Residents urge town to fund larger Collierville library; officials clarify funding sources

Speakers at the April 28 Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting urged the town to move ahead with a planned expansion of the Lucius E. and L.C.C. Burch Library, saying the current building cannot accommodate projected population and program growth.

The library director, library board members and more than a dozen residents described crowded programs, a need for separate teen and children’s spaces, and a multipurpose event hall that could hold up to 300 people. Susan Ewing, a resident, said Collierville should “reimagine” the library to serve a projected surge in young children and to offer meeting and study space for all ages. Julia Webley, president of the Friends of the Library, told the board that the project was planned using reserved funds dating to 2015 and that the expansion is not intended to be financed by a…