SEE: Inside the New Owings Mills Library

“It’s just beautiful.”

Councilwoman Vicki Almond was glowing with excitement as she walked around the Owings Mills branch of the Baltimore County Public Library Thursday.

She and her senior aide, Jonathan Schwartz, were treated to a tour at the library, which opened Thursday morning, by library system director Jim Fish.

“Think about what this is going to look like in a few months,” Fish said, as he and Almond looked out on buildings and a parking garage still under construction.

The library, Baltimore County’s 19th and largest branch, is the first tenant to open its doors at the Metro Centre at Owings Mills, a 1.2 million square-foot transit-oriented development at the Owings Mills Metro station.

The library will share its building the Community College of Baltimore County, which plans to open its classrooms this summer.

“I’m excited about the general principle of sharing the building with the community college and the overall Metro Centre concept,” Fish said. “It’s a win-win-win for everyone.”

The need for the library goes back decades, and the plan for an Owings Mills library has been in place for more than one decade.

Owings Mills resident Jack Behle, who moved to the area in 2003, said the library is long overdue, but felt like a kid in a candy store Thursday morning.

“It’s a treasure chest and we’re scooping up gold coins,” he said.

The library's hours are Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Flip through the photos to find out more about the library.