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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

The Jemison Public Library has officially moved to its new home.

Having moved out of the Jemison City Hall on July 10 with the help of city workers and some volunteers, the library opened at 160 Main Street on July 16.

Librarian Tammie McGriff said the move has been “overwhelming.”

“We are back in history,” McGriff said. “This has been here for 130 years, and we are back in it in the old part of Jemison to me it’s just priceless.”

She and assistant librarian Cheryl English are excited to be in the new space.

While the library is open, McGriff and English are still moving in and getting everything where it needs to be.

A grand opening for the new location is being planned for when everything is more settled.

Library hours will remain the same with the facility being open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to noon.

McGriff and English thanked the mayor and city council for supporting the move to a larger location.

The new space has several special features from historic looking light fixtures to shelves built specifically for the space by James Smith and Greg Deavers.

Many community members have donated items and time to make the new location a success.

A reading area with a couch donated from Barry’s furniture has been set up. A children’s reading area is taking shape. A donated 100-year-old desk sets in the center of the room. McGriff said the desk is a library desk donated by Sonya and Steve Smith. The Smiths also donated 450 bricks for potentially paving the back and side yard of the library.

A children’s art table will be donated by Teresa Davis that will be located toward the back of the library. Kendall Jackson has donated a child-sized table and chairs. Frank Wilkins is also building a hutch for storage for library records. Clay Mims and many others have also been a part of the moving efforts.

The move has required some ingenuity, such as figuring out how to move the circulation desk that could not be disassembled.

McGriff said city workers transported the bulky desk and were able to get it through the bay door of the new location, which is left over from when the building was a fire station.

“They were tremendous,” English said.

The location has historic significance as a former location of the Jemison City Hall.

Volunteers Emily English and Suzi Blue helped get the books on the shelf. English said the library has used the move as an opportunity to remove outdated and unused books to make room for news ones.

Jemison has stacks of books purchased through grants secured by former Chilton County Library director Savannah Kitchens that have been waiting for the library to have space for them.

An area is also planned to be set aside for a potential meeting area for small meetings.