Orrville celebrates opening of new public library

Orrville celebrated a milestone Saturday as residents, local leaders and state and federal officials gathered for the ribbon cutting that officially opened the new Orrville Public Library. 

The project, years in the making, was funded in part by $500,000 secured by US Rep. Terri Sewell through the 2023 Omnibus Government Funding Package.

Sewell told the crowd that libraries shaped her own childhood and that she fought for Orrville because rural communities deserve equal access to learning. 

“It is so important that we expand our minds and you can travel through books,” she said. 

She recalled growing up “in a household full of books” and said her mother, longtime Selma school librarian Nancy Gardner Sewell, taught her the “transformational power of reading.” The donation includes a collection of curated books from the Library of Congress.

She also entered a resolution into the Congressional Record honoring the grand opening, telling the audience that the library “stands as a lasting symbol of what can be achieved when a community comes together.”

Mayor Louvenia Lumpkin, who has pushed for a library since 2019, grew emotional as she thanked residents, volunteers and supporters who helped bring the project to life. She told the crowd she prayed for a place where children could learn and grow. 

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“I said, I want a library for these children,” Lumpkin said. “Our children got to learn how to read, how to comprehend, and how to understand.”

Lumpkin said the journey took years of persistence, community support and faith. 

“From 2019 up to now, it took us to get this library. But what that tells me is do not give up on your dreams. Keep working hard and keep praying hard,” she said.

She thanked Sewell directly, saying the congresswoman “could have sent that $500,000 so many different ways, but you sent it to Orrville because you knew there was a great need.”

The ceremony closed with a prayer from Rev. Darrio Melton, who called the new library “sacred ground” and said it would change “the whole trajectory of a whole new generation.”

The library will offer books, internet access, community classes and reading programs to a rural area more than 15 miles from the nearest public library.