It takes a village to build a library

Turning the first shovelfuls of dirt are Stephanie Gaboury, from left, Culbertson library director, Roma Sensel, Culbertson mayor, Mark Uerling, contractor for the project, Jeff Tidyman, architectural engineer, with his daughter, Sage, Marv Harms and Bob Sitzman, Culbertson village board. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

CULBERTSON, Neb. -- In this age of the Internet and downloading books in seconds, a library seems almost obsolete. But that didn't stop the village of Culbertson, population 500, from pulling together to build a new library of its own.

Ground was broken Monday on the site where a brand new, almost 3,000 square feet library will be built, with cheers from village officials, library board members, contracting representatives and about 170 students from the local elementary school, Hitchcock County Elementary.

It's the result of almost three years of diligent fundraising by the community that garnered almost $300,000. This included grants, along with $100,000 from the Village of Culbertson and donations from private individuals, some in hefty amounts of $10,000 or more.

Library board member, Lori Smith, helps student Alexis Wayman with her shovel at the groundbreaking. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

Pretty impressive for a town with one stop sign on main street.

"We have some really good people who believe in Culbertson. They really came out of the woodwork for this. I'm really pleased," said Bob Sitzman, vice chair of the village board and member of the building committee.

But it took more than one person to step up, beginning in 2012, when then-village librarian, Cindee Wagner, thought a new library was long overdue and began to spearhead fundraising efforts for a new building. At that time, a 900-square foot, bungalow-style house donated in 1937 by the Culbertson Women's Club was being used as a library, but it was showing signs of wear and tear and not ADA accessible.

The preliminary plan by Uerling Contractor approved by the village board includes plenty of space for computers, shelves, reading areas and a children's nook. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Gazette)

Wagner began the drumbeat for a new building and with other library supporters, coordinated several fundraisers, with one event drawing between $25,000 to $30,000 in contributions, according to village clerk, JoLyn Hare.

It snowballed from there, with grants being awarded and more people donating. Plans began to get serious and of primary concern was that the new library should not be just a metal building, but something visually pleasing as well.

A building committee, appointed by the village board, hired an engineer, outlined 64 criteria points that needed to be met for the library and requested proposals.

But new buildings are not cheap and making it work for the budgeted amount took creativity. That's why the village board ultimately approved a contract with Mark Uerling of Uerling Construction as the general contractor.

"He really took it down as low as he possibly could without sacrificing the criteria we had and has gone out of his way to help us," Sitzman said.

Uerling, using a design-build method with Jeff Tidyman as the architectural engineer, will submit a plan, to the village board for approval, that will outline specifics of the construction, from material and labor costs down to which fixtures will be used,

With three times the space it had before, the new library will include a children's corner with windows, computer area, room for shelves and reading areas and a curved front desk. With the extra space, the library will also be used for club and community meetings.

Construction is anticipated to begin in October, with completion tentatively set for February 2016.