FLORENCE -- The Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Library should be hailed as one of the seven great wonders of modern-day manmade structures in South Carolina, Gov. Mark Sanford said Sunday during the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new library.

"This is truly a magnificent architectural structure," Sanford said. "Everyone in the entire Pee Dee should be proud of it."

The rains held off just long enough Sunday for the more than 500 people present to
celebrate the completion and pending opening of Florence County's new 83,000-square-foot library, which is located on the former site of Carolinas Hospital System, between South Irby and Dargan streets.

Referring to the new library as both a monument to education and a gateway to the future, Sanford commended the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation for its continued commitment to the community.

"This is a true monument to the notion of learning in the 21st century and the importance of learning," Sanford said.

"Knowledge and education are absolutely essential in today's world," he said.

"If you don't have an education, you're like a man or woman without oxygen. What you have here today is a gateway to that education. When you walk through the doors of this library, you are entering a gateway to becoming a better individual, to learning more and to doing a better job at whatever it is you choose to do in life."

In addition, Sanford said, it is essential that all humans rest every now and then, and reading is a wonderful way to relax from the everyday hustle of life.

"One of the best ways we can take a break yet still sharpen our minds is to walk through this great gateway behind me," he said.

"Inside the doors of this library, we can travel to different places and experience different times and events," he said.

"I encourage you to take a break from the world we live in and take an adventure with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn or walk the streets of New York with Tom Wolfe. The opportunities you will find in this library are endless."

Prior to the governor's remarks, Florence County Library Board Chairman Dr. Julia Mims thanked the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation, Florence County Council and various members of the community who helped make the library a reality.

"With the help of Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation, Florence County Council is saying to the citizens of Florence County that they care about the educational opportunities available to the citizens of this community and the surrounding communities," Mims said.

"One of my favorite sayings is, 'So many books, so little time,'" she said.

"With that said, I hope the citizens of this county, both young and old, will make this library a place they love to visit and one they visit often."

Deborah Beasley, president of the Friends of the Florence County Library, drew a long applause with her announcement that the Friends have raised more than $725,000 in its ongoing campaign to purchase books and materials to stock the new library.

The campaign has been so successful that the group increased its original fund-raising goal from $2 million to $3 million.

"We now have one of the finest public libraries in the nation, but we must continue to nourish it as it grows," Beasley said.

"We still have a long way to go in our fund-raising campaign, but it's obvious with this community's support, we can indeed achieve our goal," she said. "Let this new library inspire us to do more, to be more and to move more to generations to come."

Dr. Frank B. Lee Sr., chairman of the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation, praised the new library as the wonderful outcome of a truly collaborative effort.

"I am very happy with the way Florence County Council has handled the library donation," Lee said.

"This has been an outstanding joint effort by all involved -- the county, the Friends of the Library, the library board and Mr. George Hobeika and his staff at the library," he said. "Never before in Florence County has any organization or outfit been able to garner this overwhelming amount of support for such a project."

Though those who attended the ceremony had an opportunity to tour the new facility, the Drs. Bruce and Lee Foundation Library will not officially open its doors for public use until June 14, when the library will begin its normal daily schedule.

In addition to the ribbon-cutting, a more formal dedication and gala is planned for the fall, once the library is fully functional.

In conjunction with the fall gala, the Friends of the Florence County Library also hope to have a children's open house and mini-festival to include the area's youngsters in the new library celebration.