Girard and Lake City have had a public library since 1895. But 22 years ago, the two libraries came together under one roof, in a former Country Fair store.

The library these days is more than just a place to find a good book

“With a library card, it’s not about books anymore. We have 24/7 wifi, we have free computer access, internet access, printing, mobile hot spots, museum passes and fishing poles. You can get all that with a library card,” said Ronda Nicholes, librarian.

The head librarian said she used to work here when it was a convenience store…and now these days is busy providing fun interesting programming for library patrons.

“We run about 80 programs a year here, always adding new ones. We have a staff of four. We do it all together, and we do it on a programming budget of $500 a year,” Nicholes added.

This week’s Loving Giving Local donation will help provide more programming so get ready for some fun stuff.

“We have an adult craft program coming up each month until January. We have more teen cooking classes coming, those are so popular. We have an adult scavenger hunt, Pokemon-themed, so we will definitely put this to good use. The community will enjoy it,” Nicholes continued.

“For us to bring Loving Giving Local to the Rice Avenue Public Library and learn about the library that has been in our community for over 120 years, and the donation we bring today is going to go right back into programming and right back into the community, that’s what Loving Giving Local is all about,” said Joe Askins, Auto Express Resale Center.