The modest gray building along Brenkman Drive near Weatherly was once a sewing milland even a bowling alley.

Now, thanks to dedicated volunteers, it has been resurrected as a community library open to residents from Weatherly and surrounding areas.After two long years of preparation, the Weatherly Area Community Library opened its doors on Monday. An official grand opening will take place Oct. 15.The new building includes wireless Internet, conference and meeting space, a children's department, and more than 14,000 fiction and nonfiction books.The board took out a mortgage to fund the renovation. They are funded entirely through donations and grants obtained by the nonprofit library board."This group worked very hard. They deserve this. It's amazing how they came together and transformed this building. This is how things get done," said Weatherly mayor Tom Connors after receiving a tour of the building on Monday.The board found the building while looking for a permanent location about two years ago. As they decided where to move next, President Susie Gerhard and others decided the former factory/bowling alley on Brenkman Drive could be a good fit.The building is actually located just outside the borough in Packer Township, where Gerhard serves on the board of supervisors. The name "Weatherly Area Community Library" reflects that."It's called the Weatherly Area Community Library. That includes Weatherly, Packer, and Beaver Meadows," said Tom Gerhard, Carbon County Commissioner and Susie Gerhard's husband.The library board acquired the building for $25,000 - then did a complete renovation relying mostly on volunteers and local contractors who donated their time to the project.A new roof keeps out leaks. The former bowling lanes have been polished to become the collection's hardwood floors. The boroughs' road crew helped move the books to the new building.Gerhard said the reason so many have volunteered, including herself, is because it benefits the area as a whole."It's all for a good cause. I don't mind volunteering time when it's for the good of the community," she said.The opening day made Katie Leach, the library board's secretary, reflect on the early days of the library, which was as modest as the building itself. Before they started in 1994, residents had to go to Jim Thorpe or Weatherly to loan out books. Once the library opened, they operated out of a church, then the bank."As a mom in the '90s, I couldn't believe there was no library," she said.The library will officially open with a grand opening/ribbon cutting Oct. 15 at 11 a.m.While the building's interior is mostly completed, residents should expect to see a noticeable change to the exterior of the building before that time. With the help of a $25,000 community development block grant, the library is going to put up siding over the gray stone exterior, along with a new sign, announcing the building's new, and hopefully long-enduring owner.