Published: Saturday, September 13, 2008
Edmonds Library open after a facelift
EDMONDS -- After a $130,000 facelift and an 18-day closure, the Edmonds Library reopened Sept. 8 re-carpeted and reorganized.
There is a new lounge with views of the Olympic Mountains, a newly defined teen space and a new, permanent place for the Friends of the Edmonds Library's ongoing book sale. And, for safety reasons, the children's story pit was filled in.
What matters most, though, is that the library is open again, said Lesly Kaplan, the managing librarian.
"People are back, and they want to read," she said.
By adjusting the bookshelves throughout the library, gathering spaces that were once cramped are now expansive.
"We wanted to rearrange to make comfortable areas to read and relax," Kaplan said.
This was the library's first significant closure in years, she said.
The renovations were paid for by a fund created when the Edmonds Library was annexed into the Sno-Isle Library system.
The Edmonds branch is one of the largest and busiest libraries in the 21-library Sno-Isle Library system.
Instead of selling from three worn book carts, the Friends' now sell used books from tall wooden bookshelves at the front of the library.
The change is welcome, said Judith Works, president of the Friends.
"It will expand (the ongoing sale) dramatically. It was small before," Works said. "We are absolutely thrilled."
The new carpeting required library staff to move almost all the books off almost every bookshelf. It was tough work.
"What keeps a library running is order. If you cannot find something, what good is it?" Kaplan said. "Getting (the library) back together took a supreme effort."
There is a new lounge with views of the Olympic Mountains, a newly defined teen space and a new, permanent place for the Friends of the Edmonds Library's ongoing book sale. And, for safety reasons, the children's story pit was filled in.
What matters most, though, is that the library is open again, said Lesly Kaplan, the managing librarian.
"People are back, and they want to read," she said.
By adjusting the bookshelves throughout the library, gathering spaces that were once cramped are now expansive.
"We wanted to rearrange to make comfortable areas to read and relax," Kaplan said.
This was the library's first significant closure in years, she said.
The renovations were paid for by a fund created when the Edmonds Library was annexed into the Sno-Isle Library system.
The Edmonds branch is one of the largest and busiest libraries in the 21-library Sno-Isle Library system.
Instead of selling from three worn book carts, the Friends' now sell used books from tall wooden bookshelves at the front of the library.
The change is welcome, said Judith Works, president of the Friends.
"It will expand (the ongoing sale) dramatically. It was small before," Works said. "We are absolutely thrilled."
The new carpeting required library staff to move almost all the books off almost every bookshelf. It was tough work.
"What keeps a library running is order. If you cannot find something, what good is it?" Kaplan said. "Getting (the library) back together took a supreme effort."
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