DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – “He was a funky brother who knew music,” said David R Webb, Sr., president and CEO of The Funk Museum Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center, when talking about Prince. He said the music legend will be greatly missed.

Webb said he met Prince and described him as very polite, and an amazing producer.

He reflected on the passing of Prince on the eve of a big day for the museum. It will hold its grand opening Friday inside the new Dayton Metro Library Northwest Branch located at 2410 Philadelphia Drive.

He said it’s a great partnership that’s helping spread the word about Dayton’s important role in the funk music revolution in our nation. He said they’re in the process of obtaining more Prince memorabilia to compliment their current collection of local treasures.

“You’ll see some of the Zapp stuff, some of the Heatwave stuff, some of the Ohio Players… some of the Slave memorabilia,” he said. “And we have some interactive stuff that we’re going to do with the children where they can draw on the board and make music notes, and we have a funk-like Soul Train Scrabble board that we’re going to do with the children.”

He invited everyone to come for a visit and promised it’ll be fun.

The funk museum takes up about 700 square feet inside the new library.

Meantime, the new Northwest Branch of the Dayton Metro Library will hold its grand opening at 1 p.m. Friday.  It is a combination of three branches, brought together to create a new facility for the neighborhood.

It was made possible through a bond issue passed by Montgomery County voters.

There are a lot of new spaces; like a tech studio to record music and make videos. Plus, 90 computers for the public, and laptops to use within the library.

Leaders invite families to come check it all out Friday, especially the kids.

“We have a children’s portal that they can climb through and really enjoy,” said Rachel Gut, deputy director of the Dayton Metro Library. “We have a special listening station for them, and special computers for early literacy and building those reading skills.”