HARRISON – Supporters of the Harrison Village Library turned out in force Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of the new library in the former town office space in the village.

“You’ll be very pleased with our new space,” librarian Dianne Jackson told the crowd, seated under a canopy facing the library’s new entrance. “We try to offer everything a small library should offer.”

Martha Jackson, president of the board of trustees, said years of effort by a large number of dedicated volunteers made the move possible from the Caswell Library on Main Street. A loan from Rural Development was approved, and a bridge loan allowed the library to buy the building from the town for $200,000.

Much effort was then put into fund raising, she said. The move was initially estimated to cost more than $500,000. But because of donations of money, materials and manpower, as well as several grants, the library needed to borrow only $130,000 from Rural Development, Jackson said.

“This has truly been a community effort,” she said.

Selectman Sheila Smith, also a member of the library campaign steering committee, said the library board persevered after being turned down for funding at town meeting.

“They came back the next year and not only got the funding but also extra land,” Smith said.

“They are very, very dedicated, very determined, and – I mean this in the kindest way – the most pig-headed group I’ve ever met,” she said.

State Rep. Richard Sykes of Harrison said the story of the library move, and renovation of the former town office space, shows that people should “never underestimate a small group of dedicated individuals.”

Sykes said libraries represent “the values of the book culture that made democracy possible in the first place.”

He said it’s quite appropriate that the new library is in the center of the village, and called it a “bright, fun and inviting place, and an accessible place to visit.”

A ribbon-cutting was then held with Orpha Davis, the longest user of the library, cutting the ribbon.