UPDATE
The Carolina Forest branch of the Horry County Memorial Library is set to open Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The ribbon cutting ceremony will take place in the new library.
"It's going to be huge when it comes to use," said Horry County Library Director Cliff Boyer. "I mean, you've got this community, they want it, they're ready for it."
The library will have a capacity of 80,000 books, Boyer said, but will start with about 23,000 when it opens.
Boyer said the building's contractor finished construction far earlier than the county expected, so the building has been idle since December, while county leaders prepare for a new budget year.
"There's no money to hire a staff with in this year's budget. But starting in our new fiscal year in July, hopefully we'll have the money to do that," Boyer explained. He expects the facility to have a staff of eight people.
Last September, Mary Pikul was among those who helped form a support group, the Friends of Carolina Forest Library, to spark interest in the library and raise money to buy books.
"We have a lot of paperbacks, children's books, self help books," Pikul said.
Pikul added that the anticipation for the opening of the library shows that even today, people are still excited about the possibility of going to the library for a good read.
"It is a little unusual, but I'm glad to see that there still is interest in people who love books, love libraries."
Boyer said the building will probably open some time in August and until then, he'll try to appease those who just can't wait.
"I get phone calls probably every day."
What does it say about a community, that it's so excited about a library?
"We could write a book literally about that topic," Boyer laughs.
