Stewartville Public Library to expand

(ABC 6 News) – After more than 30 years, the Stewartville Public Library is getting a facelift. An expansion that has been years in the making.

Right now the library is pretty average. It has books, CDs, and DVDs but it’s missing one thing – space. A new collection space, study rooms, meeting rooms, and bathrooms will be added. Something the library says has been needed for a long time.

“This is a project that would give us study spaces for kids after school, or tests we want to proctor. As well as a large meeting room for groups to come in and meet,” said Nate Deprey, the director at the Stewartville Public Library.

“This has a chance to really be a gem for Stewartville. You know, just a real community resource. Not just for arts and education, but even commerce.”

One example Deprey gave of benefiting commerce is when Taco Bell came to town. It was looking for a meeting room to hold interviews and Deprey had to tell Taco Bell it didn’t have one. Soon, that will no longer be the case.

The Library is trying to keep the total cost of the project under $1 million and plans to use its public foundation to fund most of the project. It will also use the trust it has had in place for decades to help with capital projects. That trust has been earning interest slowly over the years. The city of Stewartville will also pick up part of the tab.

“Our library has always been a place that people who work and use the library should feel comfortable, welcome, invested, and safe. Every step of this expansion project is done in a way to make people feel more comfortable, invested, welcome, and safe.”

The library will still be open during construction. It hopes to break ground next year and once that begins, it hopes construction will take about a year.