A sign of community support
Published 9:57 pm Monday, November 21, 2016
The Chuckatuck Library recently received a much needed sign replacement.
The old sign was aged and was in dire need of repair. The Chuckatuck and Possum Hollow Ruritan clubs provided donations for the installation.
“We couldn’t have done this without [their] donations,” said Lynn Barlow, secretary-treasurer with the Chuckatuck Friends of the Library, who provided the sign.
The library in Chuckatuck has a history of being supported by the community.
In the fall of 1982, Mary Saunders Williams rallied fellow residents in hopes of establishing a library in Chuckatuck.
The idea came into fruition and opened in April 1983 in the Saunders Supply Center. It moved to its current location at 5881 Godwin Blvd. about six years later.
Most of the library’s collection was allotted from the Morgan Memorial library and volunteers.
Eventually, the library hired its first full-time employee in 2000. The staff now consists largely of full-time employees.
The library has also appealed to the youth through its children’s programs such as story times and summer reading programs. These efforts were made possible by funding from the Suffolk Friends of the Library.
“From this organization has come the majority of our volunteers,” read a document provided by Barlow. “Without their untiring, unselfish service, the library would not have survived.”
Several organizations have supported the library over the years, in addition to the aforementioned Ruritan clubs, to include the Junto Woman’s Club, Junto Book Club, Village Garden Club and Bennetts Trust Board. They have contributed money, books and many volunteer hours.