New Cabot library set to open Monday

Leisa Horness, genealogist at the Cabot Public Library, prepares for the library’s grand opening. The genealogy department has expanded with the new building, and Horness will be available to help patrons find out more about their ancestry.
Leisa Horness, genealogist at the Cabot Public Library, prepares for the library’s grand opening. The genealogy department has expanded with the new building, and Horness will be available to help patrons find out more about their ancestry.

To say Tammie Evans is excited about the new Cabot Public Library would be an understatement. As branch manager, Evans has been working long hours to reopen the library in its new location, and that hard work is about to pay off with the expected opening Monday.

Until recently, the Arlene Cherry Memorial Library of the Lonoke/Prairie County Regional Library System was located on North Grant Street in Cabot. The library name and location has changed with the renovation of a building at 909 W. Main St., and patrons and staff are ready to take advantage of the new capabilities offered at the Cabot Public Library.

“Every one of us is going to take a breath after it’s open,” Evans said of her staff. “Just the anticipation and preparation have been intense. … We know everyone is really excited. We’re excited. We are as ready to be open as the community is.”

The bright colors and new furniture make the new library look fresh, but the move was about a lot more than cosmetics. With the new library, patrons will have more access to computers, more seating, more meeting space and more research capabilities.

“At our old facility, we had about 12 computers that were running,” Evans said. “We have 25 now for patron use and checkout. Computer usage has been one of our most popular services, and I know people have been patiently waiting for us to open. It’s all new computers, so we’re very happy we were able to get that.”

Evans said the library was constructed with the intent that people would want to stay and work, read or hang out. In the new audiovisual section, there is a coffee bar, and just beyond that is a seating area where people can get off their feet, sip their coffee and read or work alone or in groups.

“The money for the coffee supplies is being donated by Centennial Bank,” Evans said. “That is very nice of them.”

One of the major draws to the library when it was on Grant Street was the children’s programming. The new library has a separate area for children and another room for teens, and Evans said there are plans to continue improving those areas.

The children’s area will have stations for preschool-age and school-age children with iPads stocked with age-appropriate learning apps.

“They will be able to get on there and play with the apps,” she said. “It won’t be here when we open, but we’re hoping to have that available in the next couple of months.”

Evans said she recently hired a librarian who is in charge of meeting with area students and maintaining the teen room at the library.

“She has been great for building the program from the ground up,” Evans said. “It used to be part of the children’s department. The children’s department has exploded, so it was time to separate the job descriptions. We have a lot of teens. This librarian has been able to start a new Teen Advisory Board, and they’ve been giving her really good ideas.”

Along with separate rooms for different age groups and individual seating scattered throughout the library, one of the major draws for the new building is the ability for groups to reserve space for meetings. There are several study rooms where two people can have a quiet place to study, two conference rooms that can accommodate up to 10 people, and one large community room with tables and chairs that can hold about 40 people.

“We have actually partnered with Arkansas State University-Beebe, and they are going to be holding three classes

here during the day,” Evans said of the large community room. “We’re going to have 40 laptops available for in-house checkout, and we’ll have those computers available for the classes. We’re looking at it being an educational meeting space, but we’re also available for nonprofit organizations who need space for meetings.”

Another major expansion that was a result of the move happened in the genealogy department. Evans said she has brought on a genealogist full time who has been working on digitizing the records owned by the library.

“It’s going to be a long project that will take her a lengthy amount of time to do, but she’s up for the task,” Evans said.

The library also has a library database for Ancestry.com, which patrons can utilize from home with their library card, and the library will provide classes on how to use the service.

Evans said the community response to the new library has been supportive. Patrons have been excited and forgiving of the construction delays, and local businesses have pitched in to help.

Employees from the Walmart Supercenter in Cabot helped the library staff move the book collection from the old building to the new building, and Evans said actions like that have helped in every stage of the move.

“Walmart actually donated a truck and trailer, a driver and about 20 volunteers to help us with our move,” she said. “We have 70,000 items in our collection, and with their help, we were able to make the move in a day and a half. … We had so much fun. They were all very happy to help and were excited about the new building.”

Staff writer Angela Spencer can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or aspencer@arkansasonline.com.

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