Rossville library continues offering full service during its renovation

Rossville’s public library is undergoing a total renovation — the first since the building at 502 McFarland Ave. opened in 1987 — that should be finished in time for the 2017 summer reading program.

While the building at McFarland Avenue is being gutted and rebuilt, the library will be housed at the city’s recreation center for about five or six months, according to library manager Carmella Clark.

“It’s going well,” she said of the temporary quarters in the former Rossville High School gymnasium. “People are finding us.”

Clark said the library’s last major updates occurred about 10 years ago when a grant made possible the installation of ADA-compliant doors, new carpeting and fresh paint. The original building had also been reroofed following the tornado of 2011.

While this branch of the Cherokee Regional Library System continues to offer its full range of services, some restrictions are necessary. Rather than 25 computers, its current configuration only has space for eight computers (seven Chromeboxes and one PC) for general use and two iPads for the children’s section. And much of the library’s collection, though available on request, is being kept in a secure storage area.

Clark said this full service branch is undergoing this extreme makeover to repurpose the facility in a way that will make it more user friendly for both staff and patrons.