Mural enhances lobby at PCPL

Banner Graphic/Chelsea Modglin A vibrant mural now presides over the check-out desk in the circulation lobby of the Putnam County Public Library to welcome and encourage patrons. "I just want to officially thank Amy Welch and the good folks at the Civic League," Director Grier Carson said. "The response from the public has been great."

These days patrons are stopping to look up when they enter the front doors of the Putnam County Public Library.

After months of planning and four days of work, a brand new mural now presides over the check-out desk in the circulation lobby, encouraging patrons to "Read," "Think" and "Create" in vibrant colors and varied designs.

"It's pretty cool," nine-year-old Nick Ray Hyten of Fillmore said. "It's cool how they're making a rainbow. I like the fire, and I like that A too."

The mural was designed by Library Director Grier Carson, Civic League President Kate Knaul and Amy Welch, Civic League vice president and local artist who had also painted the mural on the Eitel's building. Welch, Knaul and Heather Wright were the main artists in the project, but they weren't without help.

"We had a number of high schoolers," Welch said, "a DePauw student, people I didn't know. It's definitely a community project."

Local businesses Felling Law, Black Lumber, Pingleton Sawmill, Greencastle Heavy Equipment and Headley Hardware chipped in too, providing everything from liability waivers to heavy lifting equipment. So far, the final product has been met with approval.

"I think it is a wonderful addition to the library," Dean Finley, who's been coming to the library for 15 years, said. "They've been doing a lot of updating and improving. I think it is a more inviting entrance."

Carson voiced his approval during the Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday night, saying, "I just want to officially thank Amy Welch and the good folks at the Civic League. It turned out wonderfully. The response from the public has been great. It's an investment in the next generation of users, and it definitely livens up the lobby."

While it does add flare to the ever-evolving PCPL, the mural is also part of the Civic League's goal to "bring color to the community," Welch said.

"We have so many buildings downtown that are a blank canvas," she said. "The history of Civic League had been to add color with trees and flowers. This is just another way to continue that color story."