ASHLAND – The Ashland Public Library officially launched a new era Monday afternoon with a ribbon cutting and re-dedication following a nearly three-month renovation project.
“This renovation is a cornerstone to our mission to connect people with ideas, information and inspiration. We are excited to start this next chapter in our history of serving the Ashland community,” Library Director William Rutger said Monday.
A large crowd including city council members, county commissioners and many other community leaders took advantage of the ceremony Monday to get their first look at the remodeled library.
The main floor of the library closed on May 2, with a limited selection of materials available in the “Express Library” set up in the basement meeting room. The whole library closed on July 11 to allow workers to complete the renovations and to give employees time to be trained and get acclimated to the new organizational structure.
The library re-opened to large crowds Monday, July 25, but the official ceremony was delayed until this week.
During Monday’s ceremony, Rutger paid special thanks to the two benefactors who made the renovation project possible: Inez Page and Nancy Stockwell.
“Their contribution has transformed this library for the next generation of readers.”
Plaques bearing their names will be placed in the library.
Rutger also thanked the Friends of the Ashland Public Library. “We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of individuals volunteering their time to make the library what it is.”
The companies who completed the renovation work — Library Design, CFI Interiors, Barto Decorating, Vector Security, Imhoff Construction, SoftPlay, Shakley Mechanical and BCU Electric — were all recognized for their roles in the renovations.
“Everything you see here is a result of a collaboration of all those individuals and companies working together to see our vision come to life,” Rutger said.
One of the highlights of the renovation project was the kids play area, which was full of youngsters playing during Monday’s ceremony. The play area was installed in the area formerly occupied by the periodicals, and is closed off from the rest of the library.
Other physical changes included new lights, carpet, furniture and paint; a centralized customer service desk; and collections were moved to different sections of the library.
Sandra Tunnell, president of the Ashland Public Library Board of Trustees, thanked the public for their patience with the library during the work.
“When we were only down in the basement in the large meeting room, people kept coming in all the time. There were constantly people here,” Tunnell said. “People are just so excited to come to the library. The opening day last week was packed. You couldn’t walk because there were so many people here.”
Tunnell said there are lots of things for people to do at the library, and the board is focused on providing opportunities for the community.
“This part of our strategic planning process about making the library be a center for the community,” Tunnell said. “The idea is to make the library a community center where you can come and hang out with your kid.”
“The staff has been great to work with and they’ve done so much work,” Tunnell said, praising the library employees.
Aaron Bates, president of the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce Board, presented Rutger with a plaque and thanked him and the staff for all their hard work.
“On behalf of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, we want to congratulate you for all the effort it took to renovate the library, to renovate the heart of downtown Ashland here and to be an advocate for collaboration. It is such a great example of what we want our community to be,” Bates said.
The library has a full slate of events scheduled now that they have reopened. This week, a puppet show with the Madcap Puppets will take place Thursday at 1 p.m. at Corner Park. Saturday will be the traditional end of the summer reading program Touch-A-Truck event at 10 a.m.
