After much planning and a whole lot of work, the Jackson County Libraries will have their grand openings on Tuesday, March 30. The public is invited to attend both events, the first starting in Ravenswood at 9 a.m. and the second at Ripley at approximately 10 a.m.

“All of this started with wanting to renovate Ravenswood and it sort of expanded from there,” said Head Librarian Suzette Lowe. “When the levy renewal came up in 2008 that is one of the things we said we wanted to do was expand and improve the libraries. When the people gave us their vote of confidence that is what we did. We couldn’t have done it without the levy.”

According to Lowe, local dignitaries will be on hand for the ribbon cutting on the new wheelchair access ramp at the Ravenswood branch. After the dedication of the ramp there will be an additional ribbon cutting for the new Young Adult Book Collection Room at Ravenswood’s Library.

Following the ceremonies at Ravenswood there will be an unveiling at the Ripley Branch. Guests and dignitaries will tour the new addition that includes two bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, storage and two meeting rooms.

Said Lowe, “The smaller meeting room will hold 15-20 people depending on if they use tables or not. The other room will hold approximately 50-60 people. Currently the rooms are open to non-profit organizations. They just need to call to see if they are available.”

Ripley will also unveil two other areas during the event. The former meeting room near the front entrance of the building will now serve as a teen area. The children’s area has also been expanded.

In addition, the Ripley Library will have a special dedication ceremony in honor of former County Commissioner Jim Waybright, who passed away in September 2008.  Waybright was a very active member of the Jackson County community. In addition to serving 12 years as a County Commissioner, with two of those  years as president and two as vice president, Waybright was a board member of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), the 911 Commission, the Jackson County Airport, West Virginia Transit and the Little Kanawha Valley Resource Conservation Development. In addition, he was on the Board of Health and Board of Directors for the Silverton Volunteer Fire Department, in which he also served as a member for 18 years and a member of both the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) as well as a 33-year member of Ripley Baptist Temple

Said Lowe, “He was a great friend of the library. With memorial funds we were able to purchase a bench. His wife Doris will be here and we will be dedicating the bench in the library’s herb garden in the memory of Jim Waybright.”

In order to ready the facilities for the grand re-openings the libraries will be temporarily closed. 
Ravenswood will be closed on Monday, March 29. Ripley will be closed on Friday, March 26 through Monday, March 29. Previously scheduled programs will still be held.