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THOMAS -- The Friends of the Mountaintop Public Library will host a fundraising event billed as "Love Your Library" on Sunday at Elender's Restaurant.
The special gathering will begin at 4:30 p.m. and is the first in a series of fundraisers planned for this year. Tickets for the event, which will feature a steak dinner and entertainment, can be purchased at the Mountaintop Public Library, Elender's Restaurant and the Emerald Tree Boutique in Davis.
"All of the proceeds from this fundraiser go toward the building fund for the new library," FOMPL President Deborah Stiles told The Inter-Mountain. "We have sold quite a few tickets, but there are some left. And because we are serving steak, we are asking people to purchase the tickets in advance so that we have exactly what we need ready."
The dinner will consist of a selection of different steaks and will be prepared as ordered. The meal will include an appetizer, vegetables and a dessert of either chocolate cake or cheesecake. A vegan entree is also available.
There will be "light literary entertainment" during the event, Stiles said, and artists' renderings of the new library will be set up at the event. Each attendee will also receive a memento from the dinner.
"Our mission is to support the library any way that we can," Stiles said. "And right now, financial assistance is needed to get the building fund up to where it needs to be, so we can break ground and get going on the new building."
The current library building was constructed in the 1970s, and is adjacent to the Davis-Thomas Elementary School.
"The library functions as the school library as well as the public library," Stiles said. "The old library is going to be torn down and they are going to reconfigure the parking lot at the location to accommodate the larger footprint of the new building… It is going to be a bit larger than the existing library that is there now."
So that no services are interrupted while the new library is being built, Stiles said the FOMPL is currently working on finding an alternative location during the construction.
"We were hoping to start construction this spring, but it's looking like it may be next spring," she said. "It's going to be probably one or the other, so either this year or at the very latest next year…We are still finalizing the blueprint and every time we change something, the potential cost changes, and that's why we are still not clear on our start date."
The current Mountaintop Public Library is one of the smallest libraries in West Virginia. Stiles said approximately $550,000 has been raised for the new library, which has a projected cost of around $750,000.
In addition to Sunday's event, the FOMPL will offer two more fundraisers this year for the new library. It will host a Yard Sale at the Davis Fire Hall on July 20, and a Garden Party in Canaan Valley on Aug. 24.
For more information, contact Stiles at 681-264-3223 or 304-478-3519.