Colby Celebrates New Library
Monday, February 19th, 2018 -- 8:00 AM
(WDLB) -The city of Colby celebrated its new community library over the weekend, with a grand opening and dedication ceremonies on Saturday afternoon.Library Director Vicky Calmes said the festivities wrapped up more than two years of planning and construction. The new library first opened its doors to the public in mid-December, and Calmes said the reaction and early use have both been positive. The new library sits on the five-acre site of the former Colby School District Administration Building, which was purchased for 100-dollars. And the family of Pearl Vorland gave one-million dollars to get the new library project off the ground. The Vorland family is also working on establishing an endowment fund which would help cover future utility and maintenance costs for the new facility. The two-point-two-million-dollar library project also received a 500-thousand dollar community development block grant, money from the city, plus donations from over 200 businesses, families and individuals.
S-D Ellenbecker of Athens was the general contractor for the nearly 11-thousand square-foot facility, which will replace the existing Colby Public Library. That service had operated out of the Colby City Hall building for the past 25 years. The library's history in Colby dates back to 1879, when donations established a library in the back of a law office. It later shared space with a doctor's office, a masonic temple, a town hall and three different government buildings. After 138 years, the Colby library now has a building it can call its own.
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