The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors and members of the audience got to see a remarkable development on the proposed library and community center location at the former Dillwyn Primary School.

The presentation showcased what the building could be: a place that has something for everyone.

There are community meeting spaces, computer stations for adults, teenagers and children, books for all age groups, and a location that can accommodate a lot of people and is accessible to a lot of people, which is sometimes difficult to find.

The presentation included everything from floor plans to a three-dimensional tour of the proposed location.

Audience members during the meeting brought up important questions about safety, how children would be protected by the fireplace proposed in the library; and environmentally friendly steps, such as potentially installing solar panels for the location.

Wilbert Dean, founder of Ellis Acre Memorial Park, spoke about the importance of remembering former schools in the county and their histories, and supporting the memories of schools for African-American students in addition to schools for white students.

Joshua Bower, the architect of the project with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, had encouraging things to say about the project moving forward, and had an estimate of what the library and community center would look like, and the cost of construction.

Rick Ewing, director of the Central Virginia Regional Library, Amy R. White, Buckingham Branch Library Manager, Megan Almond, children’s librarian, and IT representative Dale Pruitt have been integral representatives of the library’s development.

It’s evident the amount of work that library committee members County Administrator Rebecca Carter, Finance Director Karl Carter, District Three Supervisor Don Matthews, District Four Supervisor Morgan Dunnavant, County Attorney E.M. Wright, Ewing, White, Almond and Bower have put into the project. It’s encouraging to know that the project is expected to go forward without a proposed tax increase for residents.

We at The Herald are grateful to each representative that has pooled the time, resources and imagination necessary to move this project forward. A library and community center in a central location of the county would hold a wealth of opportunity for the very young, very elderly and everyone in-between.

A character in author Carlos María Domínguez’s book “The House of Paper” said that “to build a library is to create a life. It’s never just a random collection of books.”

Buckingham County is using its history, resources and community partnerships to create a landmark that can serve to create and enrich lives all of ages. We commend the county and all of the representatives involved, and support the library’s development moving forward.