County Library Board says plans in motion for new Kingston Springs location

The Cheatham County Library Board of Trustees has officially begun the process to relocate the Kingston Springs Library that services all of South Cheatham.

The proposed location – in the lot adjacent to Harpeth Middle School and behind the ambulance station on East Kingston Springs Road – would be around 10,000 square feet and two stories, according to the Library Board’s Chair of the Building and Ground Committee Bob Perry. 

“This is more than past needed here,” Perry said, who was reappointed in August to serve a second year on the Library Board. Perry explained that Tennessee state standards require that libraries are half a square foot for every person in its service area. The current library’s log cabin is approximately 2,600 square feet.

Perry said that if a library fails to meet state standards, it has the ability to withhold support – including grants. “We want to meet state standards and continue to enjoy their support,” Perry said. 

The grounds for the new library location is owned by the Cheatham County School Board, which voted unanimously to lease the land to the South Cheatham County Public Library. An architect has already walked through the site twice this year, and a surveyor is due to come soon, Perry said. The next steps of the process, including drawing up plans and fundraising for the new site, are on hold until the surveyor looks at the land, Perry said. 

Perry said he wants the building up “ASAP,” and hopes it won’t be longer than two years. “For something that should have been done 10 years ago, we don’t want to wait another five years,” Perry said. 

Perry emphasized that the new library will be a “LAT”: a center for library and literacy; arts and archives; and technology and teaching. 

“The present facility does not have the adequate space for the present programming needs of the library. The LAT will allow the library to be collaborative with the adjacent school and offer after school (and summertime) student enrichment programs,” a fact sheet of the new library reads. “It will enable the Library to offer space for use by the UT Extension Service/Master Gardeners, by book club groups, by veteran’s service groups, and other community organizations.” 

“The LAT will provide a site for the display of local art as well as provide a site for various artists to demonstrate/perform their craft,” the fact sheet says. “Additionally the LAT will contain an archival space for the preservation of local historical artifacts.” 

Perry has traveled around the United States looking at examples of other libraries and their programming. One that he was particularly fond of was Stokes Brown Public Library in Springfield, Tenn., which offered after school programming from French to physics to coding.  

The new library will be funded with a combination of government funds – like taxes from the Towns of Pegram and Kingston Springs – donations and grants. 

Perry said they will not begin asking for donations until they have preliminary drawings of the building from the architect. 

During their monthly meeting on Sept. 3, the South Cheatham Friends of the Library discussed providing a $50,000 donation to the new location. 

The new library will have to be brought in front of and approved by the Kingston Springs Planning Commission. At this time, Kingston Springs Mayor Tony Gross said the Commission has not discussed what they will do with the library’s current log cabin, which is owned by the city.