Timberland set to open library branch at Capital Mall, seeks same in Hawks Prairie
Timberland Regional Library is set to open a new branch at Capital Mall on April 1, the executive director told a Lacey City Council committee on Tuesday.
And the library district wants to do the same in Hawks Prairie, executive director Cheryl Heywood said.
Neither branch will be full-service lending libraries, but will focus on best-sellers for all ages and in all formats, she said. They also are considered “demonstration libraries,” meaning they will operate for a trial period of a year or longer to gauge whether they are successful.
The Capital Mall branch will fill a spot once occupied by Foot Locker and is expected to have a book drop outside the west Olympia mall, near the new branch.
The city of Olympia will help with funding of the west Olympia location, said Mike Reid, the city’s economic development director, on Wednesday.
“Libraries play a pivotal role in workforce development and economic resiliency building which is needed now more than ever as we recover and grow from the economic impact of this pandemic,” he said in an email.
The library district also would like to get back to Hawks Prairie, where it used to run a busy kiosk near the former South Puget Sound Community College satellite campus on Marvin Road Northeast.
Heywood said they will work with city of Lacey staff to find the right location — ideally, in a strip mall with lots of parking, she said.
Timberland’s board approved $1 million for the new locations. Up next for the Capital Mall site is for the board to authorize an agreement with the mall for the space. That action is expected next month.
The money is available because of a state Auditor’s recommendation to the district to establish a beginning fund balance about five years ago. That plan was updated in 2019, which allowed the library to tap the fund for what Heywood called “onetime value-added services.”
In addition to the branch plans, Heywood updated the Lacey council committee on library services. Because of the pandemic, demand for its online services has soared — up 20-44 percent since mid-March, she said.
The downtown Olympia branch also has reverted back to curbside service only, Heywood said, after the governor issued updated guidance on the pandemic.
The branch in November offered a hybrid service of either curbside service or quick checkout inside. Patrons entered through the front door and exited out of the back of the building.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
