CITY, LIBRARY BOARD HONORE PIERCES FOR DONATION

Friends of Walt and Sally Pierce and friends of the Jackson Public Library gathered at the Kirk and Marybeth Williams home Monday night, to honor the Pierces.

The couple recently made a $30,000 donation to the library where Sally Pierce has served 12 years as director. The money -- along with a smaller match from the city of Jackson -- will go toward automating the library.

"We'll be checking our books out with the computer and you'll look up books on a computer instead of the old card catalog," Sally Pierce explained. The entire process should cost about $40,000.

During the reception, the city and the Library board presented the Pierces with a personally inscribed glass goblet, giving them "30,000 thank yous" for their gift.

"We appreciate what both of you have done for our library," Mayor Paul Sander told the couple. "There will be a permanent plague on the wall there, too."

"On behalf of the Library Board and the city, we wanted to present a token of our appreciation," Board President Ken Ruff told them. "It won't be much longer until the money will be put into operation."

"Right," Sally Pierce quipped. "It'll be gone."

"We were glad to do it," Walt Pierce said. "Of course, it was Sally's idea. This fulfills a longtime dream to get the library automated."

Ruff thinks the automation may be done by March 30, "after the kinks are out" of the new system.