Ground broken for new Society Hill Library

By: Jim Faile | SCNow
Published: November 17, 2009

SOCIETY HILL - It was a long time coming, but Darlington County and Society Hill town officials broke ground Saturday morning on the site where a new public library will be built for Society Hill.

The new 4,200-square-foot facility will sit on 1.5 acres of land on Main Street donated by Dr. Ernest “Chip” Helms.

“Were it not for him, we literally would not be standing here today,” said Ken Hughes, chairman of the Darlington County Library Board.

The new library will replace a much smaller library in Society Hill now.

Public libraries are essential to the preservation of democracy, said David Goble, state librarian of South Carolina.

Citizens who cannot read do not participate in their communities, Goble said.

“Public libraries offer the solution to public problems,” he said.

Goble said that public libraries are more important to the life of the nation and communities now than they have ever been before.

The new facility will help revitalize the town, said Kevin Hicks, branch manager of the Society Hill Library.

Sue Rainey, former library director for Darlington County, said it has taken about two and a half years to get the library project to this point.

“This library will do much for this community,” she said.

State Sen. Gerald Malloy said the new library is long overdue.

“It’s time to get this project finished,” he said.

Malloy was able to secure a $250,000 state budget appropriation that served as the seed money for the library project.

“We have to take care of Society Hill,” Malloy said.

He said the new library will serve as a needed educational resource for children in the Society Hill area.

“Sometimes, we can’t take them out into the world, but we can bring the world to them,” he said.

Malloy noted, too, that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation gave $25,000 to the project, and he challenged other corporations to give as well.

“Our children need a place to learn, a place to read, a place to expand their minds,” said Connell Delaine, president of the Friends of the Society Hill Library.

Society Hill Mayor Valencia Thomas said the new library will be a place where children can gain wisdom and knowledge.

The county received a $787,200 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Agency to help fund the project.

State Rep. Denny Neilson, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, also helped secure some additional state funding for the project early on.