Posted 2:00 pm Thursday, February 02, 2012
Multipurpose Library Slated For Grand Opening Feb. 18
By KELLY GOOCH
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
East Texans are invited to celebrate the grand opening of the McMillan Memorial Library building in Overton later this month.
The event is slated for 2 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 18 at the new facility, 401 South Commerce St. There will be a ribbon cutting, posting of the colors, refreshments and tours for those who are interested, said Colleen Randel, an active member of Friends of the Library.
"I think it's going to be quite a nice activity ...," she said. "I believe everyone should be aware of it."
The McMillan Memorial Library is aimed at providing more space and opportunities for patrons.
It entails more than 10,000 square feet and sits almost directly across from the Bruce McMillan Jr. Foundation offices.
Foundation President Todd Meadows has said the facility will primarily function as a library, with new furniture and a teen room, among other amenities. But it also will include a program room -- a large room that community groups can use for meetings and other gatherings.
Those features provide a lot more space for books and allow programs, such as the computer program, quilting class, Baby and Me and Book Talk, to run concurrently, Ms. Randel said.
"People have been thinking about it a long time so it's great it's come to fruition. The library is an important part of the community, and this way it can serve the community better," she said.
The $2 million project is being funded by the Bruce McMillan Jr. Foundation, a perpetual trust set up in the 1950s in memory of Bruce McMillan Jr., who died of leukemia when he was 8 years old.
Meadows said in December he believes the Overton library is likely the busiest in the Rusk County library system. Therefore, it had outgrown its space and needed new room and a new facility.
"The foundation saw (this) as an opportunity to give something to the city," Meadows said. "It can be a great gathering place for meetings as well as a good facility."
Overton schools have their own library, he said, but teachers bring students to the Overton library for different functions. A summer reading program also is in place.
As far as the current facility, the foundation has not yet decided what to do with it, and it is closed as the library moves.
The McMillan Memorial Library started in 1934 as the Overton Public Library and was housed at the Overton Chamber of Commerce building, according to the library's history which was read at the new facility's April groundbreaking.
In 1956, the library was dedicated to the memory of Bruce McMillan Jr.'s mother, Mary Moore McMillan and Bruce. The current library building was then constructed the following year, according to the library's history. The history states that the building was later renovated and expanded in 1972 and 1989, doubling its size to about 3,600 square feet.
Now, the library is being enlarged once again. Ms. Randel said moving is still taking place, but chances are that the new facility will be open for business the week of Feb. 13.
