“We look forward to serving the community and the upgraded building will help us do that,” she said.
Bush said the entire facility was renovated, which included moving the staff work area into the old community room, centralizing technology, and making much needed upgrades to the infrastructure.
She said the new addition can now accommodate the community’s need for larger group gathering spaces.
She said the total expansion and renovation costs will be under $4 million. Bush said the Library saved for over 20 years to afford this project, which means that it will not be an additional cost to taxpayers.
“The expansion was long overdue,” Bush said. “Over the past 34 years the Springboro community has experienced a lot of commercial development and with that, a great deal of population growth. Springboro’s population has far exceeded the scope of what the Springboro Library was built to facilitate.”
She said, “having two facilities is essential in accommodating the communities that we serve.”
Bush, who has been with the library system for 22 years with the last 12 years serving as director, said the Library had 193,000 visitors and hosted more than 15,000 program participates last year. The library serves 54,450 residents, which covers Franklin, Franklin Twp., Carlisle, Springboro, and Clearcreek Twp.
The library system holds 176,083 physical and 1,682,368 digital items in the collection. The library system circulates close to 500,000 items a year.
Bush said they would like to express gratitude to their patrons for their patience, understanding, and enthusiasm during the expansion.
“We realize that the lack of building access has been an inconvenience,” she said. “We hope you will agree that the result was well worth the disruption.”
How long has Springboro had a library?
In 1989, the Franklin Public Library Board entered into a contract with the City of Springboro to operate a branch library.
The City of Springboro built the building, and on Jan. 2, 1990 the Springboro Public Library was opened.
The original facility was built in 1989, with an addition built by the Library in 1999 making the total square footage 9,200. There are 14 employees at the Springboro branch.
The Franklin Library on East Fourth Street is a 23,400 square-foot facility that was built in 2002.
The library, which employs 24 people, is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year.
Franklin Public Library dates back to 1874, but old copies of newspapers and various studies reveal that there was a library in Franklin as early as 1833.
In 1922, the library was reorganized as a School District Library and was housed in the old Central School Building. A tax was levied by the Board of Education and a Library Board of Trustees was appointed with complete jurisdiction over the Library and its operation. On May 7, 1923, the very first meeting of the Library Board of Trustees was held in the Library.
How to go
On Sept. 22, the library will host an open house at the Springboro branch to celebrate its grand re-opening and the Library’s centennial anniversary from 3:30 to 6 p.m. At 4 p.m., there will be a collaborative ribbon cutting ceremony with the Springboro Chamber of Commerce and Chamber.
The event is free and open to the public and will include live music, a scavenger hunt, giveaways, a balloon artist, and other activities for the whole family.
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