(bright music) - The Saratoga Springs Library has grown from a volunteer effort into a vital community resource, and now it's opening a new expanded location.

Here with more details is Annelise Harrison.

Hi Annelise, thanks for coming.

- Thank you for having us.

- So tell me how a volunteer library works.

So our library vol started out with volunteers in the community, created a committee and they sent out notices and it started with just book donations.

Notebooks were purchased, they were all donated by the community.

And we had a local bank that was willing to let us use their basement as our first library.

And so they were open for a few hours a day and that was our library until we were able to move into a space that was on the first floor of our current city hall.

And that space had actually previously been dental and medical offices.

So it was a little bit of a trick for our volunteers to move into a space and try to make, you know, dental offices and things work for a library.

- For a library, and there you are, a new library.

And libraries are still very important to a community.

I'm sure you found that there.

- Oh, for sure.

We currently have about 29,000 items in rotation and we're really excited 'cause we're actually going to be adding 80,000 items.

So we're going from 29,000 to over 100,000 items that we'll be able to offer our community - items in multiple languages.

We have multiple dual language programs in the community.

So for kids to be able to read and to grow their language in their native language and a new language.

- Wow, and I know you're offering other services too there that you couldn't before.

- For sure, so in our current city hall where the library is right now, we - all programming is actually done in our city council chambers.

That's the only room that we have large enough in the building to be able to hold, you know, story times with little kids.

And so now in the new space that we'll be moving into, at the end of this month, we will have dedicated programming space for the library, in the library.

- Well, that's wonderful and you've made it happen there.

So thank you so much for doing that.

And thanks for being here.

- Oh, of course, we're happy to be here.

- And if you'd like to know more about the Saratoga Springs Library, its grand opening with its expanded collection, it's January 5th at 9:00 AM.

They're located at 319 South Saratoga Road in Saratoga Springs.

Go to saratogasprings-ut.gov/library.

(bright music) I'm Mary Dickson.

Thanks for watching "Contact."

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Hi, I'm Mary Dickson.

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