Scotland County Memorial Library sets new date for grand reopening

LAURINBURG — September is Library Card Sign-up month and to celebrate the Scotland County Memorial Library is gearing up for its grand reopening.

The grand reopening was originally scheduled for the beginning of August but was postponed due to Tropical Storm Debby blowing through the area. But on Sept. 19 the the library and the Laurinburg- Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m.

“We are excited to share our newly renovated space with the community which features upgrades to the interior and exterior,” Library Director Jenna Maley previously told the Exchange. “Our focus has been on improving the accessibility of the facility to include handicap-accessible doors, parking, and shelving. The new design is both functional and inviting.”

Anyone who cannot come to the ribbon cutting is encouraged to stop by anytime during operating hours on the 19.

Other library programs

September is also the start of some new programs for the library including a book club.

“The theme for library card sign-up month is transformers so I thought what a great time to start Lego Club back up,” said Library Program Coordinator Katelin Gandee. “Since I started I’ve had people asking if we’d bring Lego Club back for the kids so I’m excited to bring it back. It will be on the first Thursday of every month from 4 to 5 p.m. so the first one will be on Sept. 5.”

Gandee added there are no signup sheets or anything needed for Lego Club and is encouraging parents with kids of all ages to come in and build.

“We are also starting back our 1,000 books before kindergarten program so I’m encouraging everyone with kids not yet in kindergarten to come in and sign up,” Gandee said. “Early literacy is incredibly important and while 1,000 books seem like a lot if you read two books to your child a day that’s already 730 and it can be the same book over and over again. Parents can also tally up every book someone else reads to them so if you bring your child to our Tuesday Toddler Storytime that will count as a book for them as well.”

Gandee added there is a gift bag for those signing up for the program and logs for easy tracking of the books. There will also be a raffle every six months starting in January for a prize and the amount of books read will determine the amount of entries into the raffle.

“We also are going to be having our very first book club on Sept. 18 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.,” Gandee said. “We have six books, three fiction, and three nonfiction, for people to pick from. All you have to do is read one of the books and come ready to talk about it. All the books are actually from the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards list and we have all of them at the library or can order for you if it’s already checked out.”

The books include The Five Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand, Weyward by Emilia Hart, None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, The Art Theif by Michael Finkle, Spare by Prince Harry, and Astor by Anderson Cooper.

“If you want to stay up to date on all our activities at the library follow our Facebook account,” Gandee said “All updates and reminders go out on there and each month we share our monthly calendar which has most of our events on it.”