BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek Community Library celebrated its grand reopening with a ribbon cutting March 22.
“This all started with a vision from my deputy director, Elizabeth Cusack, to reach out to the community and say, ‘You supported us through our levies and it’s time we made your library the way you want it’,” Greene County Public Library Executive Director Karl Colón said at the ceremony.
Cusack conducted a community satisfaction survey in 2015 and a seating survey run within the library. She then secured $50,000 of funding through a LeanOhio grant “so that this would not only be a more beautiful library, but a far more effective one,” Colón said. Cusack also served as project manager on renovations.
The library closed its doors from Dec. 12, 2016 through Feb. 10, 2017 for construction.
“We are excited to be reopening our busiest library,” Cusack said in a release. “Many of the renovations will be apparent right away. Long time patrons of the library will immediately notice a larger meeting room, a more interactive children’s area, as well as remodeled ADA-compliant restrooms. The third point of the library’s strategic plan is to create a comfortable place to visit. That is exactly what we are doing in Beavercreek.”
In celebration of the updated children’s area, visitors enjoyed a magician and professional balloon-twister and an Ohio Henna artist during the grand reopening.
The upgrades will also provide patrons with faster, more efficient service, library officials said. Part of the improved experience will be the library’s automated material handling system — a machine that checks in and sorts library materials.
“The machine gets books back on the shelves faster and frees up staff for more meaningful patron interactions,” Information Technologies Coordinator Larry Fischer said in a release.
According to library officials, this renovation is the latest in a series of upgrades to the entire Greene County Public Library system. All of the library’s buildings are owned by local jurisdictions, except for Xenia Community Library and the library’s processing center. Since 2000, the library has worked with the communities to provide upgrades to each building as needed.
Of the seven library locations, Beavercreek’s is the highest circulating library in Greene County and serves the largest number of patrons.
“It’s a fantastic facility. It’s a bright spot in our community … It’s just a wonderful asset to have,” Mayor Bob Stone said at the ribbon cutting.
According to Beavercreek Township Trustee Carol Graff, the library first opened in 1979 after a group of community members spearheaded the idea to put a levy on the ballot to build a library. Later, the library was renovated in 1994 and enlarged in 2004.
“The evolution of the Beavercreek library — I’ve been around for the whole thing,” Graff said.
The library is located at 3618 Dayton-Xenia Road. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday (September-May).
