Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260089
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Library boosters say they need that much to finish the Blacksburg branch expansion and renovation, in addition to the $1.88 million in voter-approved borrowing.
"That'll get the job done," said Jim Johnson, library fund-raising chairman.
Johnson announced the drive Tuesday, as seven state, county and town officials turned over spades of dirt to launch the project. The real excavation can begin in two weeks at the earliest, once the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors accepts a low bid on the project.
The $300,000 goal represents half the $600,000 library supporters say they need to properly furnish and equip the Blacksburg branch beyond the bond money. They've already squirreled away $277,000 toward the other half: $168,000 from library revenue and earlier contributions; and $109,000 from a federal grant.
"Now we have a $300,000 challenge that this community needs to take on to have this library equipped the way this community wants it to be equipped," Johnson said.
The money will pay for new furniture, shelving for the reference and juvenile sections, desks for public-access computers, a circulation desk to accommodate a new automated circulation system, shrubbery and other amenities not paid for in the bonds' $1.73 million construction budget.
With 76 members of Blacksburg Middle School's advanced band playing "Screaming Eagle" and "March of the Royal Guards," about 85 people cheered on the outdoor announcement and groundbreaking ceremony on a cool spring morning.
There was no public-address system, and only state Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, and supervisors' Chairman Larry Linkous were easy to understand over the sounds of passing trucks, cars, a plane and even one noisy crow.
Linkous called for people across the county to support the fund-raising drive. He predicted a lengthy effort, but said he was confident the money could be raised.
Marye lauded public libraries as "extremely important to our quality of life," both as repositories of knowledge and as community centers. Marye said voters in Shawsville and Elliston supported the 1993 bond referendum that made the expansion a reality.
"They understood the importance," he said. "They look forward to further expansion in the Shawsville-Elliston area."
The Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library Board is studying the possibility of a future expansion to serve those communities.
Two financial aspects of the library project remain up in the air. First, the Library Board is reviewing proposals for a computerized checkout system. Of the $1.88 million in bonds, $150,000 was dedicated to that purpose.
Second, the Library Board soon will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on the low construction bid. The low bid came in at $2.02 million on April 14. Officials have been negotiating with the bidder, Martin Bros. Contractors Inc. of Roanoke, to lower the cost.
by CNB