Edward Bent will soon bring his young stepdaughter, Calee Heinlein, to a place stocked with more children’s stories than it ever has had.
That’s because city officials in Zephyrhills plan to build a new public library to replace the one that’s just north of city hall on Eighth Street.
Replicating an architectural style of the early 1900s, the new library will be twice as large as the one used now by residents. It will have more books in all genres, as well as movies, magazines, public-use computers and electronic upgrades.
Blueprints should be complete by October, and building is scheduled to begin in November. Construction could take up to a year.
Bent and his family come to the Zephyrhills library three or four times a week and generally stay about three to four hours each time. Heinlein and her brother play and read in the library’s children’s section.
“I know bringing her here from an early age has really helped her and her developmental skills,” Bent said. “If I had to choose between the money being spent here as opposed to a recreational facility, it’ll definitely be here because this is long-term, sustained knowledge and things that’s gonna help them in the future.”
The estimated cost for the project is up to $1.7 million, financed through Penny for Pasco and private donations, said librarian Vicki Elkins. That will allow the project to start without additional debt, taxes and fees, city officials said.
The new library will be built on the parking lot just north of the current library. It will have an arched entrance, atrium and a white stone foundation. It will have separate rooms for children and certain organizations that might want to have community meetings. The new library will also be equipped with charging stations for electronic devices.
Once it’s completed, the old library building will be razed, and a new parking lot will be built in its place.
Joe DelVecchio, a regular library patron for about four years, thinks an expansion is long overdue.
“We need a bigger one,” DelVecchio. “We need more books. I’m running out of Westerns. I read a lot. It’s gonna help the city.”
–Marie Abramov
