By Ed Allen, Editor

Westbank Community Library new branch manager Lisa Charbonnet beamed with pride as she prepared for the grand opening ceremony of the facility Sunday at 2 p.m. and an appearance by its namesake, former first lady Laura Bush.

“It’s so much better than we’d even hoped for,” Charbonnet said of the yearlong construction project.

The community is invited to join in the celebration, which will be highlighted by the dedication of the Veterans Courtyard and the unveiling of a bronze statue. Visitors can also attend the ceremonious ribbon-cutting to officially open the library.

The new 14,000-square-foot Laura Bush Community Library is located on a 10-acre tract at the intersection of Bee Cave Road and Cuernavaca Drive. The branch will include all of the same services as the main facility, as well as spectacular views of the Hill Country from practically every seat in the building. It will also include a drive-through, drop-off  booth and a 2,500-square-foot community room called Scott Thornton Commons that will seat 250 for meetings, private parties or special events.

Asked if being the manager of the sparkling new branch library is her dream job, Charbonnet didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, yeah,” she said, adding that the mastermind behind it has been and will continue to be Beth Fox.

Fox was a key player after the late Doris Walcutt and other key Westbank residents rallied support for the first library 25 years ago. Its humble beginnings were in a spare room at Texas Commerce Bank on Walsh Tarlton Lane.

But Charbonnet is looking forward to the challenges of running the day-to-day operation of the new facility, and she is certain there will be significant demand for services.

“When the Westbank Library was built, it was reasonably built on the eastern end of the district because nobody lived out here,” Charbonnet said. “But there are people popping up all over the place that really need this service. It’s truly exciting.”

Fox was the library’s first part-time employee and later took on the title of director when the Westbank Community Library District was formed to enable it to become a taxing entity. She said that back then she never dreamed there would be two Westbank libraries.

“I never thought there would be anything but that little space (at Texas Commerce Bank),” she said, with a tone of excitement that rivaled Charbonnet’s.

Charbonnet, whose son, Xan Charbonnet, started as a teen volunteer at the library and later developed a software that is now used in libraries throughout the country, said her involvement came on the heels of his.

“My background is in urban geography and market research, and Beth hired me to help do the strategic planning for this branch in 2003,” she explained. “I realized that all of my favorite clients were libraries and librarians. So I went back to library school and got another graduate degree a couple of years ago.”

And the rest is history.

Fox said books can be checked out at one location and returned at the other in hopes that area residents come to think of the new facility in unison with the original location.

“It’s really one library, two locations,” she said.

Fox said she learned much from building the first facility and having people buy into the idea by volunteering.

“People came, helped and owned that library the rest of their lives,” Fox said. “We’ve done that ever since.”

Fox, who is certain hundreds of residents will turn out for the opening Sunday,  said the same story unfolded with the branch.

“We never paid anyone to put our furniture or shelves together,” she said. “It was all done by volunteers. This was a total community effort.”

For information on volunteer opportunities or to make a donation, visit www.westbank.lib.tx.us.