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Library drive-thru

Progress reported on renovation; April opening estimated

ERIN O’NEILL The Marietta Times Danny Bosner, with Lang Masonry, lays bricks and mortar along the outside of the new Bookmobile garage Wednesday. The Lafayette Center location of the Washington County Public Library is set to open in April.

Thanks to an anonymous donation by a longtime library patron, a drive-thru location has become a reality, even if it might be a few more weeks before customers can actually use it.

It is looking like it will be early April before the new Lafayette Center location of the Washington County Public Library is officially open to patrons, according to library director Justin Mayo. The site was originally expected to open in early winter and then was pushed to March before the latest delay.

“The work should be done on schedule, but after thinking about it, I think it will take longer than a week for us to put up shelves and get books on them, plus all the other little things … cash registers, fax machines … so I do not have a hard date for opening,” Mayo said.

Jason Pierce, owner of Pierce Electric in Morgan County, said he believes the construction work will be done by the middle of March.

“It think it’s coming along and the weather has been really good,” he said Wednesday as his company was installing electrical boxes to the new garage building that will house the Bookmobile.

An existing building was purchased in May for $539,000 and was previously the location of Advantage Bank in Lafayette Center. Wolf Creek Construction in Waterford was contracted to do the renovation work with a $360,000 bid.

In November 2015, voters approved a 1-mill tax levy which would generate around $1.1 million for 2016 and $1 million for the remaining four years. Library officials assert that this expansion project has been in the works since 2007 and was made possible through the anonymous gift and other funds they have been setting aside for the project.

Mayo said the approximate $230,000 donation was left to the library from a man whose identity is not even known to him.

“The donation was through Edward Jones and was in place and part of the capital so there is no reallocation of funds,” Mayo explained.

The tax levy funds were earmarked for general operations for all branches in the county, which includes payroll. Mayo said the levy was not intended to fund the expansion but that the money for the project was saved up over the years.

The new branch will fulfill two major needs: handicapped accessibility and a home for the traveling Bookmobile, which had been discontinued in 2009 until was brought back last year. Part of the renovation includes a heated garage and restocking station and a small, quick-stop library with computers.

Mayo also cites the additional benefits of more parking and a centralized location.

“It’s a good location, right off a busy street in Marietta,” he said. “There will be no steps, and parking is closer. You don’t even need to get out of your car if you don’t want to. But there will also be five computers inside for use. “

Patrons will be able to browse a rotating collection, which will feature bestsellers. They can utilize the BookMyne smartphone app to place holds and pick up books at the branch either inside the building or via the drive-thru.

“If you want a book — any book you can think of — we’ll find it for you as fast as possible and contact you when it gets there,” says Mayo. “We’ll also be making some other exciting changes — we’re doing away with late fees, and we’ll be playing around with our hours to see what works best for the community.”

Mayo said he hopes the Lafayette Branch will become the new hot spot for book lovers in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“We’re preparing for the future of libraries,” he said. “We want to evolve with the times and go where the community needs us to go.”

Marietta Friends of the Library

¯ Meetings: Second Monday of the month, September through June, at 7 p.m. at the Library Annex, 617 Fifth St.

¯ Projects: New shelving, children’s programs, library trust through Marietta Community Foundation, microfilm reader for History and Genealogy Museum.

¯ Annual dues: $12 for individual, $25 for family.

¯ For more information, call 740-373-1057 or download an application at wclib.info/marietta

¯ Barlow: 740-678-0103 ¯ Belpre: 740-423-8381 ¯ Beverly: 740-984-4060 ¯ New Matamoras: 740-865-3386.

Library foundation

Washington County Public Library Foundation

c/o Marietta Community Foundation

P.O. Box 77, 100 Putnam St.

Marietta, Ohio 45750

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