Activities will help mark Library Week
In honor of National Library Week, Columbia County libraries will be offering several activities.
Geraldo Mata, of Augusta, works on the library's entrance in Evans. The library is scheduled to open in March 2006.
Photo by Quandra Collins
"It's been around since 1958," said Christina Rice, the director for Gibbs Library on North Belair Road, referring to National Library Week. "It's sponsored by the American Library Association.''
The week, which begins today and ends Saturday, is commemorated as a time to learn about valuable resources libraries have to offer.
The following events in honor of the week in Columbia County include: a story time at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Gibbs Library; a story time at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Harlem Library; an e-mail class for seniors at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gibbs Library; and a story time at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Gibbs Library and Euchee Creek Library.
Rice said people wanting to attend the storytime sessions should make reservations. To find out about more events, visit www.ecgrl.org.
As plans for the celebration kick off, county officials also are finalizing ideas for the county's library being constructed in Evans - a state-of-the-art, 41,000-square-foot building that will include an 8,000-square-foot performing arts facility with a stage and a 1,000-square-foot cafe, which will be operated by the business Serendipity.
"The building should be complete in November," and moving will take place in December, January and February, said Barry Smith, division director for the county's community and leisure services. "The library will officially open in March 2006, but we'll have a grand opening in the later part of April."
Smith said the Columbia County Community Events Committee is planning several festivities for the grand opening. He said he hopes the performing arts center will be used for community-based activities before March.
"We're trying to use the performing arts side (during the months) leading up to the library's opening. We'll go ahead and gauge some revenue and do some trial runs of the equipment, lights and sound," he said, mentioning that the center will be available to community groups in January.
Mark Chostner, the county's facilities manager, said the new library and performing arts center, which is being constructed near the Evans Government Complex behind the Columbia County Justice Center, is about 70 percent complete. He said it will cost nearly $13 million, mostly using special purpose local option sales tax money.