Friends of Herman Brown Free Library buy office for expansion

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

BURNET — After a year of negotiations, Friends of the Herman Brown Free Library made the purchase of the office of attorney James H. Herbort official Jan. 30.

Herbort is retiring after 45 years of practicing law, while the Friends group bought the office to expand the library.

“I’ve been over here in his back pocket,” joked Leonard Smith, president of the Friends group. “He only dealt with us. I think he feels the library is important to the community.”

Herbort said he has been so busy finalizing the negotiations that he hadn’t thought about what he’d do in retirement. But he was happy to sell his office to the library.

“I think it’s good the library gets it,” he said. “They’ve needed to expand; we’re happy to help them with the expansion.”

And Smith said he hadn’t thought about how the library would use the extra space.

“I’ve asked all the board members to use their imaginations of things they want to do with the space,” he said. “It gives us the opportunity to expand the library at a reasonable cost.”

As soon as he heard Herbort was retiring, Smith said he reached out to him about buying the 1,400-square-foot office that also includes a 1,400-square-foot tin building in the back.

The president declined to say how much the Friends group paid, only saying that “it’s very reasonable. He gave us a fair deal.”

Smith, who has a background in engineering, said he plans to create some sketches using the available space.

Herbort and his wife, Marie, said they believe in the role of a library in a city.

“It’s a good place to educate people,” James Herbort said.

“And make things available to the community,” Marie Herbort added. “Things that aren’t available otherwise.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com