DENTON — Politicians, law enforcement, children and librarians all met at the Caroline County Public Library on Saturday to celebrate the completion of a years-long renovation.
Over and over, people said the space feels brighter and more open. But beyond the library’s physical appearance, the renovation project was designed to help the library continue to function as a hub of the community, offering a variety of programming for library patrons of different ages.
“We have got gaming stations in the teen zone and for adults we have study rooms and zoom meetings for tutoring,” Nancy Pollen, a library associate said. “We make it so much fun. We have puppet programs and read to a beagle.”
The group gathered for a ribbon cutting amidst the stacks of books.
Years of effort went into raising money and designing the new space. An architect of the project, Connie Kumor of RMM Architects, brought her family to the grand opening.
“A lot of the design was making the space more friendly and open,” Kumor said. “When we started the project, especially the children’s area, there was a big dividing wall right down the middle, and there were no restrooms for families to use while they were in this space, and the lighting levels were a bit tough for a library environment. We really wanted to open up the space for everybody and make it more inviting.”
Kumor said that all the renovation work was done to the interior and that the original footprint of the building did not change. She noted that Executive Director Debbie Bennett has been planning this project for a long time, and Kumor was happy to see it completed.
Bennett, who is retiring at the end of June after decades of service, was whirling around in the midst of many wellwishers.
“This is terribly exciting,” Bennett said. “We started in the fiscal year of 2019. We did a space utilization study and a design plan, then the renovation of the first floor, finally the replacement of the slate on the back pitched roof and a major upgrade on the elevator.”
She said that this is one of her major legacies. It continued the effort that was started by the library founder John Hargreaves in 1961.
She also cited the Maryland State Library Capital Grant and all political support the library got from state legislators. There were also several large donations and hundreds of small donations from the community.
“We have a small but mighty Friends of the Library,” Bennett said. “I asked them to raise $50,000 for furniture, which wasn’t included in the grant. They raised $78,000.”
Irene Padilla, the state librarian who was present at the ribbon cutting, said, “We know what a great resource this is for Caroline County. Libraries play an important role in the success of any community.
“Beyond the 1,000s of books that you have on your shelves, there is the access to computers, the internet, makerspace, printing services and a myriad of digital resources. Thank you to the professional staff. We all need their help to succeed in the 20th century.”
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