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Hartselle Enquirer

Priceville puts finishing touches on new library

The Town of Priceville is putting the finishing touches on the renovation of a commercial building that will soon become the new Linda Duran Public Library.

Librarian Paula Hensley, part-time employee Courtney Wright and Priceville High co-op student Heather Stapleton were busy cataloging books and placing them on shelves Thur., Sept. 25. More shelving was ordered earlier in the week.

“Most of the renovation has been done and we’re looking forward to a ribbon cutting and open house, probably on a Sunday afternoon in the near fiuture,” said Mayor Melvin Duran. “We want everyone to come see what has been done to convert a 6,500 square foot commercial building into an amazing new space for our library.”

The library is named for the late wife of Mayor Duran. Who served as the town’s court magistrate and office manger for 27 years.

“The library she helped start in a converted residence in 2000 was her pride and joy,” Duran stated. “She would be the first to applaud what the town has done to provide a bigger and better library for its citizens to use and enjoy.”

Features of the new library include a children’s area, librarian’s office, four-station computer room, video room, conference room tutoring room and storage area. It also utilizes a large paved and striped parking lot, handicap access and seven restrooms.

Councilman Tommy Perry, who heads up the Library Committee, said the library renovation would not have been possible had it not been for the many hours of work contributed by the town’s employees as well as citizen volunteers.

“Our maintenance workers and firefighters did most of the repair work and improvements inside the building,” Perry said. “The only two jobs that were done under contract were installation of carpet and sealing and striping the parking lot.”

He estimated the cost of the renovation between $25,000 and $30,000.

“One thing the new library offers that the old one didn’t is room for growth,” Perry said.

“We talked about a new location and new library before we bought this building,” Duran said. “After checking with officials of other small cities that had built new libraries, we realized a lock and key building project would cost about $1.1 million.”

“We started the library with a $25,000 grant the city received with the help of former State Senator Tom Butler,” Duran recalled. “We also had a trailer load of surplus books donated to us by the Orange Beach Library.”

Hensley said grants, town and county government appropriations and fundraisers sponsored by Friends of the Library have enabled the library to grow steadily. It now has about 6,500 titles available and about 3,000 members.

“We want more people to get a library card and become a frequent patron,” Hensley pointed out. “The more members we have, the better are our chances are to receive grant assistance.”

The next Friends of the Library fundraiser will be a 5K and 10K run on Nov. 1.

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