Take a peek inside the reimagined Tumwater library, complete with kids’ wonderland

Staff were putting the finishing touches on the Tumwater Timberland Library this week ahead of its grand re-opening on Saturday.

After the library moved its operations in February to the Timberland Regional Library Headquarters over safety concerns during remodeling, the library is finally back in business at 7023 New Market St.

The $400,000 upgrade introduces new furniture and flooring, re-envisioned community spaces, including interactive and quiet areas, and a wonderland-themed children’s section.

An expanded children’s area

Entering the remodeled space, the retouches in the children’s section pop with color. Behind a new 40-foot wall separating the children’s area from the rest of the library, there is a brand new costume station, tea shop, rock wall and — the star of the show — a castle play structure connecting to a slide.

“So we have a costume shop, a tea shop and a bakery, so kids can go in and play. They can dress up in costumes. They can sit in our throne which is really awesome. So they can do a lot of play, because that’s really important with kids,” said Timberland Regional Library Operations Director Brenda Lane, who oversaw the remodeling process.

Communications and Media Director Anna Lisa Rasmussen said the updates reflect learning through play. The new design also expands the children’s section from the library’s former layout to include child-inclusive activities.

“They get to learn through play, so that’s an important part of the spaces that we create for children,” Rasmussen said.

“Prior to this refresh, the children’s area was just that back corner — about a square. So that was really it for a space dedicated to children,” she said.

In addition to the children’s area, the library now offers accessible computer stations with ergonomic chairs, shorter shelves, an adult quiet space, a study room and a new teen area with an 85-inch TV.

Planning for the future

The recent remodel is the Tumwater Timberland Library’s first update since 1995. Staff said this remodel has been a long time coming in many ways.

“If you see the before videos or the before pictures, you can definitely tell everything was very ‘90s. It was very dated, but it was also very worn,” Lane said.

When the library first approached the major remodeling, staff sought to preserve and re-purpose as much as possible. By adding new side panels to existing shelves, for instance, Lane said Timberland library staff designed and built almost everything in house.

“There’s a lot of people involved. You know, we do a lot of planning, design, but we do it all in house,” Lane said. “We do this all ourselves. We don’t hire out. We want to get the most we can out of these public tax dollars. So my operation staff build, construct everything.”

The Timberland Regional Library hopes to refresh the facility in another seven to eight years, taking regular audits to ensure that the library’s offerings are up to date. According to Lane, the library does not intend to wait another 20 to 30 years to remodel again.

“You know, we might say, okay, well, we’re over this theme. What are we going to do? We’re going to change this or do this, but we absolutely do not want to wait 20, 30 years,” she said.

As the Timberland libraries take turns getting a refresh, Lane said the Lacey Timberland Library is up next, set for remodeling next year. The new space reportedly will have a tree house.

This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 5:15 AM.