CAMANO ISLAND – On Friday, the experiment began.
A gym was transformed into a library that was designed to look like a bookstore.
Sno-Isle Libraries hired five staff members, bought 4,000 new books, DVDs and audio books and budgeted $300,000 to be spent this year – all on a library that isn’t expected to last more than three years.
The Camano Island Library is a first.
It’s Sno-Isle’s first pilot library in at least 20 years – and the first of the organization’s 21 branches designed to look like a bookstore. It’s also the first public library on Camano Island – yet another indicator of the island’s rapid transformation from a rural getaway to a suburban community.
“I came to the island 10 years ago,” said Claire Winget, chairwoman of the Camano Island Library Advisory Board. “In those 10 years, I’ve seen a number of changes. We have our own ZIP code now. I was so excited not to live in Stanwood anymore. We have two elementary schools. We have stoplights. We have our own IGA – and now we have our own library. We have a community now.”
The 1,800-square-foot space is in a wood-planked storefront at Terry’s Corner, on the east end of the island a few miles from Stanwood.
Paintings by Camano Island artists Jack Gunter, Karla Matzke and John Muhler brighten the library’s curry-colored walls. Statues sit on the floor and on coffee tables. Seven computers line the back wall. Cushy chairs and a soft-glowing lamp create a cozy corner for reading and chatting.
The new library blends traditional library fare with bookstore-inspired displays. Its branch manager, David Menard, has experience in libraries but most recently worked as a bookseller at the now-defunct Scott’s Bookstore in Mount Vernon.
Like bookstores, the Camano Island Library features multiple copies of popular books and less of a selection of older, less popular titles. However, library patrons can electronically request to have items sent to them at the Camano Island branch from any Sno-Isle library.
The library’s reference section consists of just three books: a dictionary, an almanac and a history of Camano Island.
“It’s basically a browser’s collection,” said Menard, his Cat in the Hat tie blowing in the wind as he waited for the library opening ceremony Friday.
If the approach works, Sno-Isle may consider using the bookstore design at some of its other small branches, said Library Director Jonalyn Woolf-Ivory.
Beth Sabo is a fan. The Camano Island homemaker spent Friday morning checking out the new library with her daughters, Faith, 7, and Jayme, 4.
“I was really anxious to bring the girls and come and explore it,” Sabo said as she watched her children play on a computer. “They really like the library in Stanwood and this is a lot closer. Every time we drive through Stanwood, Jayme says she wants to go to ‘her library.’ We’re really excited to come here today.”
Faith, a fan of “The Boxcar Children” series of books, added, “I think it’s good because there’s lots of books.”
Sno-Isle plans to keep the library open for three years. After that, the pilot project will end, and islanders will have to decide whether they want to pay to build a new library.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
Suzanne Schmid / The Herald
Louise Rawls of Camano Island helped her son, Huston, 3, and Nate Conway (right), 4, test their skills on a preschool computer game at the Camano Island Library, which opened Friday morning. Rawls is happy to have a library closer to home that will cater to her whole family. “It’s quick access to children’s activities, coupled with books for me,” Rawls said.
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