It's official. The "Ellen Tracy Story Corner" is now a part of the American Fork Children's Library.

In a brief ceremony Monday evening, Tracy's family members, library staff and the public gathered to rededicate the area, a corner of the children's library on the east side of the public library.

Granddaughters Carolyn Wright and Shannon Magleby gave a life sketch of Tracy, known as the first children's librarian in American Fork, and an overview of the project built in her honor.

Wright called her grandmother a pioneer and said that education in the community resulted from pioneers like Tracy.

The second oldest of 10 children, she was born in 1899. When she was a little girl she loved school and went on to become a teacher.

"She taught kindergarten in the basement of the Carnegie Library, which was where the senior center is today," Wright said. "She pioneered the first children's library in American Fork and retained the position of children's librarian until she was 72 years old."

"She pioneered the pathway to learning, of the community and the values of this wonderful city," she said.

Magleby told how Tracy's descendants had considered finding a way to memorialize her at the library.

"I came and talked to Vicky (Turner, the current children's librarian) and she looked to this room," she said. The children's story area had boxes that the children could sit on, sort of like a miniature amphitheater.

"You could hear clunk, clunk, clunk as their feet hit the boxes," Magleby said. Family members thought of insulating those boxes, but decided to remove them, put in carpet and linoleum, repaint the walls and put up wall boards.

"The extended family then decided to do a project at the library to honor Tracy," Magleby said. She said it was exciting to see everyone involved in the project.

"At the Tracy family reunion, many people donated to this cause, even down to great-grandchildren," she said. "It was such a neat thing. The whole Tracy family has invested in this." They paid tribute to the Friends of the American Fork Library and its head, Dr. Scott Smith, for assisting with the donation, which enabled the new story time corner to be constructed.

Smith thanked the family for their donation and invited others to join the Friends of the American Fork Library, a nonprofit organization, with no overhead. All proceeds go to help the library, he said.

"I love this library," he said. "It has made a big difference in my kids' lives."

He thanked the Tracy family for their contribution.

"This is a wonderful addition to the library," he said. "This is a crown jewel for the city of American Fork."