Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 2, 1993 TAG: 9309020695
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
One can excuse her incredulity - plans for upgrading the school's library have been in progress since she became librarian in 1972.
"In the mid-'60s when the school was built - while I was in college - an elementary library was simply a book room," she said. "It was 1968 before the state of Virginia decided elementary schools needed a library with a real librarian."
As early as 1971-72, the Southern Association of Schools mentioned that storage space for the Green Valley library was insufficient, and a 1976 self study determined that the library must be expanded. A proposal submitted to the state's Literary Fund in 1982 was accepted, but the funds were frozen. Another application was submitted in 1984, but the funds were diverted.
"The governors depended upon the Literary Fund to balance the budget," Chamberlain said. "Each time a proposal was accepted, I started planning what I would do on moving day. I even had people saving bags for the move."
In 1986, the plan got as far as the architectural drawings before the boom was lowered. State law prohibited a new addition unless all other areas were brought up to specifications, and Green Valley's three kindergarten rooms were too small to meet state requirements.
Funds for kindergarten renovation were not available, so the library plans were delayed.
But principal Dave Trumbower, the school staff, Chamberlain and her library volunteers were not about to give up. They had Roanoke County School Superintendent Bayse Wilson, the Roanoke County School Board and the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors backing them.
"Dr. Wilson joked that he would not retire until he saw the project completed," Trumbower said.
With the approval of the School Board and the supervisors, the school went to the Virginia Public School Authority in November 1992, and in February their proposal was accepted. They were granted a loan to add a new wing.
Appreciative of the combined efforts of volunteers, PTA, students and staff on behalf of the library project, the school conducted a survey to get feedback on what these groups saw as needs. Many suggestions were incorporated in the plan.
The new wing will house the library on the top floor and provide three spacious kindergarten rooms with a connecting patio on the lower level. Because of the terrain, both areas will be accessible at ground level.
The space vacated by the library and kindergarten will be occupied by the Chapter I program and computer labs - now housed in trailers - and the English as a Second Language program, which now works in the hall, Trumbower said.
"We will also have air conditioning in the entire building, and we're installing new lighting in all classrooms," Trumbower said. He hopes to have the air conditioning and lighting completed by the time school opens. Other construction will not be finished until late winter or early spring.
"I will have to gather all the patience I can muster to go back for one more year to that crowded room with books packed to the ceiling," Chamberlain said.
Although she knows building plans do not always proceed on schedule, Chamberlain said she hopes to move in before the end of the school year. But 20 years of waiting have made her cautious about anticipating the move.
"I have all this information tucked away in my head from reading about how you move a library," she said. "If we move while school is in session and all the volunteers are available, and if the furniture is ordered early and shelving is in place, it should be an orderly, efficient move. With 400 students, you can move a lot of books quickly."
She also is planning a party, to which she will invite everyone who ever helped out in the library.
"Some of the students who were here when we began planning are now in college or have children of their own," she said. "I want to tell them to come back and see the result. They might not benefit, but their children and grandchildren will!"
by CNB