Things are changing in the town of Sedro-Woolley-hopefully for the better.
The Sedro-Woolley Central Library is getting a new building to replace the older one on State street. The original structure was built in the 1970’s with an addition from the 90’s, as of today, the space has become outgrown.
Many are frustrated with dilapidated conditions. On busy days, the parking lot that is shared with the community center is overcrowded.
The county actually had to divide into two different libraries to better accommodate for the growing population and to better distribute books.
“It’ll be a great place to meet friends and socialize. It won’t be a shh kind of place,” said Library Director Jeanne Williams, in regards to the new building.
The library is getting a new building with more open areas and shelving. As Sedro-Woolley turns a new page and grows, the town makes room for the up and coming generation.
“I think the library is a great idea because we’ll get to learn new things and learning new things is sick,” said SWHS senior Luke Hedberg.
One of the main goals of the new space would be to incorporate an area specifically for teens.
“This will provide equitable access for our students,” said Sedro-Woolley High School Librarian, Meredith Kitchens.
This would include: meeting rooms, a play area for younger children, an eating area, and much more.
The library hopes that having a space like this would help instill a sense of community and hopefully raise attendance.
Along with simply having room for the up and coming generations of Sedro-Woolley, it will also highlight the various resources the library has to offer.
One of them being a movie streaming service which allows people to check out movies just like books.
The library even has a student council for teens to voice their opinions on how the institution is doing and how they could better their teen spaces.
A project this large has to go through various stages of pitching and planning. Mayor Julia Johnson said, “Coming to together, joining forces, joining funds has been a very positive outcome for us.”
The council worked with former mayor of Sedro-Woolley and current state senator Keith Wagoner to attain grants, while the library itself worked to acquire funding as well.
The new building will be ready and open to the public by the spring of 2020. With more space for various age groups and more community access to exploration through education.