Skip to main content

Chester County Press

Ribbon-cutting ceremony for Oxford Public Library

07/07/2015 03:13PM ● By Steven Hoffman

Patrons of the Oxford Public Library have been enjoying the results of a major expansion project that added about 4,000 square feet of comfortable, well-lit space to the building for about a month. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the new wing of the library took place on July 3, with dozens of library supporters attending the event.

Jamie Cole, the president of the library's board of trustees, said that the expansion project was the culmination of a lot of effort over many, many years to plan and fund the project. He said that, on behalf of the board, he wanted to thank everyone—from the little kid who gave 50 cents to the supporters who were able to give a lot more—who made the expansion project a reality.

“The community involvement has been absolutely tremendous,” Cole said, noting that local businesses helped out in numerous ways. Oxford Feed & Lumber, for instance, donated materials for the project. Cole also thanked Nowland Associates, which handled the design and construction work, for doing a fantastic job.

Work on the library is now entering its next phase. The adult collection has already been relocated to the new wing so the next step is to move the young adult and children’s collection upstairs to the space that previously housed the adult collection. That move will take place late in the summer. Overall, the size of the library is increasing from about 7,000 square feet to 11,000 square feet.

Mayor Geoff Henry called the library one of the best-kept secrets in the community.

Joseph Sherwood, the executive director of the Chester County Library System said that he was thankful to have such a great library to serve the Oxford community.

“Libraries are so important as community hubs,” he said.