November 17, 2022 saw the Todd County Public Library have a groundbreaking ceremony with construction on the new 12,900 square-foot facility now officially completed.
June 6, 2024 saw the building receive its “Certificate of Occupancy,” and September 7, 2024 saw the library have its last day at its former 302 East Main Street address. The Todd County Public Library Board of Trustees proudly announces Monday, October 7, 2024 will see a “soft opening” of the new library at its 507 South Main Street address. Hours of operation are also expanded as patrons will have access to the library from 8:00 AM until 7:00 PM on Monday through Thursday, from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM on Friday, and from 9:00 AM until 1:00 PM on Saturday. Mrs. Mitzi Page, secretary of the Board of Trustees and the daughter of a former director, Mrs. Anise Warden, shared, “We are so very pleased the end of this construction journey will see Todd County have its first new facility in the long history of the Todd County Public Library, a history that spans almost 40 years since the library first opened at 302 East Main Street in the late 1980s.”
The new library, which has been made possible through a grant from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA), is a facility that will add much needed space for the library patrons of Todd County. The KDLA grant financing the project will provide $212,150 yearly for a total of 20 years to offset its cost. Please note two of those years have already occurred. Total cost for the construction was approximately $4.1 million, a figure just slightly higher than what was projected in the library’s KDLA grant application submitted in late 2021. Signing of a contract for the new construction occurred on November 17, 2022, followed immediately with a groundbreaking ceremony that same day. Although the project suffered some delays because of weather in its early stages, the project progressed smoothly to the finish line.
For those not familiar with the term “soft opening,” the public is reminded “glitches” will likely occur as the library staff works to adjust to the changes of the expanded library, the relocation of items from the former location, and the finalizing of network and Internet connections. Those “glitches” will continue to surface until the computer and networking equipment that have been ordered have arrived and the installation of that equipment has been completed. Hopefully, that process will soon take place. Of note as well is the fact some necessary furniture and shelving have also not arrived, and that will again entail waiting for those items to arrive. Obviously, over the next few months other changes will occur as the library adjusts the placement of furniture, shelving, and other items.
For those not familiar with the services of the Library, the Todd County Public Library provides reading materials and DVDs as well as magazines and newspapers for the public; the Bookmobile also provides reading materials to citizens throughout the county who are not able to travel to the existing library. Copies and faxes are also available to the public with many other patrons being regular users of available computers. Quite a few visitors to the library are also there to delve more into their family’s history, and others are also there to view copies of the Todd County Standard, historical documents, and some class yearbooks of former schools in Todd County. GED classes are offered as well, and one of the most favorite current activities of the Library is “Storytime,” a designated time for the young ones of the county to enjoy a specialized reading activity designed especially for them. That activity, which typically occurs on Friday mornings throughout the year, also provides socialization skills for the younger age group.
It is again very important to express thanks to Kelvin and Lorie DeBerry, Brad and Mandy Shemwell, the late Guy Mallory, and the James Randolph Mallory family for their contributions making the site for the library possible. The DeBerry and Shemwell families, partners in local real estate investments, sold the South Main Street property several years ago to the library board at a discounted price as the board anticipated future construction and awaited a state KDLA grant. The late Guy Mallory and his father, the late James Randolph Mallory, and their family also donated, prior to Mr. Guy Mallory’s death in 2018, an additional piece of land enlarging the new site to its current size. Members of the current library board include Heath Shemwell, Tiffany Groves, John Paul Leinbach, Mitzi Page, and CLW. Two members exiting the board in the last few years who were instrumental in planning for the new library include Mrs. Susan Carroll and Mrs. Brittany Prather.
The Board of Trustees also expresses its heartfelt thanks to Paul Edwards, local citizen and husband of Joyce Latham Edwards, for his assistance with putting together many of the furniture items at the new library. Likewise, gratitude is extended to the Problem Packers for their tackling the moving of the “old library” to the new library. That effort, which took about eight days, involved the dismantling of shelving, putting shelving together, and packing and unloading the countless boxes of books, computers, and other items between the two facilities. The board also shares a formal grand opening will occur at a later date.
~ Article by Carolyn L. Wells
October 2, 2024
