Literary Works On The Move

New Beginnings With Historic Affinity: Meridian Public Library relocates to its more modern “forever home” at new location on Main Street

MERIDIAN – Its new location might be just 200 yards down from the present building, but the Meridian Public Library’s light, airy and modern interior at their new home is far removed from its former self.

It has been a dream for the MPL board to own their building instead of renting, and over the years an endowment fund established for that cause specifically grew, together with special fundraisers, amounting to enough to make it a reality. Recent heavy rains causing leaks and damaging books made a possible move nearly a necessity. In a fortunate stroke of serendipity, the Lighthouse Baptist Church was looking to sell their building and both parties were able to come to an agreement in Nov. 2023.

“The investment in the building is so worth it,” Library Director Marianne Woerner said. “We got rid of having to pay rent and dealing with maintenance issues. Having this forever home is a dream come true, offers new beginnings and we are going to be able to use it for a long time.”

Refreshing the façade with clean white brick and big green lettering first, acted as a teaser for the big, new and exciting things to come. After months of demolition of the church interior, replacement of the roof, placing large double pane windows, replacing aging electrical and plumbing systems, constructing new walls for the new lay-out, on Saturday, Nov. 16, friends of the library and their children came to help move the children’s’ corner books to the new location on 204 N. Main in Meridian.

The location brings with it a reflection of the Memorial Library Building that’s across the street in the large pane windows. It was a special event with the television station Waco's KWTX News Channel 10, ChisholmCountry.com and the Bosque County Record Tribune all on hand to record the move.

“Oh this smells so new,” one of the youthful helpers said as he delivered his armful of books. One of the youngest couldn’t wait to pick up a book and read.

Once they understood the assignment, the enthusiastic helpers went on to move books from the regular collection also. With every armful of books the present library became emptier and emptier. Everything went so smoothly and quickly, and before lunch all the boxes in the new location were filled, awaiting the new shelving.

The board worked with a Tocker Foundation library architect, choosing from four different floor plans and hundreds of swatches to complete the functional design best suited for the library and its community. In a space mixing mid-century modern with the 21^st century, interesting plaids and color palette add interest to the light space.

The new furniture and shelving, thanks to a grant from the ever supportive Tocker Foundation was delivered the next week, ready to be placed in the dedicated spots. On Nov. 22, the board and volunteers started organizing the new space and unpacking the multitude of boxes filled with books.

Engaging parents and their pre-school children is something the library is passionate about because evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t. They also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures.

To encourage the love of reading and books to children, the library offers a weekly Story Time and a Summer Reading Program. The Summer Reading program helps students maintain their reading level during the summer months.

The children’s area with updated educational games, puzzles and a play kitchen is situated within view of the half-circular reception desk. The area dedicated to teenagers has a table for research and computers, swivel bucket chairs with metallic green and even a little booth. The board added innovative and interactive pieces in the children’s and teens section, hoping to entice parents and youth to visit the library more.

The library closed Nov. 21 and will reopen Dec. 3. Everything will be ready for the official grand opening with a ribbon cutting and Santa visit on Dec. 9 from 3:30 – 6 p.m. The library board hopes the community will come out and see the library’s new forever home they worked so hard to establish and create and learn about all the different services the library offers.

The old furniture and shelves was donated to other area non-profit organizations like the Bosque County Genealogical and Historical Society, the Pot O’ Gold and Sparrow’s Nest.

In preparation of the move, the library cleansed their inventory of books that hadn’t been loaned out in five years. These populated the popular “Free Books” cart in front of the library for the community to choose from. And with a grant, the assortment was renewed and improved with more up-to-date books, tailored to the community’s interests.

“We felt now was the time to refresh the selection of authors and add more current titles to the inventory,” Woerner said. “We need to build our collection to what the community needs.”

Now there are still 8,333 titles to choose from in books, large print books, audio books and DVD’s, which is a high book to population ratio. While many libraries are dropping DVD’s, in Bosque County there are people without WIFI or streaming services in their homes, and DVD’s are still in demand. With less and less cars with CD players, the interest in audio books has gone down.

The library is also part of a consortium offering the free app Libby from Overdrive, offering over 30,000 E-books, audio books and magazines for all ages. This service is free to those with a library card. Being part of PLAN (Partners Library Action Network) gives the library the opportunity to rotate out the large print books with other libraries.

Amazon and Barnes and Noble sites might have more titles, but you pay on average $ 9.99 for a title. Through the Meridian Library Online Catalog, the Overdrive site is completely free to its patrons. Patrons can access the catalog from home and do not need to come into the Library to access it.

Each year, Woerner and assistant librarian Andy Williams compile an extensive report which includes visitor amounts, the services they offer their patrons, budget and expenses for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to receive accreditation. All the report’s items have to meet certain state standards.

This accreditation allows the library to participate in several programs that benefit the library’s patrons. They include the TexShare Database Program, which provides a wealth of electronic database resources which cover over 700 public, academic, and libraries of clinical medicine throughout the state at a significant cost savings.

The TexShare card program also allows the registered users of participating institutions to directly borrow materials from the libraries of other participating institutions. The TexShare Databases allows access to over 27,000 journals, over 171,000 e-books, and over 15 million images, videos, and interactive resources.

With a world of information literally at their fingertips through computers, Ipads and smart phones, the younger generation less frequently visits the traditional vestiges for literature and knowledge.

With the Small Town Perk and EpiCenter Youth facility on the same strip, the youth might just get curious enough to check out this special and wonderful place; an invaluable asset to their community and county. The free WIFI and availability of new computers offer them a place to do research and do their homework in an alternative location from school and home.

“We are collaborating with the school to encourage teens to come to the library and use its services,” Woerner said.

Established in 2000, the Meridian Public Library’s mission is to provide education support, library and information services, training and outreach to Meridian and surrounding communities. They serve all of North Bosque County which includes the smaller towns Walnut Springs, Kopperl, Iredell, Morgan and Cranfills Gap. These towns also have library boxes serviced by the library.

By making these resources available they hope to help members of all ages from children to adults to improve their level of education and livelihood within the community. Because, reading enriches us all. And to quote the splendid Dr. Seuss, thanks to books “The more you read, the more you know. The more you learn, the more places you go.”

Libraries are important cornerstones of a healthy community. Libraries give people the opportunity to find jobs, explore medical research, experience new ideas, get lost in wonderful stories, while at the same time providing a sense of place for gathering. And as such the Meridian Public Library is more than a book depository. It offers many other services, like being the meeting place for a book club. It is a great place to study and the volunteers gladly supply tuition on request.

“Every time we’re in a different town, I make a point of visiting their library,” MPL board member Jackye Hatley said. “And I’m happy to realize that our small town library offers so many services, that bigger towns don’t even have.”

As many libraries, the Meridian Public Library preserves local and area history, artifacts and stories as well as being a resource for current local activities. Evidence of that function is the bookcase donated by the Lomax family, filled with books and information on John A. Lomax – Meridian born and raised documenter of Chisholm Trail cowboy ballads, folk songs and the blues. The library also has special sections dedicated to local and Texas subjects. The books are mainly non-fiction books focused on Texas and Texas history.

Woerner considers the new community room which can seat 30 people as the library’s biggest new asset. The conference room will be available to the community for meetings and educational purposes – primarily free classes. As an additional service, in the front of the new location is a small meeting room for people who don’t have internet at home, and needing to connect remotely with different agencies and organizations.

The Meridian Public Library exists solely through donations from its patrons, the City of Meridian and the generous citizens of Meridian. With state and federal funding all but dried up for libraries, an important task for the Library Board is to solicit donations, apply for grants and raise funds for operating costs. The Meridian Public Library is a 501(c)(3) organization, and contributions are tax-deductible under the Internal Revenue Tax Code.

At regular intervals the Library holds fundraisers to generate funds to pay for the Library’s operational costs. The major annual fundraisers are the popular “Jewels and Jeans,” and the Fall Chili Supper. The amount of support shown at the fundraisers shows the library’s significant community connection.

To this day, the Meridian library is a unique institution, a special asset and the envy of many small towns, worth cherishing and supporting. Preserving the Meridian Public Library remains important to many people today, nearly 25 years later. And this new location will hopefully ignite a new interest for books and reading with the community.

Photos by SIMONE WICHERS-VOSS