Gentry Public Library
105 E Main Street, Gentry, Arkansas 72734
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to Noon on Saturdays
479-736-2054
New Arrivals
Message from Librarian
A History of the New Gentry Public Library
Gentry Library Board Chairman James Furgason places letters above the
new library doors before the opening.
Reprinted
from
The Gentry Courier-Journal
By Randy Moll
GENTRY
– A project that began in August of 1999 when library board members
discussed the need for an expanded library and began looking at acquiring
an historic Main Street building large enough to house the library and a
museum has come to the verge of completion as the final, finishing touches
are put on the renovated Carl Hardware Building.
The struggle was not
an easy one, according to library board chairman, Jim Furgason. A
countywide 1-mil tax which would have provided $100,000 to fund local
libraries failed in 2000.
The library board and architect, Marlon
Blackwell, toured the Carl Hardware Building in the summer of 2000. Joe
Carl offered the building to the library for $120,000 and said he would
donate $20,000 of that for the building’s renovation.
“Jim Furgason
contacted me seven years ago with the vision of having a library in
downtown Gentry,” Marlon Blackwell said Thursday. “When I saw the building
[the Carl Hardware Building], I suggested we tear it down. [Furgason] said
he didn’t think that was a good idea and wanted to know what we could do
with the building,” said Blackwell.
Blackwell’s services were acquired
later that year to study the feasibility of converting the historic
downtown building into a new library for Gentry. Plans and a model were
presented to the library board in January of 2001 and to the public in
February and March, with the library board signing a contract to purchase
the building in April of 2001.
The work was just beginning at this
point, as the library board developed a campaign to raise the $100,000
needed to purchase the building. The first Library Gala, in November of
2001, brought in $22,000 for the project.
The city stepped in to help
in December 2001 when Mayor Wes Hogue proposed a half-cent city tax to
fund a bond to purchase and renovate the building and an eighth-cent tax
to operate and maintain the facility. The city council approved a special
election for the measure, and the tax increase for the Gentry library was
overwhelmingly approved at the special June 2002 election. In July of
2003, the city council unanimously approved the selection of Marlon
Blackwell as the project’s designer and architect.
Individuals,
families and businesses donated much to make the dream of Furgason and the
library board a reality. A family donated their services to demolish a
warehouse building on the property, saving the city and library board a
large expense.
McKee Foods, after being approached by Furgason,
donated $250,000 for the community-center portion of the building and the
adjoining pocket park.
The Walker Foundation, and later Wal-Mart, each
donated another $25,000 toward the renovation project.
The list of
donors goes on and on, as the people and businesses of Gentry and the
surrounding community, stepped up and did what they could to make the new
library a reality. The Galas, over the years, raised thousands more to
help the project along and provide furnishings for the new library and
community center.
The library board has continued to raise funds for
the project right up to the very end, making it possible for some of the
features value-engineered out of the project to be included. In April of
2006, the library gave $220,000 to the city to help with the renovation of
the community center and pocket park portion of the project.
After
soliciting bids a second time, SSi, Inc., was selected to be the
contractor for the project, with a bid, not to exceed $1,130,000. Benton
County inmates contributed hours of labor, saving the city thousands of
dollars in preparatory demolition costs. Unforeseen items brought change
orders numerous times, bringing the total project cost closer to $1.3
million; but it appears that all is in the final stages of completion now
as the city prepares to move in.
Though feathers have been ruffled at
times along the way, the dream of Furgason and the library board is
finally becoming reality. The old Carl Hardware Building has been
preserved and renovated into a new library for the city of Gentry. The
library with limited space and technology is moving into a new home with
much more space for books and materials but also with new technology, more
computers and wireless Internet. The dream of preserving history and
providing a library for the future has become more than a
vision.
Blackwell said of Furgason, “He led the charge all the way;
he’s never given up.” He also described Furgason, saying, “He is a true
definition of a citizen; he loves Gentry and he believes in the
educational role of the library in Gentry. He has Gentry’s best interest
at heart.”
“Gentry is going to grow, and it can grow into the new
building,” Blackwell said, praising the library board for its vision and
direction and urging its continuing involvement in the realized dream of a
downtown community library.
Arrangements were discussed at the Oct. 1
council meeting for the city to obtain temporary and conditional occupancy
while SSi waits for parts to arrive and completes the few remaining
corrections and modifications on the building. The quilt show planned to
begin in the library’s community room on Oct. 15 is set to be held as
planned. The ribbon cutting and open house, rescheduled (because of
delays) to the afternoon of Oct. 21, has also been cleared to go ahead as
scheduled. Books and materials are being carried across the street from
the old library to the new. Volunteers to help operate the library are
being sought.
A policy statement on use of the community room is being
reviewed by the library board and city council alike, with a final version
to be brought before the council at its next regular
meeting.
Discussions between library board members and city council
members were held on Thursday to work out details of transferring property
ownership and the responsibility for upkeep and maintenance to the city.
At the same time, the continuing work of the library board was commended
and encouraged, with the city council and mayor suggesting the creation of
a library committee to work hand-in-hand with the library board to
continue to the work begun to make Gentry’s library the best it can
be.
Library board member Maxine Abernathy described the whole process
like this: “We’re birthing a baby, and it’s about to be born. We want to
be sure it will be well cared for and nurtured,” she
said.
Library board member Maxine Abernathy addresses the crowd at the October ribbon cutting.
The ribbon was cut Oct. 21, 2008 by James Furgason and Gentry Librarian Darla Threet. Mayor Wes Hogue, council members Janie Parks and Janice Arnold and many others looked on at the ribbon cutting ceremonies.