The downtown Pine Bluff Public Library is new, but it’s getting newer all the time.
After Head Librarian Bobbie Morgan retired in early April, Assistant Ricky Williams was handed the reins until a new director is hired. While some interims might be content to lightly fulfill the role of being in charge, Williams seems to have taken over with some gusto.
Because the library is so new, there are places where a bit of nipping and tucking are still needed. For one, Williams said he is working on some better feng shui.
“No one wants to see old furniture and dated art,” he said. “My goal is to give people what they expected.”
During the grand opening of the doors to the glass-wrapped library, some city leaders said they were disappointed in the final product, as in “where’s the cafe?” and “why is the soundproof studio not soundproof?”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Williams could easily leave that type of thing for the new hire, but instead, he wants the place in tip top shape when that person — whoever it might be — arrives.
And he’s been busy.
“Now, when you look down the middle of the library, you have a straight shot,” he said last week. “There is nothing in your way. You can go from one end to another. I’ve moved some furniture around and updated some pieces for a more modern appeal. I have abstract art on the way, and I plan to redesign the cafe.”
To that end, Williams is planning a visit to other libraries to get ideas on how best to make the cafe thing happen. Anything might be better than what’s there now, which is to say, better than some vending machines.
“I want to visit that library and try to make the dream come true here in Pine Bluff,” he said. “People asked for a cafe, and I want to give them a cafe. It didn’t happen the first time. That’s my goal, to make that area look more like a cafe, and I’m going to accomplish that.”
There are also some building design flaws that Williams says he’s tending to. Mainly, it’s the noise. All that wide open space makes it easy for noise to become overwhelming. In the children’s area, for instance, when it rains, the sound is — well, they can’t hear themselves play. So, engineers have been scoping out the area and will be offering solutions.
Programs are starting to pick up at the library with the public getting out more now, so that’s a good sign. Another is that the library’s board of trustees posted a want ad for a new director on Wednesday. Thanks to Williams, when that person arrives, they may never even realize the library had issues that needed to be tended to. Good work, Mr. Williams.