Although the center has been open for the past few months, the grand opening provided alumni, faculty, students, community and state leaders, along with local citizens a chance to tour the renovated building and see its continued growth.

"First of all this is a beautiful facility and we are very proud of it; and as you can see by the dirt work and everything that is going on this facility hasn't been completed yet," Holmes Community College President Glenn Boyce said.

"When it's completed and the bookstore is in place and with everything that we have; I think it's going to be wonderful for our students," he added.

The Grenada Center Library is just one of three libraries that are within the Homes Community College Library System. Libraries are also located on the campus of Ridgeland and Goodman. Even though the center shares some similar traits with the other libraries it's very special Tierce says.

Once a house of worship, with some dedicated planning, the building became an additional tool for higher education.

"This started out as a church. When the school acquired the building and the land and I was apprehensive at first, but through the course of a summer; contractors from the Goodman campus renovated the building and they did an outstanding job," Tierce said. "Now its just an outstanding job is its just a beautiful facility for our Grenada Campus and for the Grenada community"

If students need a helping hand then they can enlist the help of Librarian Joan Tierce and Paraprofessional Librarian Carla Ross. When not providing research assistance each librarian can be found teaching classes that introduce new students to the facility.

Not only is the library available for students, individual research, but it has other useful features as well. Students can use designated study areas for group sessions, the magazine area provides recreational reading, and the computer room gives students the keys to the information highway. The larger facility also has a multimedia room that provides space for media presentations. Tierce says that the additional room has not gone unnoticed and the students really appreciate this new valuable resource.

"It's really a wonderful and the students love it," Tierce said. "We offer a lot more facility and its really been nice."

The library is open Monday through Thursday from 7:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 7:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The facility also has special opening hours for the summer, which are Monday through Friday 7:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., but the library is not open during any school holiday.

"People in the Grenada community are very welcome to come to the library," Tierce said. "They many use the facility, but they can't checkout the books, because that is a privilege of being a student at Holmes, but they're welcomed to use the resources that are available."

Boyce also invites the community to see the Grenada Center's progress and he says that the campus can only grow stronger.

"There's just a feeling about this area and this community and the relationship that it has with this college," Boyce said. "I just want to stand here before you and assure you that this relationship will do nothing but grow."