$50K dedicated to new Shell Knob Library

February 4, 2014
Steve Chapman
    The Barry-Lawrence Regional Library Board of Trustees took another step toward the construction of a new Shell Knob building at their monthly meeting on January 15. The board voted to earmark $50,000 of the library’s end-of- year funds for the Shell Knob building fund.
    Gina Milburn, Barry-Lawrence Library director, said the library received the donation of a three-acre parcel of land in November from Charles W. Singleton III and the Danny and Catherine Street Income Only Trust. She said the land is worth about $158,000.
    Milburn said around $500,000 will be needed to construct the new building. She estimated the Shell Knob Friends of the Library has managed to raise about $7,000 so far through fundraising activities, such as a soup supper, sending out letters soliciting donations and book sales. According to the board’s meeting minutes, another $1,500 was offered by the Shell Knob Masonic Lodge in exchange for permission to perform a cornerstone laying ceremony for the new library building. The board voted to accept the lodge’s proposal.
    When the new building is built, it will have 4,500 square feet of usable space, more computers, Wi-Fi, and reading spaces for teens, children and adults.
Milburn said she believes the new building is still a couple of years away, but that could change depending on who donates what. “It just depends on who steps up,” she said.
    Anyone wishing to make a donation toward the new branch can send it to the Library’s central office in Monett. The address is 213 6th Street, Monett, MO 65708. Checks should be made out to the Shell Knob Building Fund.