Mabank's Tri-County Library celebrates 2 decades of service to Cedar Creek Lake community

by David Webb

David Webb is a veteran journalist who has written for the mainstream and alternative media for three decades. He is now a freelancer who lives in the Cedar Creek Lake area. He is a regular contributor to cedarcreeklake.com. E-mail story ideas to davidwaynewebb@yahoo.com.

Claire Stout is director/librarian of Tri-County Library in Historic Downtown Mabank. The 20-year-old library each year serves thousands of patrons who are residents of Kaufman, Henderson and Van Zandt Counties. Stout took over as director of the library in 2003. She supervises one paid assistant, and 18 volunteers. Both Stout and her assistant are part-time employees. Stout has lived in the Cedar Creek Lake area since 1995. The library's mission statement is "We're here for you: Learning from the past, living in the present and looking for the future."

CedarCreekLake.com: How did you come to be involved with the library?

Stout: I've always loved the library since I was a little girl living out in El Paso. I'm not an educated librarian. I'm a dedicated librarian. I started out as a volunteer, and I was the assistant librarian for a year before I became director.

CedarCreekLake.com: How is the library funded?

Stout: Kaufman County has contributed in the past, but it remains to be seen what will come in the new year. I've asked Henderson County several times for funding, but they never responded. I've never asked Van Zandt County. We receive money from residents through water bill donations, and Friends of the Tri-County Library helps the library raise money. We raise money through book sales, memorial denotations and honorariums.

CedarCreekLake.com: In what ways does the library serve the community other than loaning books to patrons?

Stout: We have an excellent genealogy library, and each month on the third Monday at 7 p.m. there is a meeting of Root Seekers Genealogy Society to discuss genealogy, history and cemeteries. Book Worms, our book club, meets on the second Friday of each month at 2 p.m., Friends of the Library meets on the second Monday of the month at 4 p.m. and the Tri-County Library Board meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at noon. The library is also the site of meetings by the Quilter's Guild, the Lions Club, Delta Kappa Gamma and Colonial Dames. There is also free GED Preparation each week on Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., led by certified teachers and trained volunteers and reading and subject tutoring is available on a one-to-one basis. There are also programs for children, including Story Hour on Tuesday at 10 a.m. for preschool students and at 1 p.m. kindergarten students.

CedarCreekLake.com: Is there anything else about the library you want to highlight?

Stout: We have a library cat. Her name is Whisper. She is three years old. She is here every week, all week long. On days we are closed on the weekends and holidays, she goes to stay with Kay McAdams, one of the supporters of the library who is an animal lover and a volunteer at the Spay-Neuter Clinic. Whisper wears a scarf around her neck everyday. That's her uniform. She likes to sleep on my desk.

For information about the library and its services call 903-887-9622. The Website is www.tricountylibrary.org. The address is 132 E. Market St., P.O. Box 1770, Mabank, TX 75147.

Tell us what you think!