This diagram shows the plans for the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library, including a computer room where the auditorium is now; the auditorium where the children's section is now; and teen and children's rooms up close to the front desk.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Moultrie library building is more than 50 years old, and in that half-century it has been added to twice but has never been fully renovated. Officials of the library and its support team, the Friends of the Library, have plans to make that finally happen, but to fund it, they’re going to need some help.

No, they don’t want your money. They want you to lean on some politicians.

The Moultrie-Colquitt County Public Library is No. 2 on a list of recommended projects the Georgia Public Library Service sends to state legislators, according to library Director Holly Phillips. The legislators will now decide which projects on that list will get funded as part of the state budget.

“Our representatives have been really supportive and really excited about this project,” Phillips said. “Even some people who don’t represent us are talking it up.”

In addition to Reps. Sam Watson of Moultrie and Jay Powell of Camilla, who each represent part of Colquitt County, Phillips praised Rep. Penny Houston of Nashville, who represented part of the county until the redistricting following the 2010 census.

The Friends of the Library has begun an advocacy project, urging local residents to contact influential legislators on the House Higher Education Subcommittee and the House Appropriations Committee, the two panels with the most impact on which projects get funded. Powell and Houston both serve on the Appropriations Committee — as does Rep. Ed Rynders of Albany, who also represented a portion of the county prior to the most recent redistricting.

Angie Patteson, president of the Friends of the Library, said she’s asking everyone she’s contacted about the issue to reach out to legislators by Feb. 8. First, no one can say when the decision will be made, so a quick deadline helps ensure people don’t wait too late; and second, having several calls and emails within a short time period will make an impact on the legislators, she said.

The program under which the library hopes to receive funding will provide up to $2 million — $1 million the first year with a 10 percent local match, and another $1 million the second year with a 50 percent local match — Phillips said.

The library participated in a county energy audit last year. Work connected with that audit included the wiring and HVAC work that would have otherwise been part of the renovation. That means the library needs only $1.3 million from the state.

“The good news is we have the local match already in place,” Phillips said.

In addition to donations through the Friends group, the library had some reserves and last year it received an $80,000 donation from the Waldo Deloache Charitable Trust. In all, it has $585,000 available to match the state money.

The project will focus on safety issues, accessibility and ease of use improvements, both Phillips and Patteson said.

The existing front entrance is not handicap-accessible. People in wheelchairs go up a ramp to enter the side door near the Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library. They have to press a doorbell and wait for someone in the genealogy library to come hold the door for them.

In addition, anyone who enters that door goes through a foyer then a hallway, then half-way down another hallway before anyone in the library can see them.

“It’s a long way to walk with no eyes on you,” Phillips said.

The renovation plans call for the front door to be handicap-accessible, and the front desk will be facing it as it is now. The desk in the genealogy library will face the secondary door. That way, no matter which door a customer enters, someone at one of the desks can immediately see them.

Several of the library’s sections will be moved to improve both visibility and privacy. For instance, the computer lab, which is currently in the open near the hustle and bustle of the front desk, will move to where the Willcoxon Auditorium is now and the walls will be made partly of clear Plexiglass so library workers can monitor what’s happening there. Meanwhile, computer users will benefit from the quieter environment.

The children’s library will move closer to the front desk. It’s currently located in a remodeled garage. Lighting is inadequate and there’s an echo, Philliips said.

“This brings the children’s services back into the heart of the library,” she said.

That’s important because 44 percent of the 96,000 items checked out last year came from the children’s section.

There is no dedicated teen space in the current library, but the plans create one. There are also a couple of group work rooms planned, where teams can work together on projects without having to be quite as quiet as they would working in the main library area.

“We’ve got a strong building,” Phillips said, noting that it was designed by renowned Moultrie architect Frank McCall. “It’s served us really well. We’ve got to bring it into the way we use the library today.”