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The library's board of trustees is about to kick off a fundraising campaign for a $1.9 million relocation and expansion. More than 40 percent of the money already has been secured through grants.
The move will shift the 129-year-old library from its current site in the Christiana Ledger building on Bridge Street to the roomier former Wachovia Bank building at 9 W. Slokom Ave., vacated in 2004.
The Ledger building, which housed the town newspaper from 1882 until the early 1950s, has about 1,200 square feet, while the ground floor of the new building alone will double the library's space at 2,503 square feet. The lower level, called Phase Two, with 2,055 square feet, "will double our size again," said LaVerne "Bud" Rettew, president of the library's board of trustees.
Over the past 20 years, the library's circulation has tripled, so growth is vital, he said.
"With this new facility, we should be prepared for many years in the future, as far as activities are concerned," Rettew said. "We'll be able to have more books, more DVDs, and serve the public better."
The main floor will house the library's books, computers, media center and a history room that will be inside the bank vault. The vault is being retained but will be open at both ends to allow people to walk through it.
The lower level will contain a meeting room, book repair station, family research center, local history research center, documents pertaining to the 1851 Christiana Resistance, microfilm of all the Christiana Ledger newspapers and possibly a coffee shop and used book store.
This is a far cry from the cramped conditions the library has at present.
"If there are a couple of people at the desk checking out, there's not much room for anybody else to do much of anything," Rettew said. "Here, we'll have plenty of room."
The library trustees were lucky to get the building when it suddenly came up for auction in 2007.
"We didn't have any money," Rettew said.
Dr. James Harrison came to the rescue, offering to bid on the building, and if he was successful, to hold it until the library had the funds to buy it from him at his cost. The trustees reimbursed Harrison from grant money in 2008.
"There was not one penny difference between what he paid for it versus what we paid for it," said Jack Assetto, who chairs the capital campaign.
So far, 43 percent of the needed $1.9 million has been secured through state and local funding sources, including a $500,000 Keystone grant, a $250,000 Urban Enhancement grant from Lancaster County Commissioners, a $35,000 United Disabilities grant and a $20,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
"The $1.9 million goal includes $1.3 million for purchase of the building and renovations, and $600,000 for an endowment fund," Assetto said.
The former bank, built around 1910, sports a new handicapped ramp. The drive-through window area will be removed.
The library has been housed in various locations since its founding in 1880, including the home of its namesake, William B. Moore. The new location will be something of a homecoming: The library was housed in the building's club room when it was Christiana National Bank.
Rettew said the new Moores Memorial Library should open in mid-2010, "no earlier than that."
Like many in this small community, Rettew is eager for the new library to open its doors.
"I'm really happy that we're going to be able to move and find more space, because we've been growing by leaps and bounds as far as users are concerned," he said. "We're just pushing out the walls now. The current facility is just so crowded."
E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com
