DAPHNE, Ala. — The Daphne Public Library recently opened an addition to its services, with a computer lab available for use of library-goers.

The lab, opened last month, was part of a $1 million addition, library Director Tonja Young said.

The library received a $100,000 congressional grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to help pay for some costs to build the lab, and one of the benefits of the grant is having faster Internet, Young said.

“We have fiber-optic connections instead of DSL, so it’s faster and more up-to-date,” she said.

The lab offers 15 computers for public use. The library, prior to the addition, had eight computers partitioned from reading areas.

The first session of free computer classes was held in the lab, Young said, and the next round of classes will begin Oct. 18.

“When we’re not using it for classes, we’re using it for overflow for people using the regular public computers, and it’s also used for a quiet work space,” said Anne Morris, reference librarian. “With the future classes and with the class we had, we will have study halls in the lab.”

The lab has been planned since before Young was director, she said. She has been director since 2006.

“The board and the previous director began working on it,” Young said. “We started working on it a couple of years ago and got the plans and got everything rolling.”

The computer lab will be open during regular library hours of operation.

The library is open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.