St. Marys Public Library
Recent Press Releases
St. Marys Public Library granted state matching funds for expansion
$1.1
million construction project to double space at facility
ST. MARYS (July 16, 2009) —
The St. Marys Public Library will begin a major transformation in the coming
months – a $1.1 million construction project that will double the size of the
facility.
The Georgia General Assembly
and Gov. Sonny Perdue recently approved $860,000 in capital outlay funds for the
L-shaped library at 100 Herb Bauer Drive in St. Marys. Those funds will be
combined with $256,683 from a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, to add
7,500 square feet to the library.
The St. Marys Public Library
expansion is one of 11 new library projects that Gov. Perdue included in his
original capital outlay recommendations in January. The budget recently approved
by the legislature included seven additional critical library design and
construction projects.
"Georgia's public libraries
are deeply appreciative to the governor and to the legislature for the state
matching funds for these 18 library construction projects," State Librarian Dr.
Lamar Veatch, in a statement released by Georgia Public Library Service. "We are
gratified that the state's leadership recognizes the continued importance of
public libraries as vital educational and informational resources in our
communities. Our capital construction program, which combines state and local
funding, continues to be a great model of cooperation."
The St. Marys
Public Library staff and board have waited a long time for the project to become
a reality, and several people were responsible for maintaining the momentum.
However, one person, the late
Bill Blankenship, a former library manager and board chairperson, is credited
with igniting the spark back in 1998, said Judy Armantrout, manager of the St.
Marys Public Library. Board president Arlene Norris agreed, and added that the
library’s success over the decades is a testament to the commitment and hard
work of many donors, volunteers and library staff.
“We are very proud of our
library,” said Norris, who heads the library’s board of trustees. “But we are
excited about the new design and what it will allow us to offer the community.”
The library's current
collection tops 42,000 items, including books in large and regular print,
audiobooks on cassette and CD, videos and DVDs. Patrons check out more than
100,000 items annually.
The library also offers free Internet access. Public computer use at the St.
Marys Public Library has been steadily increasing, a trend also noted at other
libraries within the Three Rivers Regional Library System and across the nation.
The expanded library, designed by Roswell-based Pope/Partners Architects, Inc.,
will result in a spacious area for public computers and a larger children’s
department, Norris said.
There’s no timeline just yet,
indicating exactly when the work will begin and when it will be completed, said
Armantrout. The next step will be a bond sale conducted by the Georgia State
Finance and Investment Commission.
“We hope our patrons will
pardon our dust once construction gets underway,” Armantrout said, “But when the
dust clears, we’re going to be bigger and better.”
