Library board reviewed building options

Twenty-five years ago this week, discussions were ongoing about the future of Jay County Public Library.

On Oct. 20, 1993, Jay County Public Library Board reviewed a pair of one-story construction options for a new facility.

One was for a location then owned by First National Bank on the west side of Harrison Street between Walnut and High streets, north of where the library was located in 1993. The other was for property at the former C&C Lumber site on the east side of Ship Street between High and Arch streets, which is the library’s current site.

“These are not intended to be final designs,” said architect Mike Montgomery of K.R. Montgomery and Associates of Anderson. “In a way, they’re shots in the dark intended to help the board understand how the library could be organized.”

The Ship Street design described the library essentially as it is today, with the building facing west and a drive-up area for book drop-off. It included a meeting room, now known as the Community Room, and a “central room” with reference and the main book collection on one side and children’s books on the other. It also featured a genealogy room (the Indiana Room), computer and typing rooms, and group study rooms.

The other option would have included similar features, but would have been laid out differently, with the main entrance facing Walnut Street.

The board had also looked at two-story options, but seemed to favor the one-story path or the possibility of using the former Coca-Cola building on Arch Street that is now home to Museum of the Soldier.