Girl Scouts transform library into 'heavenly' space

March 27, 2011|By JULIE E. GREENE | julieg@herald-mail.com

By Colleen McGrath/Staff Photographer

HAGERSTOWN — The walls are a cheerful light green.

At eye level for a small child is a section, bordered by blue molding, with the words “believe,” “dream,” “smile,” “wish” and “imagine.”

In a corner of the room is a carpet segment with a big, soft pillow on which to lean.

It’s a good place to sit and read or peruse the books in the bookcase that helps create the space.

“It’s beautiful. It’s heavenly,” Loretta Wright, director of Memorial Recreation Center, said Sunday at an open house for the renovated library room in the center on West North Avenue in Hagerstown.

Before, it was “a dingy mess,” Wright said.

The work was done by Hagerstown residents and Girl Scouts Hannah Woods, 13; Hannah Showe, 12; and Sarah Mason, 14.

The paint was peeling off the walls and there were crates of books all around when the girls arrived in January, Sarah said.

“It was just not very warm and welcoming,” said Sarah, an eighth-grader at Northern Middle School.

Hannah Woods, an eighth-grader at Clear Spring Middle, said the three of them “spiced” up the room to make it more attractive. The windows have sheer lavender curtains and lighting was added.

The girls used $435 in cash and gift card donations, including some from The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Staples, and Bed, Bath & Beyond, for the remodel.

The cubby areas with the carpet segments and pillows are at the end with the little kids’ books and comics, said Hannah Showe, a seventh-grader at Northern Middle. Further down the wall in the rectangular room are science and social studies books, and reading material for teenagers, she said. The room also has some books for adults.

Wright said the library is open to residents of the neighborhood.

Hours are 2:30 to 6 p.m. Monday to Thursday, and 2:30 to 5 p.m. Friday.

Wright and Sharon Woods, a leader for Girl Scout Troop 40052, attended a Washington County Commission of Women networking event, where they talked about their organizations, Wright said.

Woods called a couple days later to see how the Girl Scouts could help, Wright said.

Hannah, Hannah and Sarah earned Silver awards for the remodel, as they each contributed at least 50 hours to the project, said Sharon Woods, mother of Hannah Woods.

Now the library needs more bookshelves so all of the books can be displayed, Wright said.

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