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ELKINS -- The Elkins-Randolph County Public Library will celebrate two special occasions during an open house that is scheduled for Saturday, June 5.
The event, which will take place from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., is celebrating the reopening of the Library and its 50 years of service to the community. The facility was unable to celebrate on its anniversary date back in December because of COVID restrictions and construction inside the facility.
"The year 2020 was hard on all of us," said Elkins-Randolph County Library Director Stephanie Murphy. "The library had structural problems in addition to quarantine, and the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the library went without its due celebration on Dec. 1. And while our doors were closed due to remodeling, as a result of the damages, some huge improvements were made to better serve the needs of our patrons."
An empty building and severe weather caused the building's damage, which took close to a full year to repair. Improvements in space, technology, and structures have since been done to the facility. The children's area at the library has been enlarged and there's now a versatile meeting space at the facility.
A new media room for public use was also constructed at the Library. The room, which is named the Crow's Nest Production Center, features a new podcast booth that was made available due to the recently awarded Libraries Transforming Communities Grant.
"Changing the library layout allowed us to find room for additional equipment and technology that the community can access for personal or business purposes," said Murphy. "We will unveil the features of the Crow's Nest and its construction timeline at the Open House Celebration."
The celebration will feature guided tours, snacks, door prizes, and a scavenger hunt. There will be an announcement concerning the next phase of outreach, the Beverly Heritage Branch of the ERCPL, during the event.
"The community has been very patient and it deserves a festive commemoration of the return of full services, the story of its library, and new opportunities," said Murphy. "We want to combine the two marks in library history and invite everyone to stop in and celebrate with us all the changes that have come about in 50 years."
For more information call the Elkins Randolph County Library at 304-637-0287 or go to their website at elkinslibrary.com