Flenniken Library to celebrate 50th anniversary
CARMICHAELS – For 50 years, the Flenniken Public Library has proudly served the Carmichaels community. And during National Library Week, April 10 to 13, the library will celebrate its past, present and future with the community.
“We’ve been able to provide literacy, education, information, recreation, materials and services for 50 years,” said Linda Orsted, Flenniken Library director and CEO.
Although Flenniken Library is celebrating its 50-year presence, the library has actually served the community since 1946.
During that year, the library opened as a one-room, volunteer-led reading center in a section of the local bank. It was not until 1961 that the library was able to move into its own quarters, following a donation by Earl Flenniken in memorial to his parents, William and Mary Flenniken.
“I’m not sure what the collection size was at the beginning, but it wasn’t a lot,” Orsted said. “But by 1961 everything had been moved into the library and the doors were opened.”
Currently, the library houses 3,500 square feet of usable space. But according to Orsted, that is not sufficient enough.
“According to the studies that show our community’s population, we need at least 10,000 to 12,000 feet to properly serve the community,” she said. “As it is now, the library is much too small. It’s not adequate for modern library services.”
By holding a weeklong celebration, Orsted hopes to raise awareness, with an open house on April 13.
“We need to raise awareness,” she said. “By getting people into the building, especially people that haven’t visited the building lately, we will be able to show the services that we offer and what we can do with more space.”
On April 13, the library will provide pamphlets with information on the library itself, as well as refreshments, giveaways and door prizes.
“We want it to be a big open house celebration,” Orsted said.
Orsted, who has been with the library since 2004, envisions a bright future for Flenniken Library.
“We want Flenniken Library to be the go-to library for the area,” she said. “Our theme for the week is going to be ‘Libraries: The heart of every community.’ When people need something they will think of the library as the place to find the answers.”
The most effective way she can make this happen is by adding more square feet; however, the charge before her is a difficult one.
Flenniken Library is currently in a building that used to be a home.
“We need space that is designed especially to be a library,” she said. “A home is not designed to be a library. We have to work around it and we don’t have the room and we have rooms that are not usable.”