MARMET, W.Va. –Assistant Director for Kanawha County Public Libraries Sarah Mitchell says the past month they’ve been focused on continuing library services to the Marmet area as they prepare to close the Marmet Public Library on Friday, May 2nd.

“The main thing we’ve been working on is to make sure that we’re continuing services in that area,” Mitchell said.

KCPL’s made the announcement at the beginning of April that they were closing the library in Marmet because of the deterioration of the building. The library, which is a single-wide modular that was built in November 1978 and has served the area for almost 47 years.

Gabrielle Cochran, the Eastern Region Manager for Marmet and other libraries, told MetroNews in April after it was announced it would be closing that it was hard decision to make.

“We have regular patrons that we love to see, you know every week when were there,” Cochran said. “So, it’s definitely not a decision that we took lightly, and we’ve tried to maintain our hours there as long as we could.”

After the building is closed the KCPL’s Bookmobile will be making scheduled stops in the area on Thursday beginning on May 8th, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then again from 2:30 p.m. until 4. However, she said that once summer hits in June, the Bookmobile hours will be extended.

Mitchell said that they haven’t any issues with telling patrons about the closure because they made the announcement almost a month before closing doors.

“No, we didn’t really have that, that’s part of the reason we’re announcing so far in advance is so we could prepare people to the best of our ability of the new process, we’re trying to make this as helpful as possible for the patrons and be there for them,” she said.

As for the books, Mitchell says that once the library closes for good, employees will help sort them all.

“Staff will be there a little bit longer to go through that, but the first place there going is to the Eastern Region, to that community first,” she said.

Once they are taken there, they will have books going to the Bookmobile and to the Riverside and Glasgow branches.

Mitchell said that even though they will be closed, the book drop at the Marmet location will still be available. And any books or items patrons had on hold, will automatically transfer to the Bookmobile.

Patrons will also be able to go to Riverside Public Library, which is located at 1 Warrior Way, Suite 104, Belle WV or the Glasgow Branch Library which is located in Glasgow’s Municipal Building at 129 4th Avenue, Glasgow, WV.

Photo: Kanawha County Public Library’s website