State official says library grant available

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, center, took a tour of the Argie Cooper Memorial Library Wednesday and heard about the importance of the facility. Joining Hargett for the tour were State Sen. Jim Tracy, left, and Librarian Pat Hastings at right. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Tre Hargett paid a visit to the library Wednesday, taking a brief tour of the facility with local leaders and hearing about expansion plans.

Hargett said the state can make a grant up to $100,000 to help out with the expansion as soon as work begins on the project.

"It doesn't have to be done 100 percent with the ribbons cut, but we would need to see a lot of progress," Hargett said. "We want to be able to do that."

The grant writing is "a very informal process," Hargett said. All that would have to be done is to complete the task of raising the money for the new library, then the state can come in and make that additional grant.

The grant can be used to reimburse costs or finish the construction, Hargett said.

"We're excited for you," he said about the plans for the new building. "We want to see this come to fruition."

Hargett said that Sen. Jim Tracy has worked very hard to let him know what the needs are at the library, adding that libraries have evolved over the last couple of decades with the introduction of computers and the Internet.

"You can see, we're very crowded," librarian Pat Hastings told Hargett, pointing out the library's computer room, part of the 8,500 square foot building. The proposed new library would be 22,000 square feet, Hastings said.

Jenni Feldhaus, chairperson of the Library Board, said they have been collecting donations for about 10 years for the planned facility. The county has pledged $1 million and the library has collected close to that amount through corporate and personal donations.

Total cost for the new library would be in the neighborhood of $3 million, but that number is not firm, according to Feldhaus.

The land for the facility is already secured, Feldhaus said, and the Library Board is looking over options on how to proceed. There is also another building in town they have been looking at that would take up 22,000 square feet, but it is spread out over four different floors.

Hargett asked if the library has had to assist people with job searches or filling out applications. Hastings said they have.

Feldhaus also pointed out that the county has a large, diverse population with about seven different nationalities using the library on a regular basis, many of them using the Internet to talk to folks back home.

County Mayor Eugene Ray said with Middle Tennessee State University coming to town, the library becomes more important to the community.

"MTSU has special interest in the library because it will help them build a campus," Ray said. "We'd like to see the (new) library get off the ground."