Kitsap Regional Library: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:51, 4 January 2024

Revision as of 23:53, 4 January 2024

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==Locations==

Kitsap Regional Library serves Kitsap County through nine physical locations. Each ___location offers a collection of books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs, and other materials; access to computers and technology assistance; public meeting spaces; and classes and events that are free and open to all.

=== Bainbridge Island ===

Bainbridge Island is home to the second public library in all of Puget Sound; a small library was housed above a mill store starting in 1863. Bainbridge Island has been a part of the Kitsap library systemssystem since 1947. Today, the Bainbridge Island ___location is housed in a building designed in 1962 by local architect John Rudolph. The facility was expanded in 1982 and 1997 and refreshed in 2017. All building construction and expansion expenses were paid with privately raised funds. The facility is supported and maintained by Bainbridge Public Library, Inc., a registered nonprofit organization.

=== Bremerton - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr ===

The Bremerton - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr ___location of Kitsap Regional Library is housed in a historic 1938 [[art deco]] building originally funded by the Works Progress Administration. This ___location acted as Bremerton's main library until 1955, when it became the headquarters for the newly formed Kitsap Regional Library system. In 1978, a new library headquarters opened in East Bremerton, and the downtown library was designated as a branch library. In 1999, the building was named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The City of Bremerton owns and maintains the building, which was renovated in 2007 and 2023, while Kitsap Regional Library provides service with staff and materials. In 2024, to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of the building's name, the branch was renamed the Bremerton - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr branch.

=== Bremerton - Sylvan Way ===

Bremerton - Sylvan Way is the largest ___location within Kitsap Regional Library and includes the administrative center for the system. The 35,000-square-foot building was completed in 1978 after a countywide bond measure was approved by voters. Approximately half of this space is dedicated to providing public library services, while the other half is home to Kitsap Regional Library's collection and technical services, outreach, IT, human resources, communications, and administrative departments. Kitsap Regional Library's ___location at Sylvan Way is also home to the Puget Sound Genealogical Society and a Northwest History Reference Collection.

=== Kingston ===

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=== Little Boston ===

The Little Boston ___location began in 1974 on the [[Port Gamble S'Klallam Indian Reservation]] in North Kitsap County. During the first 15 years, the library was housed in a 600-square -foot A-frame cabin. In 1988, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe received a grant from the Library Services and Construction Act to build a modern library facility. The tribe donated land, and, in April 1989, a new library opened its doors. Between 1989 and 2001, circulation increased by 680 percent. Recognizing the need for a new and larger building, the tribe and Kitsap Regional Library joined in a capital campaign for an educational and cultural complex. The House of Knowledge Complex was built in 2007 and includes a [[longhouse]], a Career and Education Center, Elders Center and the Little Boston ___location of the Library.

=== Manchester ===

In July 1947, Mary J. Sanford, owner of the Manchester Shopping Mart and member of the Kitsap Regional Library board of trustees, donated a corner of the shopping mart for use as a library. Quickly gaining community support, the library grew and moved to a renovated chicken coop in 1948. The library then moved again, to a 16-by-24 modular building at the Port of Manchester in 1953. The Friends of the Library received designation as a nonprofit organization in 1976 and, two years later, were able to successfully secure a Farmers Home Administration grant which allowed for the construction of a permanent building that opened in 1954. With collections, staff, and interior furnishings provided by Kitsap Regional Library, the current Manchester library ___location opened for business in September 1980. The community room was added in 1994.

Through the efforts of the Friends of the Manchester Library, the Manchester branch began a new chapter in 2022, with renovations that expanded the library to 3,375 square feet. These renovations created more reading space for adults, larger areas for kids and teens, enlarged the meeting space, and updated the shelving, paint, and carpet in the interior.

The Manchester ___location benefits from its surrounding gardens, which the Long Lake Garden Club and the Friends of the Library design and maintain. The gardens are an active teaching space that demonstrates water-wise, sustainable gardening techniques and educates the public on local flora. The Manchester ___location building is currently owned and maintained by its Friends of the Library group; the property on which it is located is owned by the Port of Manchester.

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=== Poulsbo ===

The Poulsbo community has had a library since 1918, when the local Civic Club founded the community's first public library with support from the town council. In 1946, the library contracted with the Kitsap County Rural Library District. In 1959, a levy was passed to support a new building on a town-owned lot. The City of Poulsbo managed the library until the mid-1980s when the city voted to join the Kitsap Regional Library's system. In 1998, voters of North Kitsap approved a bond measure to expand and remodel the Poulsbo ___location's library. The new building opened in 2001 and is owned and maintained by The Kitsap Regional Library. The Poulsbo ___location houses a unique [[Scandinavia]]n Collection with volumes ranging from Icelandic phrasebooks to [[Scandinavian design|Swedish interior design]] to children's books. It also is home to a collection of [[Foundation Center]] materials.

=== Silverdale ===

Silverdale has had a library since 1945. In 1946, the Silverdale Library Committee remodeled a 16-by-16-foot [[United States Army|Army]] surplus building for use as the library. By 1958, the small building was inadequate and volunteers remodeled and expanded the building. In 1970, the Friends of the Silverdale Library launched a building campaign, and in just 6 months, money was raised for a 1,000-square-foot library.

The Silverdale community grew significantly in the 1970s due to the presence of the [[Naval Base Kitsap|Bangor Naval Base]]. With an increased need for library services, the Silverdale Library joined the Kitsap Regional Library system so the library could qualify for Trident Impact Funds. These funds helped expand the Silverdale ___location in 1980 to its current size.

In 2015, the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation and the Friends started the Capital Campaign for a New Library in Silverdale, raising the $5.5 million needed to build a new library. Kitsap Regional Library partnered with the Central Kitsap School District in 2018 to move the Silverdale branch to the south end of the Central Kitsap High School. The 13,772 -square -foot new building opened in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2022/03/24/new-silverdale-library-branch-opening-near-more-amenities-coffee-community-space-kitsap-community/9458311002/|title=Long-awaited opening of new Silverdale Library almost here, with more amenities, community space|first=Peiyu|last=Lin|website=Kitsap Sun}}</ref>

=== Bremerton - Sylvan Way ===

Bremerton - Sylvan Way is the largest ___location within Kitsap Regional Library and includes the administrative center for the system. The 35,000-square-foot building was completed in 1978 after a countywide bond measure was approved by voters. Approximately half of this space is dedicated to providing public library services, while the other half is home to Kitsap Regional Library's collection and technical services, outreach, IT, human resources, communications, and administrative departments. Kitsap Regional Library's ___location at Sylvan Way is also home to the Puget Sound Genealogical Society and a Northwest History Reference Collection.

=== Bookmobile ===