Jay library is a community success

Has it really been 20 years?
It seems like yesterday.
It seems like yesterday that the Jay County Public Library Board of Trustees began to address the limitations of the old Carnegie library on Walnut Street in Portland.
It seems like only yesterday that librarian Rosalie Clamme led the board through a thoughtful and exhaustive process to find a path for the library’s future.
Everything was on the table more than 20 years ago.
Renovate the old building? Adapt another structure to make it into a library? Build new?
Every single thing was looked at, sometimes until it seemed that eyes were crossed.
The old Carnegie building had a host of problems:
•It wasn’t handicapped accessible.
•The structure was deteriorating rapidly.
•And an earlier effort to renovate the building had stumbled. During the 1970s, the library’s board made an honest effort to bring the facility up to date. Trouble is, the renovated library had abundant single-pane windows facing north that quickly proved to be an energy sinkhole. And when the 1970s addition was put on, it defaced the original historic Carnegie building. Historic preservation was out of the question; that train had left the station.
It quickly became apparent that renovation wasn’t feasible, but that didn’t make the path any clearer.
Through a period of months, stretching into years, the board looked at a number of other structures. The former Coca-Cola bottling plant, now home to the Museum of the Soldier, was one candidate. So was the former Weiler store, now home to John Jay Center for Learning.
While both were sound and worth saving, they didn’t make sense for the library.
Finally, the choice came down to building new. And even then, it wasn’t simple.
Wisely, the board opted to keep the library close to the core of the county seat rather than making it a drive-to location. Board members wanted the library to continue to be a place folks could walk to or ride a bike to, someplace inviting and congenial.
At one memorable meeting during the planning process, board members turned to Jay County High School government students who were attending the meeting for a class requirement and asked them to weigh in on some of the design choices for a new building. The students’ opinions shaped the library you see today.
It wasn’t a simple process.
But it was thoughtful. And it was visionary.
If you doubt that, take a look at the building now celebrating its 20th anniversary. It looks like it was born yesterday. — J.R.