By Morgan Pettis | Staff Writer

In April 2015, East Waco Library closed its doors for renovation. The East Waco Library, located at Elm Avenue will re-open Saturday at 10 a.m.

“East Waco was in desperate need of tender loving care,” said Essy Day, director of library services. “We decided to renovate to make it more modern.”

After over a year of renovating, the East Waco library is ready for the public to enjoy.

The renovated library will not only be more spacious, but also will include more amenities than it formerly offered. It will now have a quiet, enclosed computer room for the community to use and will offer free Wi-Fi and outlets on tables in the computer lab for those who bring their own laptops.

“There is also a dedicated teen space with computers, outlets and a ton of books for teens,” Day said.

The renovation also includes an enlarged children’s department.

“I am really excited for the library to open up because it’s such a calm environment and it’s a great place to see so many of the people of Waco,” Loomis, CA sophomore Grace Edwards said. “If it’s anything like the other Waco libraries, it’s so amazing to see all of the children who live in Waco walk into the building and watch their faces light up at the children’s section.”

The renovated library will cater to the community and students with the inclusion of a large meeting room with a kitchen and a few study rooms.

“With Baylor students, it’s always hard to find a quiet place to study,” Day said.

Rather than tearing down the old building, the library chose to renovate in order to preserve the mural outside. The mural was painted by the community a few years ago as a way to portray local pride and bring the Waco community together. Many of the colors used in the mural have been carried into the interior of the library as a way to show appreciation towards the community for the mural.

“I’m excited for the library to open. It looks so cool, and I love how colorful it’s going to be,” said Dallas sophomore Stephanie Sullivan.

The renovation also allowed the library to update their stock of books. “The library spent the past year finding new books. It is practically an entire new collection of books” Day said.

The library will hold its re-opening at 10 a.m. this Saturday. As the library was closed for over a year, Day is excited to open it back up to the public and anticipates the community’s return to the East Waco Library.

“We’re expecting a large turnout because we’re grilling hot dogs. A lot of people who have waited a long time will come out to see the new renovation,” Day said.