Library officials last week made the next step in the expansion and renovation of the Sequim Library.

North Olympic Library System’s board of trustees approved the libraries’ $2.66 million Capital Budget on Jan. 27 that includes $2 million set aside by trustees last May for the Sequim project.

“We hope to be in the new building by winter 2023, which feels like a long way away, but it’s not that far away,” said NOLS’ Executive Director Noah Glaude at the virtual meeting on Jan. 27.

In a separate interview, Glaude said the project will completely renovate the existing 6,000-square-foot building and add at least 2,000 square feet.

“We’d like to expand as much as possible, but that is of course mostly restrained by our budget,” he said.

The project adds more space for studying, computers and the staffing area, energy efficient systems, more accessible bathrooms, and improves safety and emergency exits for the meeting room.

Glaude said they’d also like distinct spaces for children and teens, to add small conference and study rooms, a larger meeting room and to make the collections more accessible.

“It will likely look and feel like a whole new building,” he said.

Library staff met with the firm SHKS Architects a few weeks ago who plans to finish the design process this spring with more opportunities to come for input from the community, staff and trustees, Glaude said.

The project will tentatively go out to bid in the summer, NOLS documents state, with construction expected to take nine-12 months to complete.

Glaude said the new design is unrelated to one created in 2018 for a failed bond measure to construct a new 17,000-square-foot building.

“We still believe the larger design presented in 2018 was the best solution and what the community needed, and usage statistics back this up, but the current expansion and renovation will still allow us to make significant improvements with the resources available to us,” he said in an interview.

During construction, library officials plan to temporarily relocate services somewhere in the Sequim area. Glaude said they’ve toured six sites so far and continue to work with property managers with hopes to find a location by the spring and move into a temporary space by the fall.

Funding

A two-year old estimate for this new expansion and renovation project came to $4.8 million for a rough conceptual design, Glaude said.

SHKS Architects will develop a new estimate based on their design and current construction costs, Glaude said, and “the new estimate could significantly increase or decrease.”

While offering library services during the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic “made it very clear that we simply need more space in the building,” Glaude said.

“We were bursting at the seams before the pandemic and it’s just not feasible to squeeze things in the way we could before the pandemic,” he said, including reducing public computers from 12 to three for adequate spacing.

Along with more flexible spaces, Glaude said the pandemic showed staff they need more private and designated spaces for patrons and staff, such as for online meetings and job interviews and telehealth appointments.

As of this week, NOLS has about $4.26 million for the project. That includes $2 million from a Washington State Department of Commerce Library Capital Improvement Program Grant, $2 Million from NOLS’ Capital Reserves funded by timber revenue, and the rest from an estate donation, individual donations and Port of Port Angeles’ Community Partner Program.

Glaude said they’re seeking more grants, and library supporters expect to launch a community fundraising effort this spring with drawings and a cost estimate available.

Donations to the project are accepted at nols.org and north olympiclibraryfoundation.org, with tax-deductible donations to the North Olympic Library Foundation.

More Capital Projects

Along with the $2 million for Sequim’s expansion/renovation, library trustees approved multiple other projects for 2022 at its other branches including up to $100,000 for repairs and maintenance to the Port Angeles Library’s parking lot, up to $150,000 to change Port Angeles’ lighting to LEDs and installing an advanced control system, $130,000 for a bookmobile, and $75,000 to replace each branches’ core networking equipment.

For more about the Sequim project, visit nols.org/sequimlibraryproject.

The library system’s next board of trustees meeting is 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, via Zoom. Find more details at nols.org.

Photo courtesy of NOLS Officials with the North Olympic Library System anticipate a community effort starting tentatively in the spring to fundraise for the remaining funds for the expansion and renovation of the Sequim Library once design work and a cost estimate are complete. NOLS staff continue to seek more grant opportunities, too.