Olney Library Honors Past in First Renovation in 50 Years

When Olney set out in 1976 to build what would become the first combined public- school and community library in Texas — and the only such successfully merged facility in the United States — the idea sounded ambitious, even a little improbable.

But it was the kind of project that suited Olney: practical, community-driven, and built on the belief that shared effort could outpace limited means.

The plan called for a $250,000 building that would unite the school library and the town’s public library under one roof. Within a month of launching the fundraising campaign, the drive had already raised half the amount needed — a startling early surge that signaled just how deeply the town wanted this new institution.

Local clubs booked Speakers Bureau representatives, businesses passed the hat, and volunteers staffed a campaign headquarters in the old Olney Savings Building across from the bank. Residents even submitted names for the “new building, which will soon be built to shelter the combined school and public libraries,” the Enterprise reported at the time Enterprise publisher David Penn captured the spirit behind the project in his Nov. 18, 1976 Penn Point column: “It’s people, after all, seeking knowledge or entertainment, that make a library more than just a storehouse for books. That’s what the whole project is about … giving people the opportunity to seek knowledge, depart knowledge, share knowledge, receive knowledge…” That belief — that a library is a living thing made by its users — sustained the effort all the way to the library’s opening in 1979. For nearly half a century afterward, the building stayed largely as the community first imagined it, a sturdy reflection of the era and the volunteers who built it.

Now, after 46 years without a major renovation, the Olney Community Library and Arts Center is once again being reshaped by a mix of necessity, planning, and community resolve. Construction began Nov. 1 on a comprehensive remodel that will modernize the building while preserving the unique dual identity Olney pioneered.

The most visible change so far is the glass wall dividing the children’s collection — now part of the school district’s domain — from the public area.

Librarian Rebecca Esparza said the wall offers a measure of safety for students checking out books during the school day while maintaining public access after hours. students first without limiting anyone else’s use.

Library Director Lori Cox said the renovation touches “every part of the building.”

New flooring, paint, furniture, and shelving are on the way, along with a reconfiguration of the children’s wing, which will become the Linda Daws Center for Young Readers in honor of the longtime children’s aide who served Olney students for 29 years.

The $300,000-plus project is funded by a transformation grant from the Tocker Foundation and additional grants and local fundraising — a familiar formula in a town used to building what it needs by banding together.

Much of the heavy work will take place over the Thanksgiving and winter breaks, with staff packing up the collection so crews can install floors and paint. New shelving is scheduled to arrive in December.

The library expects to reopen Jan. 5, with an open house planned for early February. Mrs. Cox, who grew up visiting the library across the street from her childhood home, admits the change is bittersweet.

“I think I’m going to miss how it looks now because this is all I remember of it,” she said. “But I’m super excited for all the new changes and to see five years of fundraising come to fruition.”

Nearly 50 years after Olney first created something that did not exist anywhere else in the country — a true combined public and school library — the town is once again remaking the building in that same collective spirit