DURHAM -- Durham County Library will host an open house to celebrate the opening of its newest facility, South Regional Library on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The new branch library is at 4505 S. Alston Ave. at N.C. 54 on the historic site of the Old Lowe's Grove School. Several aspects of the new library aim to incorporate community history.
The day will begin with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and comments from County Commissioners and other guests from 10 to 10:30 a.m. in front of the building.
The Bull City Cowboys will make a special appearance to celebrate the opening of the new facility just before the cutting of the ribbon.
Afterward, the fun will move indoors where visitors will have a chance to check out the new library, participate in a special gathering of historic stories and photos, and sample some of the programming that will be available at their library.
"We are so happy that we're opening the newest and final regional library," said Priscilla Lewis, Durham County Library interim director. "We're going to celebrate with a big open house with community members volunteering their time and talents to fill the library with music, dance and fun. Our staff will also be showing off their great storytime, puppeteering and even gaming skills. The grand opening will have a little something for everybody. We want everyone to visit this beautiful new, yet historic library."
To welcome customers into the new facility, DJ Piddypat will spin a combination of Latin, Brazilian and African beats geared toward getting young and old to "jump up."
International rhythms will continue with Flamenco and Latin music from guitarist Julius Carasco and African beats from Music Explorium's Djembe Drums. Folks who want to move to the beat can try Zumba as Susana Ramsey gives customers a sample of this popular dance workout, or they can participate in a more traditional fitness routine with trainer Alex Baskerville or learn about yoga with Vickie Pashion.
Children will fill the library with sweet sounds when the young harpists from the Harp Studio give a performance. Later, young singers from Lowe's Grove Baptist Church will perform to welcome the library to the neighborhood. In the auditorium, staff will entertain children with rhymetimes, storytimes, salsa for kids and sign language for babies. Teens can bring a T-Shirt and have a specially designed logo silk screened onto it, and they can participate in the Wii games that begin later in the day.
The open house will feature a special program called "Honoring Our History."
In study room one, the library will accept and scan personal photos related to Parkwood, Lowe's Grove or Research Triangle Park. Customers are encouraged to bring up to two photos to be added to the library's digital archive. In study room two, participants who pre-register will be recording five-minute oral memories of their lives in these communities. Call (919) 560-0128 to register.
To honor the communities it serves, the library's design features a timeline in the floor of the building that commemorates the history of Lowe's Grove and Parkwood. The walls of the lobby hallway are lined with brick from the Lowe's Grove School that stood where the library now stands. There are glass cases to hold artifacts and large historic panels that tell the story of the two communities and of the nearby Research Triangle Park.
The Freelon Group, based in Durham, designed South Regional Library using the same prototype as the North and East regionals, however the unique history of the site and the design elements incorporated to honor the local communities make South Regional distinctive and perfectly suited to its surroundings.
