The new library building will feature some unique structural additions, such as this patio. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The doors to the Market House will be closing to the public for the foreseeable future on June 20, as the Shepherdstown Public Library prepares to begin making its move to its new location, at 145 Higbee Lane.

According to Library Transition Committee Co-Chair Vicki Hodziewich, the complicated process of organizing the move has been taking shape since 2019.

“Although I’m a member of FOSL, this is not a FOSL initiative. It’s really a library community initiative,” Hodziewich said, referring to the fact that both she and her co-chair, Jane Blash, are Friends of the Shepherdstown Library members.

The committee works closely with its SPL Director Hali Taylor, who originally inspired the idea for it. Along with its two leaders, the committee includes SPL Board of Trustees Secretary Rosemary Nickerson and Director of Library Development Lee Ann Warner.

When it started, the committee contacted libraries in Maryland that had made a similar move, to get an idea of the moving options they considered and that had worked for them. Some of those options, like using prison labor to complete a move, weren’t an option in Jefferson County. Other options, such as hiring moving companies to oversee the entire move, proved to be too expensive for the library’s budget.

Workmen paint the concrete in front of the new library building on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

After surveying local residents, the committee determined asking for volunteers to conduct the move, without the help of a company to transport the heavy boxes from the top floor of the Market House and across town, was also not doable.

So, the committee struck upon a happy medium between the options available to them. They decided to ask community members to volunteer to sort and pack library books, using the Dewey Decimal System, for three-hour increments of time, from June 27 through July 1. A professional moving company would then transport library furniture and the boxes, which would be color-coded according to where they needed to be unpacked, to the new library building. From July 5-8 and 11-16, community members would once again be asked to sign up to volunteer for three-hour increments, during which they would unpack and shelve the library books at 145 Higbee Lane.

“We’re relying on volunteers to help us move the boxes and to unpack and then shelve the books,” Hodziewich said, mentioning the volunteer sign-up sheet is only about three-quarters of the way full. “In all, we need 372 volunteers, although many people are volunteering for more than one shift.

“There are 24,000 books that need packed up in the Market House, and 11,000 further books in storage that have already been packed, although they weren’t sorted according to the Dewey Decimal System,” Hodziewich said. “Over all of this time, as they got new books, the library had to box up books and put them in storage, because there was simply no room to have all of them on the shelves of the Market House. So when people walk into the new library, they’re going to see not only a new building, but a third new books! There’s going to also be room for growth — more than enough room to add books to our shelves.”

To volunteer, sign up online for a three-hour shift — 9 a.m. to noon, 1-4 p.m. or on a Saturday evening — on the library’s website or at https://bit.ly/3uw1t6D. Volunteers must be 18-or-older, due to the library’s insurance policy.

Local gardening clubs have already agreed to pitch in, with helping the library manage the green space around its new location. A pond, which is pictured here, will be an additional beautifying feature in the library’s new landscape. Tabitha Johnston

The library will open its new doors on July 23, following a grand opening celebration on July 22, from 3-5 p.m.

“They say ‘it takes a village to raise a child,’ and, similarly, it’s going to take a town to move a library,” Hodziwich said.

The Shepherdstown Public Library will be relocating to 145 Higbee Lane at the end of this month. Tabitha Johnston