$1.6 million makeover

Richland County (S.C.) Public Library board Chair Kirby Shealy (left), US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Office Program Director Jesse Risher, and RCPL Executive Director Melanie Huggins make way for construction of the $1.6 million renovation and expansion of RCPL’s Eastover branch December 7. The project is funded by a $500,000 USDA grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as well as matching county capital funds. The renovated building, slated for an October completion, will include additional computers, increased space for children’s collections and programs, meeting rooms, and a new area for Eastover history. It will be the area’s first LEED-certified county-owned/municipal building.