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Saturday, August 25, 2001

New library to provide light of knowledge

By JOHN BOZZO | News-Journal Staff Writer

DAYTONA BEACH — Inez Jeffers casts aside the reserve librarians are known for when she talks about the new John H. Dickerson Heritage Library.

"I'm excited," she said. "We're all excited here."

She's head librarian of the $1.3 million facility built by Volusia County at 411 Keech St., in the heart of the city's black community.

Jeffers was busy recently with her staff of three librarians preparing for a grand opening of the attractive masonry block building scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday. The Campbell Middle School band will march to the library to perform. After the program, guests will be welcomed into the new library.

"We're getting organized and dealing with anything that came in marked incorrectly," she said.

Named in memory of the veteran educator, once principal at the old Campbell High School, who died in 1980, the new building replaces a library -- also named in honor of Dickerson -- that was housed in a room at the community center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

County and city officials expressed enthusiasm about the new library they expect to be a source of pride, a resource for a neighborhood in need and an economic development investment in the low-income central-west core of Daytona Beach.

"I love the library," said Jeffers, who was the sole full-time paid librarian at the former facility in the Dickerson Community Center. "It is just beautiful," she said. "The old library was smaller. This is almost three times the size. It's beautiful and cheery. We're going to have an opportunity to do more for this community in this library."

The new library building is 5,500 square feet compared to 2,000 square feet at the older facility. Books will number 22,000 volumes, up from 8,000. Ten computers will be available for patrons, instead of only two. And there's room to add more of the high-tech machines.

A meeting room is available for classes, programs and community events. After-school programs, children's story hours, music, authors, speakers, crafts and art shows are some of the activities being planned and considered for the new facility.

Windows dominate a rear and side wall of the new building, giving the library a cheery, bright atmosphere. Construction of a retention pond/park next door is visible through the windows.

The library is within walking distance from Turie T. Small Elementary School and Campbell Middle School.

Schoolchildren and other patrons can choose from the book collection that has an emphasis on African-American literature, magazines or racks of videos and music CDs.

And, there're the computers.

Jeffers said schoolchildren often use the computers, which will have Internet access, for activities not allowed on the machines in schools -- like accessing music videos and games.

City Commissioner Charles Cherry, who represents the zone where the library is located, said the facility will improve accessibility to information for people in an area desperately in need of expanding their culture and reading habits.

"I don't think we could have done anything better than to have a library in the heart of the black community," he said. "That's the best thing to ever happen in the black community in a long time.

"It supplements what I consider to be functions and responsibilities of a democratic society," he said. "Unless one is informed, one cannot be a participant in democracy. This makes information available. People who have access can be better citizens."

Mike Knievel, Volusia County library director, said the library is an economic development investment in the black community.

"Most people don't think of libraries as having an economic development impact," he said. "But obviously we do. A $1.3 million investment is just the initial investment.

"If you build a resource like a library, it can build dividends for years to come. It's not just the $1.3 million; it's what people do with the education they get from the library and turn around to make lives better for themselves. We're looking for this library to pay dividends for that area. It's an investment wisely made."

Knievel promises the library will be a friendly neighbor to businesses that want to expand or locate in the neighborhood.

Claudia Hutchinson, one of the new librarians at the facility, was logging books onto a computer recently in preparation for the grand opening.

"I love the windows, love the space, love the collection," she said. "There's a lot of new books. The reference collection is great. I like the collection of contemporary authors and material about Florida."

Audrey Parente contributed to this report.

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