The Big Sandy Public Library will be celebrating the five year anniversary of the opening of the main street building on Monday, February 14th. To celebrate the new building’s birthday, they will be raffling off a quilt, which is on display at the library. Tickets are 6 for $5 and can be purchased at the library or from a member of the Friends of the Library. They will also be offering cookies and refreshments. Visitors can check out the various binders documenting the history of our branch and the efforts to build the new building. A slide show will be on display with photos of “How it happened.” There will also be a book sale. Darlene Cline, our local librarian, explained that the day “is a celebration of the all the support we have in the community and the patrons that keep using the library.”
The Big Sandy Public Library began in 1910, likely existing in a home at the time. Since then, it has occupied a number of spaces around town, from the building which is currently Christ Lutheran Church, to a structure which no longer stands near the railroad tracks, to the spot where it stood near the high school, and finally its current home on main street. A history of the librarians and locations can be seen at our local branch.
The original plan was for the old Kaste Department Store, which stood on the lot where the current library now is, to be heavily renovated in order to house the library. A long series of twists and turns in the story eventually resulted in the demolition of the old building and an effort to construct a new one. Ultimately, the total cost for construction was a little over $600,000. In a 2017 article on the new library, Robbie Lucke described the three local heroes who made the dream of a new building into a reality: Dee Pribyl, Marla Ray, and Ann Quinn. Their continual pushing throughout the years helped bring the dream to a reality.
The project itself received a lot of support from various foundations and groups, in the form of grants and gifts. Darlene points out that a lot of the money was raised in the community. This is part of what makes the Big Sandy Library stand out in our community. Our town helped make the new library happen and now they support it with their patronage and participation in the various programs and events. In turn, the library staff offers opportunities and engagement that serves our town well. There is a sort of cycle that takes place, where the community and the library feed each other and help each other grow and improve. In addition, the larger space has made all sorts of things possible that weren’t an option in the past. Many in the community use the library as a meeting place. “A lot of people live out of town. This is where they meet. This is where they are able to gather, like the meeting room. This week, we had people from out of town in the west and the southeast meet in the meeting room. It is the hub to meet. There are a lot of home school kids who come in and use the space.” Further, the larger space has made it possible to expand programming for children. The summer reading program served 94 kids last summer with 57 attending the end of season party. Daily story times took place throughout the summer, as well as crafts, lessons, games, and other activities for kids.
The anniversary party on the 14th is from 2-5 and is an opportunity to celebrate a community achievement and an institution with more than 110 years of serving our community.
