Library Ready to Celebrate 130th Anniversary

Helen Matthes Library officials are ready to celebrate the 130th anniversary of a public library in Effingham.

The celebration is to be held Tuesday, July 30.  Activities will include a special Story Time at 10am and cupcakes and punch and a butterfly release at 10:30am.

The day will also mark the kickoff of a challenge to get 130 new donors toward the new library renovation project.  Library Director Amanda McKay said they are seeking donors at the $500 pledge level or higher.  McKay said the goal is to secure the 130 donors within 60 days of the start of the campaign.

Library board members heard that the fundraising effort is at 14% of goal and that campaigners are still getting good responses.  McKay said work on construction documents is progressing, and that the original architect from Chicago, Christian Schaller, is back on the project after reopening their Chicago office.

The Board also set a lease price for storage space in the basement of the future library home.  The price is $800/month plus property taxes.  About 2,000 square feet of space will be available.

In current library news, numbers are good for this year's Summer Read Program, about the same as last year for both kids and adults, and a new service called Zineo, featuring downloadable magazines, will be available as of August 1.  McKay said close to 100 magazine titles will be available.