Published: March 18, 2008 11:48 pm      

A ‘Jaw-Dropping’ addition: Library's grand opening slated

The newly completed New Waverly Public Library has been open for the last week, and several community groups have already utilized the building’s various rooms and amenities.

According to library board president Ron Kolb, he and the rest of the staff have received nothing but positive responses on the building, and Kolb expects patronage at the library to continue steadily before a grand opening scheduled for April 26.

“We opened last Monday and we haven’t been closed since,” Kolb said. “Since that time, people have been coming in larger numbers as every day went by, and by our grand opening, we expect many people will have come through.”

Adults, children, toddlers and even elderly community members have visited the library since its completion, Kolb said.

“We’ve had toddlers come in and go right to the kids’ section, and we’ve found them in different sections and chairs in the library with books in their laps,” he said. “Also, the adults that have been here are very delighted to see many more things on the shelves in addition to all of our books, like our video and audio collections.

“They’re really extensive and they’ve been very popular.”

Kolb said the public has also been impressed with the amount of technology available to library patrons.

“We have 18 computers available in the library, and we’re the only wireless Internet hot spot in town,” he said. “We basically have state-of-the-art computer equipment here, and we also have two large screen televisions where news items and events are posted.”

Several community groups from both New Waverly and Huntsville have utilized parts of the library including the group-oriented Community Room.

“The Huntsville-Walker County Chamber of Commerce has used our community room for meetings, and we’re also working closely with the school district,” Kolb said. “Of all of the sections available in the library, the Community Room has been very popular.”

Kolb said one of the only problems the library has had so far is an over-abundance of books and other reading materials.

“A lot of the adults that have come in are so happy to see the way the building has turned out that they’re donating their own recently purchased books,” he said. “We’re happy to have the problem of finding space for too many books.”

One of the most important people working to organize the high volume of books in the library is director Betty Smith.

“Smith has been collecting these books over the years when we had no space at City Hall and keeping them in good shape,” Kolb said. “She’s gotten them organized as they came in and she’s still working on that and asking for more shelving.

“She has been our dollar-a-year director for over 18 years, and she is a very hard worker.”

Overall, Kolb said he is very pleased with the progress made in the library so far, and he is excited to see more people visit the library in the coming months.

“I’m very much pleased, particularly with the responses of the people who have seen the library,” he said. “After finally getting the building finished, seeing a person’s jaw drop when they come in is a nice response, and it’s what we’ve wanted to see for many years.”