CJ library opening set Sept. 5
From our weekly issue dated May 20, 2009
After much internal discussion, Josephine Community Libraries Inc. (JCLI) directors have decided to set a tentative Sept. 5 opening date for the Illinois Valley Branch Library in Cave Junction.
The JCLI board met on Tuesday evening, May 12 at the main branch in Grants Pass to decide the issue.
It has been estimated that opening the Cave Junction, Williams and Wolf Creek branches would cost around $80,000. The Illinois Valley branch represents approximately half that cost.
A tentative date of Nov. 7 has been set for reopening the Williams Branch, which would operate for nine hours per week. The Wolf Creek Branch also would open around Jan. 2 for the same number of hours.
The reopening schedule still would have to be approved by the county. However, JCLI member Teresa Stover is optimistic that the group will persevere.
“It’s all contingent on fund-raising,” she said. “We’re looking at how our spring membership drive is going. One of the goals we had was to raise $100,000, with the money going towards helping to open the other three branches in the community.”
JCLI’s spring membership drive kicked off on April 12 and ended on Sunday, May 17. That day represents the two-year anniversary of when all the county’s libraries closed.
The decision to reopen the I.V. Branch before Williams or Wolf Creek was based on population, Stover said. Library Director Russell Long requested that there be 60 days between the openings of each branch, she said, so that equipment can be installed and volunteers properly trained.
Illinois Valley resident Linda Naydol has been working for months to establish sufficient local support for the Cave Junction site. She was particularly thrilled at the JCLI board decision.
“It’s been a giant effort,” Naydol said. “A lot of people have been working on this. It’s wonderful.”
The tentative Sept. 5 opening day will coincide with the annual Illinois Valley Lions Labor Day Parade. As such, Naydol said, efforts are being made to coordinate both events.
“We’re hoping to cobble together a major community celebration,” she said. “We can put all this together with a parade, event and our grand opening.”
Also being discussed is the possibility of having a “soft opening” prior to the September date in order to facilitate a summer reading program for area children. Once JCLI gets the keys to the Cave Junction facility, volunteers may plan a housekeeping party to help prepare it for public use, Naydol said.
For example, she said, many of the books once housed at the I.V. Branch are being stored at the main branch in Grants Pass and would have to be “brought home.”
Opening the library doors required a “leap of faith” on the part of JCLI’s board, Stover said, as there is still some degree of anxiety among its members regarding the long-term sustainability of operating the facilities.
“The last thing the board wants to do is close a branch after it opens,” she said. “I think that would do more harm than good.”
But Naydol said that having a definitive timeline in place will help maintain the support necessary to keep all the library branches open.
“I know that having something as tangible as the doors open, will make a difference here in the valley,” Naydol said. “To have a date is really meaningful.”
For more information, phone Naydol at 592-3289.
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