Twenty-five years ago, the people of Middleburg persuaded Loudoun County government to build and operate a public library, here, on property leased from Middleburg Community Center. A generation later, the people of Middleburg raised the money, designed and built, and turned over to the County a much-needed expansion to that public library.

It is twice the size and will serve the people better. It is a great achievement. Thank you, everyone, who made this day possible.

• Thanks, above all, to Our Cornerstone, Leadership, and Community Donors; Owner's representative Mike Morency; Strategic planner Jeff Baldwin; Fundraising consultant Tom Northrup; Webmaster Bill Ferster; All the Middleburg Library Advisory Board

• Thank you, Middleburg Community Center; Middleburg Town Council; Loudoun County Public Library Board of Trustees; Loudoun County Board of Supervisors

• Thank you: Library Director Chang Liu for all your support; Our great staff: Sheila Whetzel, Tia Maggio, Tina Thomas, Lew Prillaman, Charlotte Giglio, Julie Schroedl; Architects Bill Turnure and Tim Clites ; Interior designer Beth O'Quinn

• Thank you to: Jeff Thompson, Curly Bennett, all at Sully Construction; Rich Luttrell and Gary Shook of Middleburg Bank; Our local media: Margaret Morton, Vicky Moon, Dan Morrow, Dee Dee Hubbard, Billie Van Pay

• Thank you to the earlier champions for Middleburg Library, including: Tim Dimos, Tommy Dodson, Mary Joe Jackson , Don Musch, Ann Northrup

• Thank you to all whom I've accidentally forgotten.

All of us here are friends of the library, but it is still worth saying: public libraries are an essential public service. Our commitment to building this expansion is not an endorsement of privatization. It is, however, a testament to the value we place on high-quality public facilities that are open to everyone, that everyone can use, that enlighten, entertain, and improve all persons who avail themselves of their many excellent resources.

Public libraries anchor our communities; they bring us together. They are civilized places; they promote culture. They support the job-seeker and the entrepreneur, the young and the old, the great, the small, and the in-between. They are an extension of the public education system. Schools teach our children to travel on wings of words; libraries give them the places to fly. Public libraries value the past, celebrate the present, and advance the future. They help the soul exceed its circumstances. They are what the Founding Fathers would have called "a blessing of liberty". Public libraries enable our communities to grow, and flourish, and endure. We should continue to support and cherish them.

Thank you for coming to our grand opening ceremony. Welcome to the expanded Middleburg Library – a branch of the Loudoun County Public Library.