FOLEY, Ala. — Patrons of the Foley Public Library may notice something a little different when they walk through the front doors.

That’s because a new bronze statue is now situated on the lawn, to the left of the front entrance facing U.S. Highway 98. The display features a boy and girl, sitting on a bench and sharing the enjoyment of a book — surrounded by a landscape of coral drift roses and orange crossandra behind the statue, with limelight hydrangea on each side of the statue and jacobinia and dwarf mondo grass surrounding the stepping stones.

“The city’s landscaping department headed up by John Graham did a beautiful job with the landscaping,” said Suzanne Kellams of the city of Foley.

According to Library Director John Jackson, the $4,500 statue was funded jointly by the Friends of the Foley Library and the city of Foley.

“I want to thank the Friends of the Foley Library for donating $2,000 to this project,” he said. “The Friends had a big boost in getting the statue here.”

This is the second bronze statue designed for Foley’s outdoor vistas. The first was “Slugger,” which features a child playing baseball and is situated at Mel Roberts Park.

City officials say a third statue is planned for Foley’s pending dog park.

According to Kellams, the addition of bronze statues to the municipality’s landscape was a joint effort.

“This has been a vision of the mayor’s in conjunction with the Revitalization and Beautification Advisory Board,” she said.

Helping to bring that vision about has been Fran Hopkins, business owner of Fran’s of 59, who has served as the city’s liaison for ordering the statues.

“She ordered this statue from World of Bronze out of Las Vegas,” Kellams said.