Sequim Library to get facelift
Hannah Gloor, 7, left, her sister Lily, 9, and their mother, Alissa, browse the children's section at the Sequim Library. -- Diane Urbani de la Paz/Peninsula Daily News
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
Print This |
Email This
Recent Headlines
To our readers . . . about the Aspire! Quartet’s Singing Valentine program -- 2/10/12 -01:53 PM
Floating luxury home hits the water, now moored at Point Hudson [**Video**] -- 2/10/12 -01:03 PM
Mountain goat population up about 40 percent in Olympic Mountains -- 2/10/12 -12:07 PM
417.9 million bites later . . . (does this video warrant that much attention?) -- 2/10/12 -12:02 PM
Josh Powell had ‘incestuous’ sex images, investigators say -- 2/10/12 -09:32 AM
The 5,700-square-foot branch at 630 N. Sequim Ave. is small for the Dungeness Valley's swelling population, system director Paula Barnes has said.
And since last year, she's been talking with the Friends of the Sequim Library about building a nearly 15,000-square-foot book haven.
That would have necessitated a bond issue and a property-tax increase; not something Barnes, and the Friends thought would fly in the current economic downturn.
Fortunately for Sequim library users — and those who've yet to explore their local branch — the library system's board of trustees decided last week to allocate $120,000 from its capital-improvements fund toward what Barnes calls a facelift.
That will include "refreshing the collection, eliminating clutter, and adding new paint, new furniture and new signage," Barnes noted.
Remodeling plan
Last fall the system paid Buffalo Design, a Seattle firm specializing in library interiors, just under $5,000 for a remodeling plan.
The Friends of the Sequim Library, meantime, are poised to add a significant amount to the library system's allocation of $120,000 for the work itself.
Friends has about $204,000 in its treasury, and plans to decide later this week how much of that to contribute to the face-lift fund, said the group's president, Suzi Schmidt.
At its May 22 meeting at the Port Angeles Library, the system board will work on a budget for the remodeling, Barnes said. Then the project will go out to bid.
Painting and refurbishing won't begin until late June or July, and the library will probably have to close for a short period, Barnes said.
Already, she and the branch's 10-member staff are working on making the library more inviting.
"We're revamping how we select new materials to go into the branch, and giving more emphasis to current best sellers and books that are in the popular awareness," Barnes said, "and we're updating the children's collection."
To pay for this, the library system is reallocating money "to give more focus to Sequim."
The Friends come in again here.
Book sales
Every second Saturday of the month, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Friends make about $2,000 by selling donated paperbacks, hardcovers and DVDs.
They set up the sale in the tiny building behind the Sequim branch, and often have customers lined up out the door.
The next sale is slated for May 10.
The Friends give some of the proceeds to the library system for use in the Sequim branch.
In 2007, the group gave the library system $10,000, made at its monthly used-book sales. That was in addition to $12,000 in Friends contributions carried over from 2006.
The odd thing about the Friends money given to the library system: Only $2,000 of it was spent last year.
"I will make sure that never happens again," Barnes said.
"We are going to spend that money wisely on library materials — mostly books — for this [Sequim] branch."
May is to be an eventful month: Keitha Owen, a King County librarian, will start work as the Sequim branch manager on May 12.
And on May 29, Geoff Hollister, Nike's first marketing maven and a legend among runners, will make an appearance.
Hollister, who lives near Sequim, will discuss and sign his book, Out of Nowhere: The Inside Story of How Nike Marketed the Culture of Running, at 7 p.m. on that Thursday.
"We want to see more of this," Barnes said of such public events.
"You've probably noticed we don't do much in the way of programming."
The children's Wednesday morning story time ends this week, and the summer reading program for ages 3 to 13 won't start until late June.
But the Sequim staff plans to add literary events and other activities for adults, teens and children, Barnes said.
She's seeking good authors and good speakers to put on the calendar.
"We're also thinking of having town meetings," Barnes added, "to hear what people want from their library."
Combination of sources
A new, larger Sequim library is still possible, she said, but its funding will have to come from a combination of sources, as it has for other branches in the system.
Construction began April 14 on an expanded Clallam Bay branch, thanks to money from the system, the Friends of the Clallam Bay Library and a $100,000 gift from Lee Nutter, CEO of Rayonier Inc. and a Clallam Bay High School alumnus.
"A public-private partnership consisting of taxpayer support, such as a bond issue, and individual gifting" could likewise work on this end of the county, Barnes said.
For information about library services, hours and circulating books, movies and CDs, visit www.NOLS.org or phone 360-683-1161.
The library system also delivers books to people who can't come to a branch. For information, phone 360-417-8503.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: April 29. 2008 9:00PM