Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 19, 1991 TAG: 9104190198
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV14 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
The 8,700-square-foot Radford Public Library at 30 First St. is celebrating by declaring April "fine-free" month, meaning overdue material borrowed from the library can be returned without penalty.
Scrapbooks, newspaper articles, photographs and library memorabilia will be displayed through May. The exhibit reviews the library's history, from a room in the recreation building across the street to its present facility.
Head Librarian Ann Fisher said many materials have been returned, some of which have been overdue for as long as a year.
The current library opened in 1980 after many delays in getting it funded and built.
People in Radford began talking about a new library as early as 1959, when the first plans were drawn up.
In 1964, a bond referendum that included the library failed. Plans were again drawn but had to be scrapped when local money was needed to rebuild Radford High School, which burned in 1970.
"By the time I got here, it was critical," said Fisher, who joined the library staff in 1977.
The library room in the recreation building had small aisles between rows of books. Even the middle of the aisles were filled with more books.
The old library was "essentially a single room provided in the recreation building . . . as just a reading room," said Paul Steele, treasurer of the Lamplighters, the library's Friends group. "It was real crowded. They just did the best they could with the space they had, but it was very inadequate."
Today's library has plenty of walking room between the rows of books. Shelves have been added over the past 10 years, but there also are plenty of tables and chairs for patrons - including the 50 to 60 students who come down the hill every afternoon from Radford High School and Dalton Intermediate.
"Every seat in this place is filled in the afternoon," Fisher said.
The library was built in 1979 using all local money - private and city funds - and a dedication was held the following spring.
As the library enters its 51st year, plans are under way to add just under 5,000 square feet to the children's section. The addition will include a children's librarian work area, a work room, a children's circulation desk and a story time meeting room.
The renovations are needed because the front area is all "stack area," or bookshelves, with little floor space.
The improvements are in the city's 1994-95 capital improvement plan with a price tag of $390,000, including replacing the roof and carpeting in the existing library, City Manager Bob Asbury said.
The Lamplighters are developing a fund raiser to help pay for the improvements, said Barry Anderson, the group's president. And Library Services and Construction Act funds that pay up to 50 percent of a project might be available.
The library has five full-time and eight part-time workers. Hours are 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday; 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturdays; and 2-5 p.m. on Sundays during the school year.
by CNB