Written by Elliott Coombes // Graphic by Ben Evans
A fundraiser is currently being held for the new Janett and Larry Crain Memorial Library. Participants can purchase a personalized brick with the patron’s choice of inscription. According to whitecountylibraries.org, the library is opening in September and plans to use the funds to furnish the new building.
“Whether you choose to inscribe your family’s name, honor a loved one, commemorate a special date, or inscribe a favorite literary quote, each brick purchased contributes essential funds for our new library,” the site said.
Each brick can be ordered online or with a postal form. Pricing is either $125 for a 4” x 8” brick with 3 lines or $275 for an 8” x 8” brick with 6 lines of text. The deadline for orders is March 31.
The renovation project has been active since August 2023, and has been in planning since 2020. Searcy Public Library director Darla Ino explained the planning process for the change to a bigger facility.
“We’ve been thinking about this a long time, and we are working on staffing as far as who will be in what spaces and the additional need that we have,” Ino said. “We will have two or three positions that will come open and we’ll have to get additional staff, but we have a lot of people right now that are just crammed all together, so they’ll actually be able to spread out.”
Teresa Scritchfield, the library branch manager, talked about preparing the current library stock for the change.
“We are weeding so we don’t have as many books to move,” Scritchfield said. “If they’re in really bad shape we’ll take them out, or if they haven’t been checked out in three years then we try and weed them.”
Scritchfield also said that a new order of nonfiction will be delivered to the new library to help with moving concerns.
In comparison to the previous library, which is 10,000 square feet, the Crain Memorial Library is 33,000 square feet. With that space, Ino and the other planners have come up with several new services to offer. Included is a passport office, where people can apply for a passport; a computer lab with 25 public access computers, more than double what is currently available; a business and career center; and a new art exhibition. Formerly a basketball court, this room had its walking track remodeled to serve as a public gallery for art pieces.
Other rooms will include new reservable study rooms, an expanded children’s wing, and a brand-new wing for teens, including their own media room, study room and recording studio. Ino also pointed out the upgrade for the meeting rooms.
“We’ve never had a teen library of any kind, but we’ll have the space for teens upstairs,” Ino said. “We have one small meeting room that holds about 20-25. This one, when it’s all opened up, can seat 200.”
In addition, the city will lease the adjacent building to a coffee shop so library goers have a coffee setup right next door. The walkway of purchased bricks will be presented from the front entrance of the library to the coffeeshop. The library will have an outdoor pavilion with access to Yancey Park, as well as a butterfly garden. The intent is to use not just the indoor, but the outdoor space of the library so it feels connected to the area and community around it.
