Lincoln library debuts community mural

A new mural debuted at the South Branch Public Library in Lincoln Wednesday.

Located at the corner of 27th and South streets in Lincoln, the library sits at the transition between the Near South and Country Club neighborhoods.

Work on the mural began in September with a community event where people from the neighborhood colored the background. After that, Chloe Burgett, a local children’s book author, worked on the mural, adding the finer details to her design.

Burgett is a proud resident of the Near South neighborhood, as well as a member of the South Branch Library. What's special about the mural, according to Burgett, is that the community can feel a sense of ownership and pride when they look at it.

“I think people will be walking by it or driving by it thinking, oh my gosh I painted that leaf and they'll find the leaf that they painted,” said Burgett. “Or they'll find, like, the squirrel tail that they painted that day and know like they contributed to something.”

She packed in as much detail about the neighborhood as she could.

“All of the books and the interiors of the books have titles that reflect things that are in this neighborhood.” Burgett said. “So one of the books will be called the Rock Island Bike Trail…Oh, the sunken gardens has a book. There's a book called 1920s Home Repair, because we've all got old houses around here and that's a handy book we would need.”

The Lincoln Children's Zoo, the moon flowers and jimson weed plants that grow next to the Near South sign, even the Sunken Gardens are featured on the mural.

The mural was funded by the adjacent Country Club Neighborhood Association. At the unveiling of the completed mural, members of the Lincoln Library, Country Club Neighborhood Association, Lux Center for the Arts, mural artist Chloe Burgett, as well as Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Lincoln City Council members Bennie Shobe and Sändra Washington all made an appearance.

Made with materials meant to withstand the Nebraska weather, the mural is expected to last for years to come.