Library’s Clinton Branch opens to public Sunday at 3 p.m.

Library Director Renita Barksdale looks out the drive thru window, which will allow patrons to pick up books they’ve ordered. Photos by Judith Brown.

Clinton, South Carolina – Staff members of the Laurens County Library’s Clinton Branch were finalizing arrangement of more than 30,000 books which had been delivered by a moving company in the last two weeks, unloading boxes, hooking up computers and getting ready to wow the people of Clinton who have waited many years for their new library.

This Sunday afternoon, April 27,  at 3 p.m., the Grand Opening of the LCPL: Clinton Branch will showcase the work which has been accomplished with the funding provided through Capital Project Sales Tax.

“We feel like we got a lot for $4.3 million,” said Library Director Renita Barksdale about the open and efficient library designed for safety and practicality, as well as adding numerous services not available before in any Laurens County library.

A separate entrance opens into a large community room, complete with smart board, designed for meetings hosted by the library, for community use or as a polling place for city and county elections.

Library Deputy Director Jamie Lambert sits at the circulation desk in the open concept library.

A drive-thru will allow customers who call ahead to pick up books and other materials, and, thanks to a $50,000 federal grant, the Clinton branch offers a fully equipped Makerspace, complete with 3D printers, sewing machines, STEM Lego sets and more.

Floor to ceiling glass walls for the children’s room and plenty of stools and charging outlets for the teen space will benefit families with children of all ages, Barksdale said. There are two contained study rooms, and a centrally located, circular circulation desk which allows staff to be able to see patrons in almost every part of the library.

“Safety and openness were very important, and we also wanted a lot of light,” Barksdale said, motioning to the horizontal skylights and specialty windows.

Barksdale was hired after the City of Clinton and LCPL board had selected the 304 W Pitts Street location.

A laptop kiosk allows library patrons to check out laptops during their time in the library.

“I wasn’t here for the site location but this is the best possible place,” she said. “It’s behind the City Municipal Center but it’s also a residential area, and people have been stopping by already hoping they could come in and I had to tell them, ‘No, it’s not quite open yet.’ So we know there will be a lot of walk-in use here.”

Currently, there are three full-time staff, including Deputy Director Jamie Lambert, and four part-time staff members, and Barksdale is hoping to get approval from the county for an additional full-time staff member.

“We are planning to open it up for evenings and Saturdays so we will need another person,” she said, “because our goal is to have the same hours as Laurens.”

The public is welcome to attend the grand opening at 3 p.m. this Sunday, April 27. The library is located at 304 W. Pitts St., Clinton.

This story was originally published on Page 3 in the Wednesday, April 23, 2025  issue of The Laurens County Advertiser.