Submitted photo Girl Scout Troop 10142 is helping with a book sale today and Saturday to raise funds for the Elkins-Randolph County Public Library.

ELKINS – A small but enthusiastic group of girls, ages 10 to 11, from Girl Scout Troop 10142 are partnering with the Bookhounds, a Friends of the Library organization, to raise funds for the Elkins-Randolph County Public Library.

The girls are helping to advertise, promote, and implement a donation drive and used book sale at the shuttered old library located at 416 Davis Avenue.

The 50+ year-old building has been closed for five years due to extensive water damage caused by problems with the facility’s roof. Since then, plans have been underway to renovate and expand the building.

The Girl Scouts remember the old library and wanted to help.

“At the old library, I liked to go to the section with the kids’ stuff and pick out a few books and read them,” said Delaney Bennett.

“I liked to go to the section of the library for kid’s books and get all my favorite comics,” added Carly Corley.

With these memories in mind, the Scouts selected the library as the focus of a community challenge project in pursuit of a coveted Girl Scout bronze award. This award requires each girl to show initiative and volunteer at least 20 hours.

Willow Cronin Sams explained: “We’ve been helping spread the word about the book sale and book drop-offs so the library (friends) can get more books to sell, and they can make more money to make the new library even funner.”

“We’re making posters and putting them in schools and in town and online to spread the word, ” said Addy Terry.

Joeie Graham added, “I’ll make announcements to sports teams and clubs like 4H and spread the word online like through Facebook and social media.”

The Used Book Sale continues today and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the sale, items may be “purchased” for a donation in the amount of your choosing, cash or check only.

Funds raised from the sale will go toward an endowment recently established by the Library Board to help service a construction loan and pay for increased operational costs once the library on Davis reopens. Recently the Library Board reached a milestone in planning to renovate and expand the old building. They secured $5 million dfor the building project, comprised of a $2.2 million federal grant, $1 million from the state of West Virginia, and a $1.8 million loan from Citizen’s Bank.

The Board has initiated advertising for construction bids and it is anticipated that construction will start in August after pre-bidding, bidding, contractor selection, and contract writing processes are completed. Construction is estimated to take about one year.