“We are down to adding the finishing touches,” says Fairfield Library Director Gary Wiggins. “There are a few pieces of furniture left to be delivered, décor to be hung on the walls, and last minute technology tweaks before we open the doors for business at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 18th.”

The library has been completely renovated and modernized, adding new features to accommodate the needs of the community
New flooring, gothic arch ceiling, lighting, restrooms, furniture, shelving, and more, has brought the library in to the here and now.

The children’s corner has various forms of seating, a train table, a Lego building table, TV, video console, two computers, and new children’s books.

A new teen area has been added that offers two computers, a collaborative table for group projects with a TV and video console, as well as an Xbox. This section also offers new teen specific books.

There is an adult reading area with comfortable seating for lounging around with a good book.

Sixteen computer stations are available for use by the public, and there is a table for persons to set up their personal laptops, complete with charging stations.

The community room has new flip-and-nest furniture that offers numerous variations for setting up for different types of conferences and meetings. There is also a movable podium and wall-mounted TV for use with presentations.

In addition to the cosmetic upgrades, the data network has been rewired and updated, offering higher internet speed. Eighty percent of this project was funded by E-Rate, a governmental program.

Readers who utilize the library’s website, www.fairfieldtxlibrary.org, will soon see a much more user friendly version that will be kept up-to-date with events and programs the library has to offer.

Tammy Gawryszewski, librarian at Fairfield Junior High and member of the Fairfield Library Association Board, has been instrumental in this project and has been acting as consultant through the entire process.

Helping the library with moving the 24,000 or so books, to and from storage, was the Fairfield High School Varsity Football team and coaches. They were able to transfer them all within a three-hour time period.
Assisting with shelving the books was the Teen Library Corp, a branch of the Rotary Interact Club.

Just a few of the many things that will be offered by the library, once it’s back up and running, include one-on-one technology assistance, adult technology training, various family programs, weekly story time, DVDs and audio books, e-Books, and much more!

Story Hour is offered through the summer for kids of all ages on Thursday mornings at 10:00 a.m. at the library. Once schools starts, story time will be back in swing for the younger children on Thursday’s at 10:00 a.m.
E-Books is a service that is free to all library card holders and is something the library staff would like for the community to utilize.

To access this service, take the device you will be using to read the e-Books to the library where they will assist you in setting up the application, called OverDrive, and get you registered.

Once you have done so, you will be able to check out several books at a time for a 14-day period. In addition to books for all ages, movies and magazines are available as well. And, if you are looking for something specific that is already checked out by another user, you can add yourself to a waiting list to be sure you get access to it as soon as possible.

The library will be holding a Grand Opening on Saturday, August 5, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Don’t miss out on the fun!

Gary and Tammy would like to thank the Library Board, for without them, this project would not have been possible.

The board is comprised of the following members: President Lyle Red, Vice-President Scott Mills, Secretary Ralph Billings, Treasurer Gena Robinson, and members Cristi Allred, Carol Bradley, Rachel Bossier, Tammy Gawryszewski, and Christine Manning.

The Mary Moody Northen Municipal Library is located at 350 W. Main Street in Fairfield.

Regular hours of operation are Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed Saturday through Monday.

(Photos by Nicole Schaefer)