Latest vision in Sedan, Kan., is multi-purpose library

Community leaders in Sedan, Kan., population 1,093, plan to raise money to build a library including new technology and various facilities, Julianne Couch writes for the Daily Yonder. Projects for town improvement are common in Sedan; other undertakings have included selling more than 11,000 beige bricks bearing the purchaser's name, and removing garbage from the creek that runs through town.

Library board member Judy Tolbert, real estate broker Dick Jones

Community leader and library board member Judy Tolbert said, "The project has the potential to unite the community and area." The library will provide space for a variety of activities. Tolbert explained the library will have a safe room to shelter residents from tornadoes, a meeting room, 20 computers, and a full kitchen. Tolbert said the kitchen will provide a place to can and preserve food that will grow in the community garden near the library. The planners also recognize the need for a cutting edge digital library, said Rudy Taylor, local newspaper publisher and editor, told Couch.

With approval of the city council, the library board has purchased a residential lot and another lot next door. Tolbert said the library will cost $783,000 to build, but with the additional equipment required for the kitchen and security system, it might be closer to $1 million. They have raised $18,000 and won't start building until they've raised the rest of it. "We are asking for money from around the region, not local money," Tolbert told Couch. "Then when people in town see regional people contributing, then the locals will ask to get involved." (Read more)