Tri-Township Library Celebrates Grand Reopening 

By Josh Jones

Times Tribune Editor
[email protected] 

TROY — Patrons, staff and trustees of Tri-Township Library came out in full force to celebrate the library’s grand reopening Saturday. 

According to Times Tribune archives, the library building had been closed since the beginning of August for its first total building renovation ever. The renovation project has transformed the library into a more modern and inviting community hub. Patrons can now enjoy expanded resources, updated technology, and a fresh new look. 

President of the Tri-Township Public Library District Board of Trustees Michele Erschen said that the board is excited to bring the renovated building, website and logo to the community and serve the community to the best of their capacity. She encouraged the public to join the various groups and activities the library offers. Prior to the grand reopening a ribbon cutting was held where she thanked everyone involved with making the renovation possible. 

“This is our grand reopening. The updated library shows our commitment to providing a great library service to help everyone learn and grow to be lifelong learners,”  Erschen said. “I wanted to say thank you to our dedicated staff, to our wonderful board… Thank you for supporting the library. We encourage you to come explore the renovated spaces, join our events and use all the great things the library has to offer. We can’t wait to serve you for many more years to come.”  

Interim Library Director Elizabeth Fischer said she is excited and ready to reopen to the public. 

“Really hope that they like it as much as we do,” Fischer said. “I am just excited for them to see just how updated the look is and how we changed our collection development to be more user friendly. Everything is just going to be better for patrons moving forward.” 

Library Board Treasurer Kathy Scheller expressed her excitement for the reopening. She noted that they were also able to donate shelving and other items they would no longer need to other local community organizations as she discussed some of the renovation work. 

“We have created three study rooms, we used to have just one, we have a quiet room. We opened up a little more space in our community room so it has a little larger feel to it. Kitchen was renovated for programming, for cooking classes,” Scheller said. “Upstairs we just brought in a new modern look that is more this century than last century… We didn’t forget our staff, we updated their area as well so that they have more work areas in order to be more efficient.” 

Library Board Vice President Mary Ellen Akridge said that they did some updating regarding their children and adult programming. 

“We are just trying to meet the needs of the community,” Akridge said. “I think one of the biggest things we did is we gave them more storage. That was a cost saving thing, because we reused the shelving that we already had… I think because we reallocated spaces, I think we actually can expand our programming. It is going to be more efficient, because we have more space down there now. It was really the utilization of the space we had, we just had to make it more efficient because this building is from the 90s. We hope that everybody will come and enjoy the new facility and all the things are going to happen within it.”

In addition to the physical improvements, the library has also unveiled a new logo and website, reflecting its commitment to serving the evolving needs of the community. Library Board Secretary Dawn Henry helped spearhead the new website aspect as a part of the library’s total update. 

“I can’t wait to see the patrons’ faces, especially the kiddos, because that is who it is for and what it is about. (The new website) has launched, with a new logo. The logo we wanted to encompass community. It has an open book holding the world. You can come in and be connected to anything here. The books that are horizontal are the foundation, because the library is not just a library anymore it is very much a community center,” Henry said. “That is what we want it to continue to be. (The website) is the same url. It is completely mobile friendly, it is ADA compliant as well and there will be a calendar function where you can set up email reminders and register for events, which was not possible before.” 

Downstairs people were able to view various meeting rooms as well as visit various booths representing the groups at the library. Library Trustee and founder of the fiber arts group Spinning Yarns Liz Compton said that a lot of hard work went into the reopening. 

“We had a plan to start slowly renovating and the more that we got into it the more that we did and therefore it ended up being that we renovated the entire library rather than just a little bit at a time. It looks awesome, welcoming and clean and we are very happy about that,” Compton said. “We have a lot of one off programs that we do, but the groups that you see down here, these are the recurring groups that are here every single month all year round. Spinning Yarns started about a year ago, we do a lot of projects that are connected to the community. One of the exciting things that we do is we pair a children’s book with a baby blanket and we give them to foster children. In the summer time we knit and crochet small toys and animals and hide them around town. As children find them they send a photograph to the library with their items. Love spreading joy through crochet.” 

People may visit troylibrary.org to the various groups and events available. 

Library Trustee Katie Devany expressed her excitement for the reopening. 

“I am so thrilled. I am thrilled to be a part of this and that we can reintroduce our library to the community and have it be a space where people can gather, feel comfortable and I am so delighted,” Devany said. “It was a lot of work. The general aesthetic of it is very welcoming. We have new furniture pieces that make it more accessible. I think it is nice.”  

Children’s Librarian Tori Potter said that she was excited to be back in the library and that staff and trustees really came together to make this reopening possible. 

“I am excited for our new teen room. We have added some really fun things in there. We have added a TV in there and a Nintendo Switch. So that way kids coming in from after school or even on the weekends, they can come in and play video games while they wait for their parents to pick them up or they had a hard day at school, they need to come in and enjoy our space,” Potter said. “I am happy that we can be that safe space for them. In the new kids section, we have a chalkboard area. We got to upgrade a lot of our kitchen, which is so very loved here. Of course our book shelves here, we have a tunnel to crawl through. I am excited for it to be more interactive.” 

Library Trustee Linda Taake said she is excited and hopes this encourages new patrons to visit the library. 

“I am excited that so many people came out for our grand reopening. It was exciting to see all the people in the parking lot waiting to get in after the ribbon cutting,” Taake said. “I just hope this opens up the library to many people who never thought about coming here. There are many cool programs for kids and adults. I hope this really is the beginning of something incredible.”

The library is officially reopened and back to normal operating hours. For more information people may call (618) 667-2133, visit troylibrary.org or visit “Tri-Township Public Library District” Facebook page.