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By Shelby Mathis

During the June 14 weekly meeting of the Greenville Lions Club, Greenville-Butler Library Director Kevin Pearcey and head of Library Board, Vivian McGowin, announced the official re-launch of the library’s 2023 Capital Campaign.

According to Pearcy, the library is “one of the best kept secrets in Butler County.” The fundraising campaign, initially set to begin in October 2019, was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 29, the library hosted Bookfest, which served as a soft kickoff for the campaign. This was the first of many fundraising events to follow, including the Summer Reading Kickoff Party on July 6th, and the return of a fall supper hosted in partnership with the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce in October. “This community is so generous… We want to give everyone opportunities to come together, and we also want to offer something back to the community.” said Pearcey.

The goal of the capital campaign is to raise upwards of $300,000, which will be dedicated to projects such as expanding the parking area, updating the multi-purpose room to add new furniture and updated technology such as a television and interactive whiteboard, enhancing both the children’s area and children’s programs, and more.

Pearcey stressed “The library was built in 1992 and has not been changed since 1992. A progressive 21st century library is what we are needing more and more.”

Library facilities host a variety of programs and services offered to the community. These include Toddler Tuesday, Super Saturday, Knitting Club, Quilt Club, a check-out program for musical instruments such as ukuleles and guitars, and the Summer Reading Program. Library staff also distribute STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) Maker Kits to aid in fostering creativity and ingenuity in the community’s youth, and are in the process of investing into memory kits for distribution to those with loved ones who are suffering from a memory loss disorder.

“Most of the time people think of the library as just a place to come and check out a book, but it’s so much more than that,” McGowin said.  “It’s a family oriented multi-purpose facility. The library itself is probably one of the most heavily used, if not the most heavily used, of the facilities that we have on our campus. We want to make it the best that we possibly can. We know that this is an ambitious project, and we welcome any and all donations to help us better serve the citizens of Butler County.”

Notably, the fundraising efforts of the campaign will allow the Library Board to complete their renovations without seeking direct funding from the City, the County, or local tax withholding.

“Let’s all see how we can partner together and work together to write the next chapter of the Butler County Library.” urged McGowin, “It would be amazing to see what you could do. Just know that the money that you give is going to help all the people here [in Butler County].” Donations to the Capital Campaign may be made online at www.greenville-bcpl.org or in person at the Greenville-Butler County Public Library.