FOLEY — There are some things Library Director Kate Norris knows she won't find in the new Foley Public Library.

Not the familiar squeaks in the floor she's walked across for nearly two decades. Not the turns she's memorized after pulling into the same parking lot day after day. And not the building that has welcomed generations of readers since opening in 1984.

"I know where everything is," Norris said with a laugh.

In just a few weeks, those routines will become memories.

The Foley Public Library closed its current location at 319 E. Laurel Ave. on July 13 as staff move nearly every book, computer and piece of equipment into the city's new 40,000-square-foot library on East Orange Avenue. The new facility will officially open Aug. 4, ushering in what library employees say is the biggest transformation in the library's modern history.

For the staff, the move is bittersweet.

"I think the next week or two the staff is probably going to be sad because we've been here a long time," Norris said. "But we're excited because the new building is beautiful."

That blend of nostalgia and anticipation isn't new for Foley's library.

Archived editions of The Onlooker, Gulf Coast Media's Central/North Baldwin newspaper, show the library has been reinventing itself for more than a century — moving from borrowed rooms and storefronts to permanent homes as both its collection and the city around it continued to grow.

From donated books to a community institution

Long before the library became a cornerstone of downtown Foley, it depended on community generosity.

A Sept. 27, 1923, edition of The Onlooker reported that the Foley Library had temporarily opened inside the Foley Furniture Store under librarian Mrs. V. C. Christensen. The article said about 300 books had been donated and approximately 50 residents had joined the newly formed library association, paying annual dues of $1 to purchase additional books.

Five years later, another issue of The Onlooker, published Jan. 12, 1928, offered a detailed glimpse into those early years through the library's annual report.

Printed alongside a fashion advertisement for "La Mode," the report reveals a library in 1927 with just $41.12 in its treasury and about 1,500 books.

When the Christensen family could no longer house the collection, the books were moved temporarily into the office of "Mr. Hayselden" before eventually finding a permanent home inside the Park Building after Mr. Herman Dreis donated the space for public use.

Residents donated curtains, lamps, tables, rugs and chairs. Volunteers organized Library Day at the Woman's Club to raise funds. Civic leaders gave signs, furniture and supplies. The library's growth, even then, reflected the investment of the people it served.

Nearly four decades later, The Onlooker chronicled another milestone.

A Nov. 15, 1962 photograph shows the Foley Public Library building at the corner of U.S. Highway 98 and Alabama Highway 59. The accompanying article said the original structure that had been built in 1927 expanded with an additional wing, serving residents throughout Baldwin County free of charge.

Those newspaper clippings tell the story of more than just buildings; they document a library that has continually outgrown its space.

More room for a growing community

Today, that pattern continues.

The new library will nearly double the space of the current facility, giving staff room to expand services that have become increasingly popular as Baldwin County's population continues to grow.

"I'm excited about more room and more opportunity," Norris said. "The children's section is going to double in size, and we need the room. We had almost 100 at story time this week, and we don't really have the room for that."

The new building will include separate children's and teen spaces, a sensory room, a STEAM learning lab, additional meeting rooms, multiple study rooms and a 277-seat multipurpose auditorium. A second-story porch will overlook the Perry Wilbourne Antique Rose Trail and the city's dog park.

The expanded footprint, Norris said, isn't just about square footage.

"We're going to be able to do more programming and more things for the community and just [be] a place for people to come and connect," she said.

That purpose has shaped the library throughout her years as director.

"I've loved it," Norris said. "Honestly, what I love the most is the people.

"Working here is great because we are 100% customer service, and the team here ... they love the patrons and the community. Working here is a privilege, in my opinion."

Library assistant Connie Stevens, who has worked at the library since 2009, said the additional space will allow the library to better serve a community that has embraced it.

"My favorite part of my job is the people," Stevens said. "I'm very excited about moving to the new library because it's bigger and better."

The expanded children's department will occupy about 4,000 square feet, and the library plans to add homeschool programming, expand its Culture and Heritage division and utilize a dedicated learning lab for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics programming.

"We have more space," Stevens said. "We'll be able to offer more things."

The next chapter

Despite predictions that libraries would fade in the digital age, Norris said demand continues to grow.

"People still love the books," she said. "They're not going away. Our checkout numbers are tremendous."

As staff prepare to box thousands of books and leave behind a building that has served Foley for more than 40 years, they know they are continuing a tradition that goes back more than a century.

The addresses have changed — from a furniture store in 1923, to borrowed offices, to the Park Building, to the current Laurel Avenue location and now East Orange Avenue, but their mission has remained the same.

Just as those early editions of The Onlooker documented a small library built through donations and determination, today's move marks another chapter in the same story: a growing community making room for its future, one bookshelf at a time.

Gabriella Chavez is a Report for America corps member who writes about growth and development in Baldwin County and our natural spaces for Gulf Coast Media. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today.