Open house set for Feb. 17
A Quincy resident’s lifelong passion for reading, a donation of bookshelves and a freed up office space in the village’s administrative building has created an engaging new opportunity for community residents that is opening later this month — a new lending library.
Bellefontaine native Mary Robinson has lived in Quincy for almost 47 years following her marriage to her husband, Dan, a Honda retiree who is currently serving as the village’s mayor.
While she’s a busy mother of 10 children (most of whom are now adults, with three children still at home), Mrs. Robinson admittedly always has her nose in a book. For the couple’s upcoming cruise, she’s making sure to pack plenty of reading materials.
“With reading, you can literally go anywhere — back in time, out West, or go on so many different adventures or solve mysteries. It’s so fun and enjoyable and I want to share that with others,” said the longtime nurse and former OhioReads volunteer, who loved reading to children in local school districts through that program.
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson said they had the idea to start a library to bring the community together after an office space opened up at the Quincy Administrative Building, 115 N. Miami St. During March of 2023, Civista Bank donated their former facility to the village after that branch closed, and now the former bank serves as the village’s annex building, freeing up more space at the administrative building.
The couple has been gathering books and attending many book sales since then, and in October 2024, they came across a posting on Facebook Marketplace for free bookshelves in good condition, which were generously donated by a Bellefontaine resident. With the bookshelves in place and quickly filling up, their library dream came full circle.
Monday, Feb. 17, the new library space will be unveiled inside the administrative building.
An open house is set for 6 to 8 p.m. that day, featuring refreshments, prize drawings and the chance to make bookmarks and other crafts. Visitors can check out the new space, and of course, check out books.
A children’s section with books and games, a youth section and adult section are all part of the new lending library, with Quincy historical books and local high school yearbooks available to use inside the facility as well.
A copier and printer is on site and available for patrons, and Mrs. Robinson also envisions local students being able to do their homework or create works of art in the space.
At first, Mrs. Robinson plans for the library to be open three days a week, from 2 to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, and by appointment, and then to expand hours based on community input.
“If there’s a book someone is looking for, they can let me know anytime,” said Mrs. Robinson, who also serves as a PRN at the Community Health & Wellness Partner’s DeGraff office at Riverside Schools on an as-needed basis.
While some community donations are included in the new library’s inventory, they likely will be accepting additional donated books in the future.
Officials from the Logan County Libraries have been supportive as well and stopped by the site to offer local resources and practical assistance, Mrs. Robinson noted.
A “caring cupboard” with food donations is planned at the Quincy library space as well, where community residents can donate food or pick up food items.
The local couple and their children are excited for the new library and encourage area residents to be involved and to stop by for the open house.
“We want to make good use of this building for the community,” Mayor Robinson said. “We’re looking forward to this new opportunity.”
