After more than a year of planning, the new $2.2 million East Hancock Public Library is moving closer to reality.

The library is a first for the Diamondhead area, which has never had a public library.

The Sun Herald reports Monday the new 5,000-square-foot library is in the design phase. It will be built near Hancock Medical Center in Shepherd Square, behind Diamondhead Shopping Center.

Scheduled to open within a year, it will serve the Diamondhead, Fenton and Dedeaux communities.

Funding for the new library is part of the $200 million federal Community Block Development grant awarded to Bay St. Louis, Waveland and Pearlington to rebuild community infrastructure.