History of the La Conner Library
Chronology - Information in this chronology was compiled in 2004, from articles in the Channel Town Press, the historic records of Friends of the La Conner Library, and Mrs. Roberta Nelson, a longtime La Conner resident.
| 1927 | The American Legion Post & Auxiliary began the La Conner Library, first housed in the Baptist Church. Unfortunately, the church burned that year. (from the memory of Mrs. Roberta Anderson of La Conner) | |
| 1928 | A temporary library board was set up consisting of one member from each organization in town, including The Commercial Club, American Legion and Auxiliary, Civic Improvement Club, Billiken Club, LeLundi Group, the Junior Club, and the Superintendent of Schools. | |
| 1929 | The first book was donated to the library in September (Channel Town Press article). Ada Hulbert Gaches donated the first bookcase and also offered to sell a number of her special books for $28. | |
| 1929 | The Library was established on the second floor of the Civic Improvement Club building, on 2nd Street across from the Gaches home (now the La Conner Quilt Museum). The building had originally been a school, then a debating society hall, and now the La Conner Garden Club. | |
| 1929 | Library furniture was donated by citizens. Boy Scouts donated firewood. Fund-raising was begun, with teas, luncheons, bridge parties, magazine sales, entertainment and activities to raise money for the library. | |
| 1929 | In October, Mrs. E. R. Anderson was elected president of the board and served as one of the first volunteer librarians. A fund-raising group called the 69 Club, was formed to aid the funding of the library. | |
| 1931 | The first actual book purchased with library funds was in July. Between October 1929 and January 1931, 1265 books circulated. | |
| 1932 | The library collection size was now over 1,000 books and the library circulated over 2,000 items a year. | |
| 1935 | The Library Board asked the town council for financial support and received $60 per year toward maintenance. The town council appointed five members to the board for the following year. | |
| 1933-45 | Pearl Moore served as the paid librarian during the Depression, funded by a WPA government program. When that funding ended, volunteers assumed the responsibility of the librarian. Rose Whitney, Madylin Anderson, Carrie Jensen and Helen Tillinghast were some volunteers. (from the memory of Roberta Nelson, daughter of Pearl Moore). | |
| 1946 | The town council applied for a federal loan of $7,000 and a state loan of $5,000 for construction of a new library building. | |
| 1948 | The new library was completed, at 509 First Street where the current "Bears and Friends" business is located. At that time the official name of the library became the La Conner Memorial Library in honor of the La Conner men who had died while serving in WWII. A memorial fund for books and materials is still maintained. | |
| 1969 | The library budget was raised to $2,000 per year, but the library was still staffed primarily by board members and volunteers. In 1969, the board asked for $960 from the town council for a librarian's salary. This was $2.00 per hour or $80 per month. In 1970, Evelyn Johnson became the first librarian paid by the town. | |
| 1987-1992 | Circulation increased about 65%, from 8,000 books per year in 1987 to almost 14,000 in 1991. | |
| 1988 | Friends of the Library group was started to help provide funding for library materials and needs. | |
| 1990 | After a variety of roof leaks, heating system and water problems, the library board conducted a facilities report and a needs assessment study. | |
| 1992 | By May, the library building had badly deteriorated. The library moved to temporary (and tight) quarters in the Town Hall Council Chambers. A study showed that building pilings and shoring up the floor of the old building would cost between $150,000 and 180,000. It was deemed too costly to refurbish. | |
| 1992 | La Conner mayor, Dan O'Donnell, asked the Skagit County Commissioners for a joint-library, not a library district as provided by state law, but the request was rejected. He then sought $20,000 in county funds to operate the library. That too was rejected. | |
| 1993 |
In 1993, Dan O'Donnell requested State Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, to propose that existing legislation be modified to permit "something short" of a county library system with it's own taxing power. In January, Haugen drafted a bill, Gov. Mike Lowry signed the bill into law in June of 1993. Thus began a local petition drive to form a La Conner Library District within the boundary of the La Conner School District. In August, the County Commissioners agreed to place the La Conner Library District proposal on the September ballot. |
|
| 1993 |
In the fall of 1993, voters created a "Rural, Partial-County Library District" which would tax school district residents for the library's operating costs. It was the first partial-county library district in the state of Washington, and is a direct result of a change in the state law prompted by requests from La Conner officials. On November 26, La Conner Regional Library moved into its present location at 614 Morris Street, changing its name to reflect the newly created partial-county library district. The building was rented during this initial period. |
|
| 1994 |
The present building was purchased in 1994. Much credit for the purchase goes to two town council members, Roberta Nelson and Judy Iverson. Their strong support for the library convinced the council and mayor to work out the financial details. The town of La Conner lent the library board $90,000 of the building's $210,000 purchase price. After five years of payments, the board was able to write off the debt. |
|
| 2003 | In November, citizens of the library district voted to increase the tax rate from 39.5 cents per mil, to the maximum allowed by the state of 50 cents per mil, for maintenance, increased hours of operation, increased library materials, and to work towards a new future library. | |
| 2004 | Current size of the library's collection is approximately 27,000 items, including books, audio books, large print books, and videos. Circulation is between 2,000 and 2,300 items per month. The current annual library budget for facilities, maintenance, collection and staff is $219,565. | |
| 2005 |
The town is justifiably proud of the small town library that meets so many needs of the growing community, from children to adults, computer users, and senior citizens. Welcome to the La Conner Regional Library! Professional librarians were first paid by the town, then the library district: Evelyn Johnson (1970- ), Amy Hahn, Maddy O'Donnell, Casey Krub, Linda Lambert (1998-2000), Linda Malone (2000-2002), Howard Downey (2002-2005), Joy Neal (July 2005-present). |
|
La
Conner Regional Library
Box 370 - 614 Morris St.
La Conner, WA 98257
Phone: (360)466-3352
Fax:
(360) 466-9178
Contact us: library@lclib.lib.wa.us