WHITEWATER, Wis. — The Whitewater Public Library has turned a new page with more room to read. Its 4,000-square-foot expansion opened the first week of February after a year and a half of construction.
The library expansion cost $6 million. People in Whitewater raised $3 million for the project and the City of Whitewater matched their fundraiser by paying the other half of the cost.
"Just coming in every day, I'm like, 'Oh, that's right, we have this new library now,'" said Whitewater Public Library director Diane Jaroch. "It really is a new chapter, definitely."
The new section of the building features meeting space, two study rooms, and a teen area. The old library footprint built in 1991, now called the Irvin L. Young Memorial Wing, was reconfigured to expand the library's children's area.
WATCH: Whitewater celebrates new chapter with expanded library
"There's room for the kids to run, " Jaroch said. "Before, there wasn't really room for the kids to play and move."
Readers showed their appreciation for the library with handwritten thank-you notes posted in the new entrance area.
"We actually had to order more of those because they were getting written on so quickly," Jaroch said.
Readers such as Ben Markham are thankful Whitewater has a place to find so many books and resources.
"I order books in large quantities," said Markham, who is a junior at nearby UW-Whitewater. The way I read books is like television but better, because unlike TV, your imagination gets to run the picture."
The library opens at 9 a.m. every day of the week except Sunday. It closes at 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays, and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays.
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