“It’s just a library where you come in and check out books,” Vernice Stoudenmire said, but if you have visited the town library, you will agree there is just something special to it.

Stoudenmire has worked at the library in Wilsonville for 48 years. She grew up in Sterrett, where her father was a mail carrier.

Although she was hired as Wilsonville’s town librarian in 1962, she has always enjoyed reading.

She manages all aspects of the library and reads while there and in any spare time she has.

You may find her reading magazines like Birds and Blooms or Country.

“It’s got a little bit of everything,” she said when asked what she enjoys the most.

Her favorite book is by John Griffin, and she collects many books he has written. She also takes pleasure in reading novels by Nicholas Sparks.

“He is really good,” she said.

The petite library, which stands next to the town hall, was once located upstairs in a two-story brick building on Main Street in Wilsonville.

When the new city hall was built, the library was moved to where it stands today, and the former brick building was torn down.

The front sign of the library now has Stoudenmire’s name printed on it, which she deserves, because she truly makes the library a warm place to go.

She is treasured by many in the town of Wilsonville, and one can’t help but look forward to her soft smile welcoming you at the door.

The town library is the first and only library in which she has ever worked and she plans to continue devoting her time there.

Kennedy Tolbert is the new community columnist for Wilsonville. She can be reached at kennedytolbert@bellsouth.net.