110 W. New York Ave.
DeLand, FL 32720
386-734-4622
BEACON PHOTO/PAT ANDREWS
With a little help from its Friends — Preliminary work begins Dec. 10 on an addition to the DeLand Area Public Library, thanks to fundraising by the Friends of the DeLand Public Library. Celebrating with an informal groundbreaking are Friends members Jean Weaver, Jean Fletcher, Louise Caccamise and Jackie Kersh. Jay Weisbrod, project supervisor for Shoemaker Construction of Sanford, holds plans for the new space.
By Pat Andrews
posted Dec 21, 2012 - 12:42:07pm
A delighted crew of volunteers representing the Friends of the DeLand Public Library put shovels to dirt Dec. 10 next to the northwest corner of the DeLand Area Public Library .
The Friends of the Library were celebrating a four-year dream coming to fruition.
The nonprofit group raised more than $200,000 to build an addition for the library.
Friends of the Library is a nonprofit group that promotes use of libraries and lifelong learning through support of library services. The Friends at the DeLand library — more than 235 members — assist the library staff, manage and receive gifts, and hold regular book sales to fund library acquisitions and programs.
The group also sponsors author lectures and book-signings, book discussions, exhibitions, and special programs for both adults and young readers.
Also, “We’ve lugged those books back and forth through the library” an awful lot, she said.
About four years ago, Caccamise got an idea: There was space on the corner of the building for an addition that could house the Friends and their work. That would free up the space the group is currently using for use by the library staff.
Through book sales and donations, the Friends of the Library raised the money. The County Council approved the project in autumn 2011, and the project has worked its way through the county plan-approval-and-bidding process. Work on the 725-square-foot addition should be complete around March. The county, not the Friends, will own the building.
“The county will provide shelving, a built-in desk and all that,” Caccamise said.
The Friends of the Library has been in existence for more than 50 years, she noted.
For more information, call 386-822-6430, or visit the website www.dfotl.org.
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