Clay County Public Library hosting a grand opening Monday to debut its modernized facility featuring two new telehealth rooms and a new community room among other amenities.
Director of Library Services Alecia Burns said the renovation involved a complete reorganization of the interior layout to create dedicated spaces for different age groups and community needs.
“Me as well as my workers are just ready to be able to be librarians again versus movers and cleaners and stuff like that,” Burns said. “So we’re super excited to be able to just see the public again and give our area a library again for sure.”
Burns said the new telehealth suites allow patrons to check out tablets or laptops to conduct virtual doctor appointments privately. The facility also includes a new teen area, a children’s area named in honor of Ms. Ruth, and a community meeting room equipped with smart boards.
“I’m just excited to be able to bring things like this to the county where they can utilize the space,” Burns said, “And it can be a centralized location. We actually used it last night kind of as a test run.”
Burns said the library upgraded its computer systems and maintains a collection of physical books and DVDs for checkout. Access to the internet remains the primary resource requested by the public.
“That is what I am most looking forward to is the fact that I’ll be able to offer the community spaces as well as events,” Burns said. “And we’re not just going to be crowded in one centralized location. We’ll have the adult side where they can still come in and do their thing but also hold the events in the other side of the library and we can kind of coexist.”
The library will return to its standard operating hours of 8:30am to 5:30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with 9am to 1pm hours on Wednesday and Saturday.
