The Central Arkansas Library System's Sue Cowan Williams Library in Little Rock officially reopened on Friday following several months of renovations.

In addition to reorienting the branch to have its entrance face the nearby Dunbar Magnet Middle School, the project added a gleaming new teaching kitchen, podcasting room and teen center, among other things.

The Williams Library, which is located at 1800 S. Chester St. in a historic neighborhood, closed to the public in November 2023 ahead of the renovations.

"The remodel is amazing," branch manager Latina Sheard told attendees at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday.

AMR Architects listened to the branch's staff and even held a meeting with Dunbar students to hear what they would like to see in the redesigned library, she said. "And I can honestly tell you that every single thing that we mentioned, they fixed somehow, some way," Sheard said.

When some Dunbar students got a sneak peek of the branch on Wednesday, you could hear them "squealing" with excitement, Sheard said.

"When have you heard middle schoolers squealing to be in a library space?" she said.

Sheard, who has served as branch manager since 2006, said the staff's tradition of holding "family dinner night," in which they cook and serve a meal with youth from the community, is set to resume soon now that renovations have concluded.

She encouraged attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to participate.

"I've done a lot of programming, and that's probably at the top of my list," Sheard said.

A fundraising event the day before that was modeled after family dinner night exceeded its $15,000 goal, she said. The money will be used to support youth programming.

"One of the things I said last night that I can say over and over is, this library neighborhood supports its public library as much or more than any of our other many splendid neighborhood libraries," said Nate Coulter, the executive director of the Central Arkansas Library System. "People in this community love this library, and now we are loving them by giving them this kind of wonderful facility."

Clark Contractors handled the renovations, which were funded as a result of a successful 2022 capital-improvement bond referendum in Little Rock.

At that time, voters agreed to lower and extend a millage from 1.8 to 1.3 mills, allowing the library system to refinance bonds.

The millage extension and bond refinancing is also funding an overhaul of the Main Library, located at 100 S. Rock St. in Little Rock. The five-story branch closed to the public last September, and officials expect it to remain closed into 2025.