At the Jan. 23 Bridgeport City Council meeting, city resident Drew Tate approached Council with concern about the crowded condition of Bridgeport Public Library.

“I was around when the original discussion took place of moving the library from the (Benedum) Civic Center into the new building (on Johnson Avenue),” Tate said. “There was a lot of discussion about having the city fund it with bonds and to go in debt and some Council members didn’t want to do that. (City Attorney) Dean Ramsey and I talked and determined that it wasn’t against the state law for the citizens to raise money and we were able to do that.”

 

It was in 1994 when the citizens and businesses of Bridgeport raised more than $1.3 million in order to purchase and renovate the Allstate Insurance building on Johnson Avenue, which became Bridgeport Public Library.

 

As Tate stated, the library has not been expanded since that time and that the facility has outgrown its space.

 

“There are stacks of books on portable carts all over the library,” he said. “People are also using Kindle (E-readers) and computers for reading books. Even if this technology is the future, we’re going to need additional space for loaning out Kindles.”

 

Mayor Bob Greer said the need for expansion is something the city knew would eventually need to happen. He said members of Council and city officials would work with the library board and Director Sharon Saye to develop recommendations.

 

Since that Jan. 23 meeting, Library Board President Susan Goodwin has met with Tate and results of that discussion were to be relayed to Assistant City Manager Jim Smith, Saye said.

 

Saye also said the library is busy shifting books around to make room where needed.

 

"But that is a slow process," she said.

 

Saye and City Clerk Andrea Kerr said some major clean-up will be conducted in the springtime to weed out unneeded files and paperwork to free up additional space.

 

A department of the City of Bridgeport, the library is administered by a five-member board which is appointed by Council. Primarily funded by the city, the library also receives financial assistance from the State of West Virginia, the Harrison County Commission and the Harrison County Board of Education.