St. Tammany News

Madisonville residents, who lost their library to Hurricane Katrina, will soon have access to a new library opening just west of town on Louisiana Highway 22.

The Black River branch of the St. Tammany Parish Library is opening in March to provide the residents of the southwestern corner of the parish access to the parish's library after the historic Madisonville Branch was permanently shut down by Katrina.

Shipping delays has the St. Tammany Parish Library's newest branch at a standstill with some of the ordered materials stacked in a corner waiting to be shelved. (Staff Photo by Chad Ruiz)

"We never want to abandon any community," Library Director Janice Butler said. "We were looking to service those same people in Madisonville, plus the community members in the surrounding subdivisions."

Named after a nearby neighborhood, the Black River Branch is located at 1519 La. 22 W. and is relatively small at 2,000 square feet. Crews are still constructing the interior, but a shipment delay with the bookshelves has Butler estimating the opening date to be sometime in March.

"We didn't realize it would take so long for the manufacturer to deliver the furniture," she said. "I'm hoping to open no later than the last of March."

This branch will become the first of the 10 branches to issue out wireless laptops for use in the library. It will also feature wireless Internet for anyone bringing their own computer.

"They can borrow a laptop from us to use, sit in a chair and enjoy some coffee," Collection Development Librarian Lesley Dolinger said. "This will be the first time we've actually circulated laptops."

Dolinger is helping design the interior and said she is aiming toward a bookstore-type atmosphere with comfortable seating and even a coffee station where visitors will feel invited to "stay awhile."

Dolinger said the library will also house more current materials.

"It's going to have up-to-date fiction and some of the hotter titles," she said. She also said it will contain DVDs, CDs, magazines, newspapers, fiction, nonfiction and audio books.

There will also be a designated children's section with age specific materials.

Butler also said that items can be shipped among branches if your local library is lacking something you desire.