The towns of Weymouth, Norwell, and Kingston are getting more than $25 million in state money to build new libraries.

The grants from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners cover about half the costs of the projects, which require local approval for the remainder of the funds. The local portion must be authorized by mid-January 2018.

The commissioners voted July 13 to award $67 million altogether to nine communities, after reviewing applications from 33 libraries, according to a press release.

Twenty-four communities, including Hingham and Sharon, had their library projects placed on a waiting list for future money.

Weymouth will use its $12 million grant to demolish and rebuild the town’s Tufts Library in Weymouth Landing. The library was built in 1965 and is in need of substantial repairs. Plans for the new library included an expanded children’s department, meeting rooms, and a local history center.

“This is a banner day for Weymouth and Tufts Library,’’ said library services director Robert Maclean. “After 52 years, today marks a new chapter for building a new library that can provide Weymouth residents with the kind of 21st-century library services that they need and deserve.’’

Norwell will receive $6.4 million toward a new, bigger, one-story, more energy-efficient library at the site of the current one, which would be razed. The new building would more than double the amount of both interior square footage and parking spaces.

The total cost is estimated at $15.4 million.

Kingston is getting $6.9 million toward an estimated $16 million project. The current library is housed in a former telephone switching station that was built in 1971 and was last expanded in 1994. That building would be demolished and replaced by one almost twice as big at the same location.

Mary Ann Cluggish, chairwoman of the Board of Library Commissioners, said public libraries provide residents equal access to information technology, resources, and programming. She noted that attendance at public library programs has increased 49 percent since 2006, and that every 5.5 seconds a Massachusetts resident accesses the Internet through a public library.

“We’re sometimes asked whether libraries are still necessary in this digital age,’’ Cluggish said. “The answer is an overwhelming yes.’’

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.