The Main Library and branch libraries will be closed Tues. morning, Aug. 14th, due to the ground breaking ceremony for the future building.  The current library will reopen at 12 noon.

Basile, Mamou, and Turkey Creek branch libraries will open at 1.  Pine Prairie branch will be closed at least part of the morning and possibly all morning on Tuesday.  Chataignier will open at its regular time in the afternoon.

You will see us coming in and out of the current main library building, moving chairs, etc. to the ground breaking site.  Please be aware that although staff will be in the building, it is CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC until noon.  Thank you for your understanding.  We hope to see you at the ground breaking ceremony at 10 am.

We’ve scheduled the groundbreaking ceremony for the new main library!  It is Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 10 am.  The site in Ville Platte is the old hospital property on W. Main St., across from Citizens Bank and Mikey’s Donuts.

Everybody is very welcome.  If for any reason the ceremony has to be rescheduled, we will announce the change as soon as possible.

Thank you to everybody who has made this project a reality instead of a dream!

We have a display up at the current main library (242 W. Main St., Ville Platte) showing the location, the interior layout, and the front, rear, and sides of the future building.  It will be located at the site of the former Doctor’s Hospital, across from Citizens Bank, Mikey’s Donuts,  and a former gas station.

The new library has been designed to be SAFE:

S—Secure and Supportive for the whole parish

A—Attractive, Accessible, Adaptable, and Affordable

F—Flexible and Functional

E—Exciting, Efficient, and Educational

The building’s roofline is partly a butterfly roof, which allows for greater ability to utilize space.  The open interior design will make the building more adaptable to new technologies and allow for greater security.  It also will allow enough height at the sides of the building to allow for future expansion.  This roof has been recently used in some libraries as they need greater space flexibility for future needs.  A notable recent example (2010) is the Newburg Branch Library in Louisville, KY.  It has 8,300+ sq. ft. and was built for $1.9 million.  This library, which can be viewed on its webpage and is also discussed in a Designer Forum here, was awarded a New Landmark Award by the Louisville Historical League.  We look forward to the new Evangeline Parish Main Library/Administrative Headquarters becoming a future landmark for Ville Platte and for our whole parish.

We also salute Landreneau and Associates, the Library Board/Police Jury’s professional of record for this project, and the firm’s consultant architecture group, Ardoin Architecture.  Starting from an initial plan that had called for 7,000 sq. ft. back in April 2010, they have managed to evolve an 8,500 sq. ft. building at the original projected cost of a much smaller building. (Library Board minutes April 27, 2010: estimated project 7,000 sq. ft. at $175 per sq. ft., $1,525,000; Contract awarded July 2012: 8,500 sq. ft. plus courtyard, $1,524,000).  This outcome would not have been possible without extensive effort by Landreneau and Associates and Ardoin Architecture and without the innovation used in designing the building’s interior and its exterior to both meet current needs and future ones.

We also wish to thank the 120 people who participated in a survey of library exterior preferences in October and November 2008, when the library board was first preparing for this project.  Although the survey results (based on 39 photos of existing libraries, plus a local drawing, plus opportunities for other suggestions) showed no consensus for any one style, there were many interior requests made in the survey that have been addressed in this final design.  The survey was presented at Rotary, Friends of the Library, Chamber of Commerce, Family Book and Culture Fest in the Civic Center, and at the main library, with drawing prizes offered to encourage participation.  We are very grateful to the 120 participants for their feedback.  We are also grateful to members of the public who have attended Library Board meetings and/or Friends of the Library meetings, asked questions and given input as this project has gone forward. 

Many meetings have occurred since the Library’s first open forum on a new library back on October 6, 2003!  All who have attended meetings and given input in the over eight years since that first start are deeply appreciated.  We may not all agree, but we deeply respect your input and your dedication to making your community a better place for future generations.

Finally, a note of gratitude to the late Bill Guidry and the late Becky Lafleur, who both served so well on the Library Board and believed in the dream of a new library to benefit Ville Platte and the whole parish.  The Library misses you and honors all that you did to help make this possible.

The Evangeline Genealogical and Historical Society will meet at the main library (242 W. Main St., Ville Platte) at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, July 21st.  Everybody is welcome.

Guest speaker will be Brenda Fusilier from the Lafayette Genealogy Society.  She is a researcher on the Buller family.

Our final performer of the summer is former radio personality and outstanding magician Rob Rue. He and his wife Bobbie put on a dazzling show that you won’t want to miss.  He performs Tues. the 17th at 10 a.m. in Turkey Creek and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. in Ville Platte, Wed. the 18th at 10 a.m. in Pine Prairie and 2 p.m. at the Mamou Teen Center, and Thurs. the 19th at 10 a.m. in Basile and 3 p.m. at the Chataignier Village Hall. 

All performances are partly funded through a grant from Decentralized Arts Funding, as administered by the Acadiana Center for the Arts.  Admission is FREE.  Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Come enjoy a magic time at the library!