The Ellisville Public Library celebrated its grand opening Thursday after more than six years of planning and development. City and county dignitaries and library representatives spoke about the hard work it took to convert the Ellisville library from a small, crowded room in city hall to a new 4,000-square-foot facility.

“This community really needs a library... and this was a success because of a lot of people working together,” said Ellisville Mayor Tim Waldrup. “This is something we should all be proud of and use so it can continue to grow. The library has seen a 300 percent increase in the last month. Before, you couldn’t even get in it.”

The history of the Ellisville Public Library dates back to 1961, moving to city hall in 1965. In 2002, Paulette Entrekin began the search for funding of a new building. Those funds began trickling in two years later when USDA Rural Development offered the first of three grants. All together, USDA Rural Development offered $275,000, with the U.S. Department of Housing and Rural Development (HUD) included a $250,000 line item grant, and the Mississippi Library Commission contributed a $300,000 public library capital improvement grant. Other funds came from the City of Ellisville and Jones County, as well as the Friends of the Ellisville Public Library.

Burris Wagnon Architects, based in Jackson, designed the building, with Max Robertson Construction Co. in Ellisville handling the construction.

Pat Holifield, president of the Friends of the Ellisville Public Library, said interest in the library quickly built. “My husband (Ellisville alderman James Holifield) was appointed chairman of the library board, and said we needed $75,000 to furnish this beautiful, empty building,” she said. “We used one of Mayor Waldrup’s favorite methods and formed an ad hoc committee. During that initial meeting, 30 to 40 people showed up and donated $4,000.” In total, over $77,000 has been raised with additional money used for landscaping and a summer reading program.

Mitch Stennett, who heads the Economic Development Authority of Jones County, said the library will be beneficial to residents of Ellisville and Jones County. He noted a love for books that began at a young age, when his mother was a school librarian. “Over time, my mom and I grew to learn to love to read together,” he said. “Today, I’ve got thousands of hardback and paperback books on my shelves and I can’t bear throw or give any of them away.”

However, Stennett said the Ellisville Public Library would be the recipient the next time he does any cleaning. Thursday, he donated autographed copies of three books — “The Associate” by John Grisham, “Escape in Iraq” by Thomas Hamill and “Boomtown USA” by Jack Schultz.

Other speakers on the program included Andy Dial, president of the Jones Co. Board of Supervisors; Win Ellington, field representative from U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran’s office; and Mary Louise Breland, director of Laurel-Jones Co. Library System Inc.

For more information about the Ellisville Public Library, visit www.laurel.lib.ms.us. The Friends of the Ellisville Public Library is looking for new members and can be reached at (601) 477-9271 or ellpublic@laurel.lib.ms.us.