Officials and staff members of Prattville’s Louise M. Smith Development Center were thrilled when the manager of the local Books-A-Million store discovered that the center’s program participants had no formal library and offered to help change that. That thrill was raised to another level when the results of a B-A-M holiday book drive were finally tallied.

“When he asked us if he could conduct the book fair, we figured we’d get a few books, and we would have been excited at that,” said Jess Butrica, executive director of the local facility, as she waved toward three book-crammed, floor-to-ceiling shelving units during the library’s recent ribbon-cutting. “At that time, we didn’t have a library. We had a few books here and there, things that we had collected over the years, but nothing like this. This is really amazing.”

The media center, which grew from a crowded storage room, now includes many of the same services offered at a public library and is complete with plush chairs and settees, wall hangings, fancy carpet and reading lamps.

John Allsup’s book-collection drive, which was conducted during the 2013 Christmas holiday season, eventually extended beyond the local store, to each of the chain’s two Montgomery stores. It grew to include Kritter Kreations, a local business operated by his wife, Tawnia, and his brothers in Prattville Lodge 89 (F&AM). Oh, and a whole lot of folks with generous hearts.

For the formal fundraising promotion, Smith Center job coaches Trish Heisler and Debbie Dawson received input from staff members and submitted a list of the books and magazines or types of books and magazines the center needed. The three stores displayed those selections behind their checkout counters, giving them strong visibility, throughout the year’s busiest shopping period.

“Between the three stores, we were able to donate about $14,000 worth of books and other media,” said the Prattville bookstore manager. “That includes three Nook tablets, DVDs and some other media. Books-A-Million donated the shelves, the lodge members did the renovation work and donated money for the chairs, carpet, things like that. I think it turned out real well.”

Heisler said she couldn’t agree more.

“They all did a heck of a job,” the jobs coach said. “We’re very excited about our library. And we are just so tickled with the number of books and other things we got. There’s enough lesson plans in her to last somebody five years.”

The shelves are filled with a wide range of titles, from books and magazines about sports, history and music to those who help learning disabled adults how to read or how to improve their reading skills.

“We’ve got the National Geographic series; we’ve got the ‘Who Was’ series that has stories on everybody from Rosa Parks to John Kennedy to Dr. Seuss,” smiled Heisler. “We’ve got cooking and fashion books and magazines, we’ve got general interest books and magazines. Then, too, we’ve also got the readers for those learning to read. There is something here for everybody. We are very proud of our library.”

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