Edmonson County Library Shares Plans for Renovations With Open House

Designated Children's Area and More Planned

Edmonson County Library offers positive encouragement to its visitors as they enter Monday April 14 in Brownsville.

​Story and photos by Joseph Barkoff:
Don’t call it a comeback, they are already here. Neither is it an expansion at the Edmonson County Library in Brownsville.
 
It is in fact a renovation, with an open house hosted by the Edmonson County Library Monday, April 14th in Brownsville.
 
With a designer on hand from the architecture firm responsible for the upgrades to come, Brandstetter Carrol Inc. out of Lexington, some light refreshments and the layout of the new plan on an easel, folks from around the county could come in and place a sticker on a map of the area to represent where they live and see some of the vision to come. 
 
“It is not an expansion, it is just a renovation,” Edmonson County Library Director Alicia Edwards said. “We are trying to utilize the space to the best of our abilities.”
 
The part Edwards is most excited about is a designated Children’s Area.
 
“The big exciting part is that we are going to get a designated children’s area,” Edwards said. “And that is the main reason we started this. A children’s area off to its own because we think it’s only fair to the kids to have their own safe little space, but it’s also really fair to the adults not to have to hear all the kids playing.”
 
There will also be an outdoor children’s area attached they will be able to enjoy, she added.
 
Another cool feature is what is called a “Makerspace.”
 
“A makery is [a space] they can use it to be able to utilize a 3-D printer, a poster printer,” Edwards said. “The community can come in and use it for free.”
 
She thinks they will have sewing machines as well, Edwards said.
 
“What we try to do here is provide everything for people so they don’t have to go to Bowling Green,” Edwards said.
 
They plan to include a teen area that will offer young studiers more separation for quiet reading or studying as well, she said.
 
“I think what people don’t realize is we provide free notary services, all free printing,” Edwards said.
 
As well, they do GED testing and provide manuals for the test, she said.

Edmonson County Library President of the board of Trustees places a sticker on the map to represent where folks who use the library live during an open house to unveil renovation plan Monday April 14 in Brownsville.

What about the company from Lexington?

They have a fantastic reputation with the public libraries,” Edwards said. “I went to Russel County Public Library, and they had just recently built theirs in 2018, I think, and I was just amazed by it.”

Edwards has only been with the library since 2023 and didn’t think renovation was going to be directly in her future, she said. But when it became a thing, she knew they would be the one they would want to contact.

“BCI understands every library has unique operations, existing needs, and future goals, and the firm uses this understanding to achieve unity and efficiency,” it says on the BCI website under library projects next to the photo of their main library architect Monica Sumner.

They try design the building and its spaces based on where the building is located, BCI interior designer Courtney Keilman said.

“We don’t want to design some random futuristic building in the middle of a traditional town,” Keilman said.

She is excited to see the full picture when it is done, she said.

“One of the things we are doing is expand some windows down to let some natural light in the space which it really needs,” Keilman said. “I am really excited to see how that completely changes the look of the space and how it feels on the inside.”

They also hope to include flexible community meeting rooms and comfortable public seating to enjoy the natural light they hope will pour in, according to the ECPL media handout.

Why does this all matter?

“This renovation is an investment in the future of Edmonson County—providing access to education, technology, creativity, and connection,” the ECPL said on its handout. “Libraries today are more than books—they’re places where communities come together, and this project is a commitment to that vision.”

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