Thanks to generous donations from local residents, renovation of the Rossville Public Library is right on schedule, according to library officials.
With help from the community, the library was able to raise approximately $70,000 to be put toward the project, in addition to the $320,000 already contributed by the state, said Lecia Eubanks, director of the Cherokee Regional Library System.
“It’s a great indication of the community’s support of the public library and what we’re trying to do for the community,” she said.
Almost $11,000 of those funds were raised during an informal fundraiser at the construction site on Dec. 13, Eubanks said. The fundraiser, hosted by Rossville Mayor Teddy Harris, state Sen. Jeff Mullis and new Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield, took attendees through the building to let them see the progress that had been made.
“It was pretty bare,” Eubanks said. “But we could certainly show them around, and they could start to see the [library] shaping.”
The remainder of the $70,000 was collected by the library’s Capital Campaign Committee, made up of Rossville Public Library board members, which solicited donations for naming opportunities.
In exchange for sizable donations, benefactors were able to have sections of the library named after loved ones to honor or memorialize them. The names show the history of Rossville, said Eubanks, with some belonging to people instrumental in erecting the original building.
As of press time, only two of the larger naming opportunities remained: the last of the three new study rooms and the new book reading area, which each require a $5,000 donation to name.
Those who donated smaller amounts were gifted a leaf or an apple to be placed on the library’s legacy tree, which will be stationed in the foyer. Such smaller donation options come at three levels – $100 or $200 for different sized leaves and $300 for an apple – though also include the opportunity to honor someone through the donation. Each donor will submit a loved one’s name and a brief message to be placed on the item of his or her choosing.
“It’s really going to be nice to go through the new space and see these names and these families that have chosen to honor and memorialize their loved ones,” Eubanks said. “It just personalizes the library.”
Donations for places on the legacy tree are still being accepted.
With a large summer reading club and 25,000 visitors a year, Library Manager Carmella Clark said the library was outgrowing its space, prompting operations to be temporarily moved to the Rossville Athletic Center so the original building could be repurposed to provide more of the needed space with no additional square footage.
“We want to make it more appealing and inviting for the public,” she explained.
So far, much of the renovation has been completed. The building has been gutted, all the LED lights have been installed, new storefront-style doors have been placed and the walls for the public computer area have been built.
Workers are now laying porcelain tiles that look like wood flooring in the public bathroom and foyer, installing ceiling tile and setting up the computer wiring.
When construction is complete, visitors will see a host of new features. The repurposed space will offer a teen center filled with age-appropriate reading material, casual seating, computers and “plenty of USB ports for them to plug up their devices,” said Eubanks.
“I’m super-excited about them having a place and a little niche in the library to come to,” she added.
The library will also have three private rooms equipped with conference tables that can be reserved by anyone with a library card for study sessions or small meetings. Eubanks is hoping the new rooms will spur a tutoring program like the one at LaFayette-Walker County Public Library, where retired teachers are paired with students for one-on-one sessions at no cost to the family.
With a community facilities grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the repurposed space will also be filled with new technology, including a mobile Chromebook lab, which Eubanks said would hopefully be used to teach community members how to better utilize technology.
Most importantly, the walls will finally get a new shade of paint to replace the out-of-style mauve color that has dominated since the library’s creation in 1987.
“None of us are going to miss that mauve on the wall,” Eubanks laughed. “It was definitely a 1980’s building.”
Construction, which started in October, is expected to be completed in March, and the staff is expected to move back into the library’s permanent McFarland Avenue location in April.