Exactly one year from the initial announcement to Niverville residents that a community lending library was on its way, the day has finally arrived.

On October 27, from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m., everyone is invited to the official grand opening of Niverville’s first public library, located at the Centennial Arena. 

A special grand opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting will take place at 7:00 p.m. Throughout the evening, attendees are encouraged to tour the facility, ask questions, and browse through the hundreds of books available to borrow. To cap off the evening, coffee and dessert will be served while local historian Ernest Braun provides some musings on the significance of the event for Niverville.

Over the past year, a portion of the rental space at the south end of the Centennial Arena has been under renovation in order to create a welcoming atmosphere for the new library. The space is small and humble for now, including little more than a few desks and bookshelves.

Hundreds of books have been donated by locals. Over the past few weeks, Councillor Meghan Beasant and other volunteers have been hard at work organizing them by genre and filling the shelves in time for opening day. For now, it will serve as a take one, leave one library as opposed to one with a traditional borrowing program and librarian.

 It’s a starting point, Beasant told The Citizen one year ago—a way for council to gauge public interest in order to determine whether a traditional public library might be in Niverville’s future.

Beasant says that she and the rest of council are willing to entertain the possibility of neighbouring municipalities joining forces to create a regional library in the months and years to come. For the time being, though, council is hopeful that the community will enjoy the new space they’ve created and the many books that have been lovingly donated by local readers.