By Scott D. Johnston
Next year, the Ocean Shores Library will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of its present location, a purpose-built structure next to the Police Station .
Several members of the local, non-profit support group, Friends of the Library (FOL), will appear at the City Council meeting Monday, Nov. 27, to announce plans to celebrate that milestone with a major expansion project.
Robin Fickle, chairperson of the FOL Ad Hoc Committee, said part of the presentation that should especially please Council members is an explanation of how the 1,090-square-foot expansion will be funded primarily by the fruits of a gift from an individual who was truly among the “friends of the library.”
In the late 1990s, an avid Friend of the Library, June Kaba, bequeathed her entire estate to the Friends of the Library.” Her bequest specified the funds can only be used “for the expansion of the Library building in its current location.”
Fickle said the fund Kaba left has grown to about $250,000, and FOL is “ready to start the project with the help of the Library director, staff, Board of Trustees, and with the City’s approval.”
“She loved the library,” Fickle said of Kaba, and she very specifically wanted her estate to be used for expansion. “She didn’t want it to be used to move someplace else, or buy more books, or just keep the library going.”
Fickle said that, for any additional funds needed, “we’re looking at grants and help from local businesses, service clubs and fund-raising events.” A timely example is the “Library Sponsorship Tree” that will be featured at a “Library Expansion Kick-Off Open House,” from 3-5 p.m. Dec. 11. The big point, Fickle said, is that the project will be done without taxpayer funds.
She noted the City owns the library, must approve any expansion plans, and has been fully involved through Library Director Keitha Owen, who is part of the expansion committee. The priorities are ADA accessibility, expanded meeting space, and simply more room for current and future needs. The library’s meeting room is heavily used and often filled to capacity,. The plan will grow meeting room space by one-third, Fickle said. The presentation at the Nov. 27 Council meeting will show a floor plan detailing expansion of the current 4,200-square-foot building by about 25 percent, to a total of 5,290 square feet. Fickle, Owen and others will recall the library’s history, starting in 1972.
The presentation will state the case that, since the library opened in its present building in 1993, Ocean Shores’ population has nearly tripled and library usage has skyrocketed, while the library’s space has remained constant.
