LC Library finishing renovations
Published 7:44 pm Saturday, January 23, 2016
The Lincoln County Library is heading into the finishing stages of its long-awaited renovations, while Friends of the Library continues to raise money for the project.
Lincoln-Lawrence-Franklin Regional Library Director Henry Ledet said the library renovations are still in progress and should be finished in the next few months.
Ledet said the library has been putting money aside, saving donations and gifts to come up with the money for the project without cutting into operating costs. Friends of the Library and groups and individuals in the community have made the initiative possible.
“We have not done anything to the building, this part of the building, since it was built in 1969,” Ledet said. “One thing we are doing is trying to bring it back to its mid-century period look.”
Renovations to the library include a new teen and young adult area. The teen area features a glass wall to block out noise and provide privacy to teens and young adults who visit the library. The library will be installing a counter with stools and plenty of outlets for visitors to use laptops, tablets and smartphones.
In addition, the major renovations to the adult seating area are complete, Ledet said.
“We’ve just gotten the new adult seating area furnished,” Ledet said. “It is supposed to be inviting so that adults will sit here and look at the magazines and the new books.”
Friends of the Library, a volunteer organization that raises money for the library, helped raise more than $10,000 last year to put toward the library’s renovations, said Pam Womack, Friends of the Library founder.
This year, the group hopes to start a program called Reading Growth, Womack said. The program will provide a system that teaches children to read.
“We want to do this program at the library because it is the bedrock for our community,” Womack said.
Friends of the Library will host its first meeting of the year on Feb. 4 at the library at 5:30 p.m. Womack said she encourages anyone interested in helping the community to come out and participate.