By Nathan Prewett
For the Tribune
TRUSSVILLE — To say that Emily Tish is in love with the newly renovated Trussville Public Library would be a vast understatement. Actually, the entire staff would probably echo the library director’s sentiments. After being closed for some time, the library recently reopened with all kinds of expansions and upgrades.
“You can tell I’m excited about it,” Tish said while walking through the building and talking of the new features.
Upgrades were made to the circulation area where self checkouts are available. Tish said that the staff is waiting on more self checkout computers by the county.
Anybody sitting at the back where new tables have been installed along the windows will be afforded a view of the park behind the building where the Cahaba River flows. Tish said that gardeners are volunteering to replant the library’s “Butterfly Garden”.
The building also features a vending area where a soft drink machine, as well as a snack machine and a coffee machine. Close to the vending area are study rooms that have been established. And when you look down at the carpet from the collection area through the vending and study rooms, including the administration part of the building, you’ll see that it’s colored blue, meant to imitate a river.
In fact, much of the library has embraced a sort of natural world aesthetic as part of the carpeting is colored a vegetative shade of green. Animals are carved into the seats in the children’s area and the oak tree has become a logo for the library, Tish said.
The library now has two new computers labs. The teen area was extended to include a lab, as well as the adult area. Tish said that the labs have public access computers but also feature space for people with laptops. New seating in the teen area will allow young people a place to study or read.
The children and adult areas were increased by 25 percent. The collection in these areas has not been increased yet but Tish said that the library will expand on that “little by little.” In the children’s area new tables were set up along with a built-in bookshelf. Children’s programs and storytelling events have been moved to the auditorium.
The auditorium is not yet completed, Tish said. But it is a 250 seat room that will have a 12 to 15 foot screen as part of the stage. In addition to plays, movies and other events can be shown onstage.
“It’s got a wonderful sound system and light system,” Tish said. “We can show movies or if we had an author visit and may want to show bits of video, slides – we can do all that.”
An opening day celebration will be held on April 22 with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. That day will feature storyteller Dolores Hydock as the first performer in the auditorium. People will be welcome to tour throughout the building.
“I’m very [biased] but I think a good public library is the heart of the community and that’s what we want to be,” Tish said. “We want to try to have something that everyone will enjoy being a part of – whether that’s a book club or a program or just using the facility for research or for using a computer or checking out a bestseller, whatever they would enjoy that’s what we’re hoping for.”
See the gallery below for some of the sights inside the Trussville Public Library.