Staff writer
Years of planning and months of construction ended Thursday as Marion City Library had an open house introducing its newest addition, the Santa Fe room.
“It turned out nice,” librarian Janet Marler said. “It’s like we envisioned, and everything works. It’ll be a great addition for the library to have.”
Library board president Pauline Holub said the new room provides more space for the library than its Kansas room already does. She said the new area could be used for meetings, private parties, or city-related business.
“The only room that is available in town for parties and meetings is the city building, and it’s a whole lot bigger than this,” she said. “Sometimes you don’t need that big of an area.”
The room is a 30-by-30 foot space, including a bathroom and kitchen area. Davey Hett and Darin Neufeld contracted the project, and students from Marion High School’s construction class built the room under teacher Lucas King’s direction.
Marler said construction began in August, but planning had taken place a couple years beforehand.
“We did it all on our own, so it’s just kind of special,” Holub said.
The library received more than $6,000 in donations to help with the project, and anyone who donated $25 or more had their name placed on a plaque in the room. Some donations were made in memory of deceased friends or family.
“We had just a flood of people wanting to do that,” Holub said. “They weren’t necessarily memorials, but people wanted to donate to this cause.”
Jim Gray will give a program at 7 p.m. tonight in the Santa Fe room speaking on his experience as a bullwhacker, and Dr. Seuss story time will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday.
A full list of upcoming events is available at the library. Holub said usage of the room is available upon request.