If you decide to attend the 3 p.m. Sunday dedication of the new Clinton Public Library -- which you should because you helped pay for it! - you will see books galore, of course, but there is so much more.
The West Pitts Street facility was built for $4.3 Million in Capital Projects Sales Tax money, approved by Laurens County voters in the 2020 General Election. It is an additional 1 cent sales tax that will sunset 8 years from when it was enacted. A recent audit presentation to the Laurens County Council indicates that by the time the tax comes off, it will have generated more than enough to pay for the 16 projects that a citizens' group recommended and that voters approved.
This new library is 1,100 sq ft.
You will see the beginnings of a reading garden behind the Library. Two pillars from the Vance House are there, and the Bailey Foundation contributed the money for a rock stream and landscaping at the site.
You will see a children's room endowed by the family of the late Leslie Jackson. You will see a conference room where the county library board held its meeting Wednesday afternoon - the room can be accessed from the outside without entering the library proper, that will be important if the community room is used as a voting site. You will see a drive-thru in case you have a car full of kids and you don't want to unload them just to return or obtain a book. You will see a "vending machine" where you can check out laptops, in accordance with Library policies.
You can sit and read in the foyer if there's too much going on inside the Library proper for your taste. Because, this will be an active Library. Children will have access to supervised activites, sewing machines, crafting supplies, science projects, study rooms for small groups with projector TVs, a separate area for tweens so they can watch out for their ride and still hang with each other, and - things you likely can't see - a dedicated work space and break room for the Library staff. All, fully handicapped-accessible.
Eventually, outside, you will see wooden benches.
This is from the trees in Clinton felled by Hurricane Helene. The wood has to cure for 8 months, and now it is in the hands of building students at Piedmont Technical College to craft into benches.
You will be able to sit there in the heart of Uptown Clinton, watching trains go by, with the sun on your face, and the love of learning in your heart.
