Miranda Pederson/Daily NewsEdmonson County librarian Regina Slaughter checks in books Friday at the new Edmonson County Library.

BROWNSVILLE — Dozens of dignitaries and residents checked out the new Edmonson County Public Library, Technology Center and Senior Center during a dedication ceremony Friday morning.

The new facility on Ferguson Street – near Edmonson County High School and several apartments – came together after almost eight years and a couple of false starts, thanks to the cooperation of the county, the city of Brownsville and an infusion of state and federal funding.

“I’m just really proud of our community and everybody coming together, and I hope you will use this library to its fullest potential,” Edmonson County librarian Jeanie Munsee said.

The library opened in October after relocating from a smaller facility on Washington Street, and the new 10,500-square-foot facility includes more than 30,000 books and audio and video materials, as well as a senior center and technology center with nine computers and teleconferencing capabilities.

Altogether, the cost of the facility and equipment totaled $1.7 million.

“Even in this age of technology, reading is so important,” state librarian Wayne Onkst said. “There’s no substitute for a child reading a book and enriching his life.”

Edmonson County Judge-Executive N.E. Reed said the tech center will be a boon to county residents who want to continue their education or expand their skill sets for the job market.

“Today’s world is a world of technology,” Reed said. “I’m finding out how illiterate I am in a lot of those areas, but this is something we’re all going to need to have access to.”

The sparkling new facility is a far cry from the humble beginnings of the county library system, which opened in 1954.

The earliest library was a rented room in the back of a bank building, and weak financial support brought a temporary closing of the library later in the 1950s. Though the library would reopen, it would not achieve sound financial footing until 1968, when a tax district for the library was established.

At the beginning of this decade, Reed sought land that would serve as the site for the new library. A plot behind the Edmonson County Health Department was eyed as a possible site, but not enough money was available to finance new construction at the time.

Reed said there had been plans to relocate into an abandoned factory building near the current library, but the building was destroyed by fire. Finally, Reed and Brownsville mayor Tim Houchin negotiated the transfer of two acres of land from the city to the county.

State Sen. Richie Sanders, R-Franklin, was able to secure appropriations of $750,000 and $500,000 in separate line items in different state budgets toward the county library.

Federal funding in the amount of $248,000 secured by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, along with almost $300,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission, comprised the balance of the money for construction that was performed by Alliance Corp.

“Knowledge is the key to achieving a lot of things,” Sanders said Friday while dedicating the building. “For the young people that come through these doors, that’s something that will pay a lot of dividends in the future.”

Reed said the city has deeded the land on which the library now sits to Edmonson County Fiscal Court, and the county will soon deed the property to the county library board.