GALESBURG, Ill. — Galesburg celebrated a day decades in the making Thursday after breaking ground on a new public library.
The current library has been housed in the same building since the 1960s on a temporary basis after a fire broke out in the former facility.
"This has been a long time coming," said Galesburg Public Library Director Noelle Thompson.
"It's one of those monumental statements of what our future looks like," said Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman.
The old building has been located on East Simmons Street and the new site will be on the corner of Main and West Streets.
"A lot of people have been working hard behind the scenes for many, many years," Thompson said.
"It's like a great escape for the weekend and just something to do that's free," said parent Freddie Miller.
The new building will include more community rooms, an expanded children's area and a larger space for books.
"It's going to completely transform our whole west side of downtown," Schwartzman said. "It's going to provide all the things that we need."
"It takes a village," Thompson said. "We need the community to help us educate our kids and lead our kids and to have a library be a destination for families."
"It gets them (kids) out of the neighborhood," Miller said.
Also in the addition is an upgrade to technology along with a skills lab and more computer access.
"We want to provide access to everybody, so we not only will provide computers free of use for the public, but to have a technology lab," Schwartzman said.
Staff said the old building had a lack of rooms, offices and parking.
"This building has been wonderful to us but it really cannot adequately serve our needs," Thompson said.
The project costs roughly $21 million. Around $15.3 million has been funded through a state grant. The rest of the money is being raised through a capital campaign by the city.
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.