The Roseburg Public Library won’t be open for a few weeks yet, but when it does reopen as a city-owned and operated entity, visitors will be greeted at the entrance by a stunning mural of Crater Lake.

The mural depicts Oregon’s only National Park and is part of a Travel Oregon video campaign called “Only Slightly Exaggerated” that captures the magical feeling of being in Oregon.

Now the campaign’s artwork has been hand-painted on seven walls in communities in every corner of the state giving rise to the new Oregon Mural Trail.

One of those murals has been painted in Roseburg.

“They’re putting up several murals around the state and they looked around town and landed on the library,” said Kris Wiley, the new library director.

Linea Gagliano, the director of global communications for Travel Oregon said they were excited to have the mural located in Roseburg.

“We chose communities that had a myriad of visitor experiences and had participated in one of the Travel Oregon Rural Tourism Studios,” Gagliano said.

Rural Tourism Studios provides rural communities with on-the-ground guidance, training and support for growing tourism in each local area, based on the region’s unique offerings.

The artist who painted the mural, David Rice, said his goal is to create environments that exist beyond the parameters of the physical world. He said his goal is to create new relationships between the subject and the viewer.

“I was thrilled to be able to take advantage of this opportunity to experience Roseburg and paint the Travel Oregon mural,” Rice said. “It’s towns like Roseburg that make the saying, ‘Oregon is magic,’ true.”

An official unveiling of the mural is planned for Oct. 20 at 10 a.m., with Travel Oregon representatives planning to attend.

Wiley said officials are now looking at a late October or early November soft opening.

Meanwhile, construction is continuing on the Douglas Education Service District offices, which are being built where the library administration offices were in the past.

Library officials hope to collaborate with other library branches in the future. But in the beginning, there will not be a sharing of materials as the county-run branches did in the past.

When the library’s remodeling is done, there will be two new meeting rooms that will hold 40 to 50 people. Those are in addition to the Ford Community Room, which will hold about 100 people. The rooms are expected to be available starting next year.

New restrooms are also being added, and a larger teen room is being constructed.

“We’re looking for opportunities to complement the services of the school and work together to provide opportunities for young people,” Wiley said.

The original plan is to be open 30 hours a week — 1 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

A grand opening for the library is set for Jan. 10. Meanwhile, Wiley said they are recruiting volunteers and are still looking for a youth services librarian, which will be a full-time position.

“We’re really excited about what we’re developing at the library, and we hope people will come and visit us,” Wiley said. “This is your public library and we want to create a community center where there are no barriers.”

Reporter Dan Bain can be reached at 541-957-4221 or e-mail at dbain@nrtoday.com.

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Dan Bain is the health reporter for The News-Review. He previously worked at KPIC and 541 Radio.

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