Hastings branch of St. Johns County Library, community center opens doors

The new Hastings Community Center and Library is officially open to the public. After years of planning and work by St. Johns County, the library branch in the small unincorporated community has moved out of the former Hastings High School and into a brand new building. The new library at 401 N. Main St. offers a dedicated children’s room and meeting areas, and its community center will offer services including a food pantry through the St. Johns County’s Health and Human Services Department.  A Library of Things section even allows library card holders to check out games or a Dungeons and Dragons starter kit. Library Branch Manager Brad Powell says the new digs couldn’t come any sooner. The former Hastings High School will soon be a new campus for First Coast Technical College, but, in the meantime, Powell says the century-old building was showing its age. “I’ve been the manager here for 16 years. I think for 15, we’ve been working on a new location,” he says. “It’s a