(Almost) ready for business

Johns Island library gears up for opening

Three 18-wheelers hauling books, CDs and DVDs have backed up to the new Johns Island Branch Library's doors this month. To the library staff, the trucks arrived packed with excitement. "We are loving it," declared Johns Island Branch Library Manager Darlene P. Jackson. "It's just kind of humbling to see it all coming along bit by bit," she said of the work under way to open hundreds of boxes and fill the library's shelves. She said the 16,000-square-foot library is more than ready for the books, discs and tapes that will number more than 35,000 when everything has been delivered. The $4.3 million library at 3531 Maybank Highway is scheduled to open Oct. 26. Charleston County Library officials had hoped to open the first week of October. However, delays in building completion pushed the opening date to later in the month, said county library spokeswoman Frances Richardson. Jackson, who left the county's Mount Pleasant Regional Library to take the same post at the Johns Island branch, has assembled a staff of more than 20 people. The staff, which includes experienced as well as novice librarians, Lowcountry natives and new residents, and some former schoolteachers, has been busy since Sept. 9, when the first truckload of books arrived. The staff must unbox and inspect items, log them into the library's computer and get them to the correct shelves. "They are a very hard-working team that has already shown their value," Jackson said of her staff. She also has been busy planning and preparing all aspects and areas of the library for opening. She overlooks no detail, from the choices of stuffed sea creatures in the children's area to the arrangement of chairs in the auditorium. "It's kind of like you have a dream and then it comes to pass. It's so very special," said Jackson, whose lifelong dream was to head a library. The library is the first the county has built on the island. It is expected to serve the growing region that includes Johns, Wadmalaw, Seabrook and Kiawah islands. Haut Gap Middle School, which is adjacent to the library, already has been connected to the library with new sidewalks. The library and the school plan a close working relationship. The building will house a Story Hour Room, a conference room and large children's area. At least 1,000 books and 500 audio-visual items will be in Spanish and 40 computers will be set up, including two in Spanish.

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