center for Young Adults teen area of the Leominster Public Library has a neon sign hanging within a bank of interior windows. The top line is the signature of its namesake - Robert Cormier - in red letters. The second and third lines are in white and read CENTER FOR YOUNG ADULTS in block capital letters.
Since 1978 the Cormier Center has been the place in the Leominster Library teens call their own. The Cormier Center is located on the library’s second floor and was formerly known as the Young Adult Center, or “YAC” for short.
The Center was dedicated on Sunday, April 7, 2002, to the memory of internationally acclaimed YA author and longtime library supporter, Robert Cormier.
Bob, a lifelong resident of Leominster, also served as a library trustee and was an early advocate of a separate teen space within the library. He often “just happened to drop by” during meetings of REACT, the library’s award-winning teen book discussion group, when one of his books was being discussed. Bob genuinely liked young adults and always treated them with honesty and respect, in person and in his writing. It is altogether fitting that the library’s space for teens now bears his name.