Monticello’s new Library Opens Next Week

While the Ethelbert B. Crawford Library has been serving the folks in and around  Monticello since 1936, on Sunday it moved a few blocks away to a new location on Broadway to better serve the community.

Nearly 300 people turned out for the ceremonial book brigade from the old building to the new location, which included books such as Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree,” Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch,” a World Book encyclopedia volume and a book by Jackie Collins. It is also included an original painting called “Willow Tree” by the library’s namesake, artist Ethelbert B. Crawford, according to the Times Herald-Record.

The new building, formerly the site of the Davco Department Store, is nearly 11,000 square feet, handicap-accessible, technologically advanced, and is three times the size of the original building, according to the Times Herald-Record. This has been in the works since 2012 as a way to provide more services for the public as well as have a space to put the library's nearly 35,000 volume book collection.

According to the library's website, the new location will open next Monday, October 26.