Briceville Library annual meeting set; campaign to pay off library still going

The annual meeting of the Briceville and Anderson County Public Library Foundation, Inc. will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in the Peggy and Marshall Hackworth Community Room at the Briceville Public Library, 111 Slatestone Road, Briceville.

Business will include election of the Board of Directors and a report on fund raising progress. Anyone who has contributed to the Foundation in the past year is deemed to be a member of the Foundation, can vote, and is encouraged to attend.

Following the Annual Meeting and after a short break, the new Board of Directors will meet to elect officers and conduct business.

The Briceville and Anderson County Public Library Foundation, Inc. (B&ACPLF) started its Campaign to Pay-Off the Briceville Library Loan last June and ended 2016 having collected more than$20,000 through direct solicitations from 99 families, businesses and service clubs in Anderson County, toward its goal of raising $120,000 to retire a USDA Rural Development Loan obtained to complete construction of a new public library for the Briceville community.

There is no doubt the decision to go into debt to build the new library, which opened in September, 2013, was a correct one.

The library is an important part of the community, offering services, programs, and facilities which benefit all age groups. And the building is attractive, welcoming, and inspiring. Everyone who has visited the library has come away impressed.

The Campaign to Pay-Off the Briceville Library Loan will continue at least until September, 2017; businesses, industries, and service clubs in Anderson County, as well as regional and national charitable foundations are being actively solicited. Anyone wishing to contribute or who would like further information is invited to contact B&ACPLF at PO Box 414, Norris, TN 37828 or at bacplf@gmail.com.

About 11 years ago, the county library board and library advocates, along with Briceville’s small Masonic Lodge, started a project to replace the tiny, cramped, old library with a full-service, modern, stand-alone library. Approximately $260,000 in grants and donations and $75,000 in donated land and professional services were raised. But a loan of $125,000 was needed or the project would have to be canceled. Anderson County agreed to make the first four years of payments with the Foundation taking over in September, 2017.