Island Free Press ...Local News

In the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel in 2003, the Hatteras Village Civic Association Board made the decision to replace, repair, and upgrade the community properties.

The Civic Center, which was destroyed by the Isabel’s ocean storm surge, was rebuilt and the interior was upgraded. The U.S. Post Office building got a new facade, and now work is underway on the Community Building.

Plagued by leaks, the building has been in need of a new roof, and the library has outgrown its capacity. The roofing on the community center side of the building is the first phase in the project, and it is moving along on schedule. The new roofline adds traditional charm to the building, and the interior will get improvements as well with new ceilings and lighting.

The next step, expected to begin in December, will be the removal of all the library materials from the current library space to this improved section “across the hall” (the large meeting room) during major reconstruction and remodeling of the library.

When Miss Lillie Peele started to organize a small collection of donated books in the old, abandoned village schoolhouse in 1957 it quickly became a much-used lending library for the remote village. Her niece and assistant, Yancey Foster, helped her and set an ambitious course.

Foster made sure that there was space designated for the little library when the villagers decided it was time to build a community center. There was some squabbling back then over the roof line and sure enough, the building leaked! Foster coaxed and cajoled and formed work crews to construct shelves and furniture and to perform other labor, including bailing and sweeping the rain water out of the library.

She turned her attention to fundraising and grant writing, and then she began negotiations with Dare County to add the “little library that could” to its system. In 1977, 20 years after its inception, the Hatteras Library received formal approval to become a branch of the Eastern Albemarle Regional Library System that includes the Dare County Library.

For all these years, the villagers have supported the library. As a special tax district, Hatteras village residents pay an additional tax. That tax is used for community properties, including the library facility. The county library system has used the space rent-free, maintenance-free and utilities-free since 1977.

In an example of effective partnering, the Dare County Board of Commissioners has voted unanimously to make much needed improvements to the facility in Hatteras. The board has allocated nearly $800,000 to expand, renovate, and furnish a newer, larger Hatteras Library in one section of the community building. The Hatteras Village Civic Association board and the tax trustees have approved expending almost $300,000 on other aspects of building renovation and will maintain its financial obligations to provide maintenance and utilities to the library with no rental fees.

According to County Librarian, Jonathan Wark, “By mid 2008, library operations will move to our new permanent space. We will have over 70 percent more space than present, with additional storage space for supplies and seasonal materials upstairs.”

The new library will offer more room for books and other materials, a separate picture book area for small children, separate juvenile area, separate teen area, room for additional computers, room to grow the genealogy and local history collections, and better lighting, humidity, and temperature control.

The Hatteras Branch is maintaining its regular operating hours and all of its services during construction. As the work progresses, changes will be posted online at The Island Free Press and also at the library site. The only schedule change is the children’s story hour that has moved for the time being to the Hatteras pre-school above the Hatteras United Methodist Church on Tuesday at 11 a.m.

The book drop has been moved to the front of the building, on the corner along the sidewalk nearest the fire station. The main entry cannot be used and patrons are directed to the side door, along the alley between the fire station and the community building.

For more information, go the library’s Web site at www.earlibrary.org or e-mail Hatteras manager Helen Hudson at hhudson@earlibrary.org. The library phone number is 986-2385.