By JIM FARIS
Rolling Hills Consolidated Public Library is getting ready to have its Grand Opening for its new building, just off Riverside Road and near the hospital.
The facility is over 36 thousand square feet, and will serve not only as the largest library branch, but also the home of the Bookmobile and the used book store Books Revisited.
Director for Rolling Hills, Michelle Mears, says the library has been in the works as far back as seven or eight years, with construction taking a year and a half.
Mears credits the grounds the new library sits on as a big feature, especially considering the surroundings of the old building.
"As people may recall, our former location [...] was surrounded by our parking lot. So here we have green grass, our patios, and places people can read. We have this connection to the outside world with our windows... it really contributes to a great feeling of relaxation and recreation while people are here."
That connection continues inside, with supports dressed up to be trees, complete with branches along the ceiling and stuffed squirrels perched high above the shelves.
There is, of course, a section just for kids- a house built inside the library for storytimes, and a wall of toys to interact with.
"A lot of interactive units mounted on a wall, for small children, for them to explore different things, letters, and sounds and words... there's magnets and rotating gears."
The Rolling Hills Library isn't just about books, Mears added. Board games, pickelball, a metal detector, and cake pans are all also availabel for checkout.
Mears added the library is stocked and ready, the four weeks of closure allowing books to be checked-in and reshelved in preparation.
The Opening this Saturday is mostly a come-and-go affair. Regular hours, 9AM-8PM with a short presentation and speech at 10 AM, with tours, giveaways and drawings.
As for the old building, it's currently for sale. The library owns the strip mall that formerly housed it, and they're hoping it will return to a retail space on the belt.
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