Sunday, April 13, 2008 12:25 AM CDT
Things looking up at Effingham library
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
EFFINGHAM — It was another busy Saturday morning at Helen Matthes Library.
Adults and children were lined up in the library basement to pay for “refugees” from the library stacks and Chuck Cunningham, a library assistant, was congratulating the shoppers for their astute picks and even noting the prolific writing skills of certain authors.
“He’s a great salesman,” said Gloria Bauer, a member of the Helen Matthes Library Board of Directors. “And people love to pick up bargains. We have space issues in the stacks. We weed out old books from the stacks and the book sales help us do that.”
And the library on the corner loves to rake in more than $800 from a book sale. The library needs more room in the stacks after adding 100 more families to its patron list, an increase of 13 percent, said Director Amanda Standerfer.
“More people are coming into the community and there is an increased awareness of the services this library provides,” said Standerfer, adding the library is expected to reach the 100,000 mark on items circulated by the end of April.
Upstairs that Saturday, patrons were pulling up research or data trifles on desktop computers or laptops. The library has been creating new interior spaces and expanding its hours. The new teen reading area has colorful furniture and plenty of popular books for young readers. And the reading room offered quiet time for browsing through newspapers and magazines.
Plans are moving ahead for providing a new library in the near future, either through new construction or relocating to an existing building in the community.
On Feb. 5, Effingham residents approved a referendum increasing the tax rate, expected to provide $250,000 more in property tax revenue next year, Standerfer. Five seemed to be a lucky number for supporters: The vote on the fifth was the fifth to go before the voters in recent years. Plus, Effingham is a community with a local library history dating back 125 years this year. A special birthday party on that anniversary with a cake is planned for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the library.
“We excited about celebrating that anniversary. This community loves its library,” Standerfer said. The current location dates back to 1955 (yes, another set of fives) and has been added onto several times over the years. But some library supporters believe another expansion is not enough this time.
“We really like the downtown location,” Standerfer said of the library located a block away from the Effingham County Courthouse Square. “When we surveyed the public one year, 67 percent said they wanted the library to stay downtown. But we want to have enough space and parking to meet our needs for the next 50 years.”
Flanked by streets on two sides at its corner location at North Fourth and Market streets, building a larger library and parking area near the current location would be a tough challenge. But it is still one of the many options before the library board.
Where will a new library eventually take root? The talk goes back to fives again. One plan calls for selling five acres of land on the north edge of the city to provide more money for a new library program. A proposal to move the library into the former Fifth/Third Bank building two blocks away is off the table.
But a definite plan is ahead, Bauer said.
“We would like to make a definite decision in the next six months. That would be our goal to have a definitive plan for the public. The city has been very cooperative in helping us with what we’re doing,” Bauer said.
Effingham Mayor John Lange said the city will assist where it can on library building or relocation plans. He said tax increment financing district money might help with the project.
“We want to help them out. This is important to the city,”Lange said.
A public library is a tradition in Effingham dating back to 1883. It was operated by the Effingham Ladies Library Association, women interested in raising reading standards in the community.
The nationwide Carnegie Library construction movement did not take hold in the community 100 years ago —local tradition claims some residents distrusted Andrew Carnegie, then the richest man in the world. In 1941, a tax base was created for the library in Effingham, and in 1955, money from community leader Paul Eiche was donated for part of the original building in honor of his mother, Helen Matthes, one of those women dedicated to books and the library in Effingham.
Despite the many pressing questions for now, the future is bright for the library with new funding.
“So many things have been tossed around,” said Bauer. “But we will have the money to operate a new facility. All I can say is it’s looking good for our library right now.”
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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