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Sno-Isle Library officials unveiled preliminary plans for the Edmonds Library remodel at the Thursday Edmonds Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Portofino restaurant.
“We’re really excited to be here today to unveil the changes and innovations that are coming to the Edmonds Library as part of our remodel,” said Sno-Isle Libraries Executive Director Lois Langer Thompson.
“First, I want to ask you what comes to mind when you think of a library,” she asked with a smile. “I’ll bet none of you thought that library can hold 60,000 gallons of water, but that’s exactly what happened on June 23, 2022 when an irrigation pipe leaked and spilled that much water into the 17,500-square-foot Edmonds Library. Thanks to quick action by our staff, all 54,000 books and all our computer equipment were recovered without damage, but the building itself was another story. Carpets were soaked and drywall was destroyed — the entire main floor unusable.
“After the flood, our first priority was to remove the standing water, repair the obvious damage, assess the building for additional damage and provide a pop-up library in the upstairs Plaza Room,” she explained — allowing the library to maintain services while working with the City of Edmonds on a plan for repairs.
“As part of this, we decided to use this unplanned challenge as an opportunity to take a fresh look and reimagine the space,” Thompson said.
She went on to explain that Johnston Architects, a firm with experience and expertise in public library design, was selected to combine staff ideas with best practices in the field into a design that would complement the Edmonds community by created an inspiring and welcoming space for the new library.
This will include an enhanced interactive children’s area, flexible in-library meeting rooms and an open, welcoming floor plan that invites community gathering and interaction.
“The children’s area says, ‘Come and stay here’,” she explained. “Books will be in bins for easy access, and there will be plenty of seating options.”
Visitors entering the library will be greeted by plenty of natural light and clear views to the water. The main meeting room will provide flexible space with a large room-divider door that can be closed off or opened to expand the space. There will also be small spaces for private online meetings – Zoom rooms – that provide a private area for interviews and can function as a mini-business center.
“I want to stress that these renderings are concepts at this point, and the final product may look different,” she cautioned. “The project is out to bid now, and we are keeping the project webpage updated with the latest information and progress reports. We do not have a firm opening date at this time, but we’re hoping for this summer – once the bid process concludes, we’ll have a better idea.”
Questions from luncheon attendees included the library’s plans for accommodating the upcoming Edmonds Art Festival, which has traditionally used the Plaza Room and upstairs patio area.
“We’ve been partners with the Edmonds Arts Festival for years,” Thompson responded. “While we don’t have a definitive answer at the time, we are working on it and will continue providing updates.”
Another question concerned meeting room availability for outside groups, to which Thompson responded that at this time plans are to make meeting rooms available only during regular library hours. Reservations are without cost and can be made on the library website.
The community can follow the project’s progress on the Edmonds Library reopening webpage.
— Story and photos by Larry Vogel
Is the ugly entry plaza on Main St being renovated? It needs ADA upgrades.
Many of the renderings seem to take away a lot of the shelves for books. The Edmonds library has always been small, and it often has lacked a lot of resources that other libraries have.
The renderings seems to reduce the amount of books the library could hold by at least half, and maybe more. Certainly it would add more natural light if much of the shelves for books are not there, but I don’t think the tradeoff is worth it.
Hi Evan – We love having access to a lot of books too! Thank you for visiting our libraries. We are using the Edmonds Library restoration as an opportunity to enhance the space and resources, like reservable meeting rooms and study spaces.
We are reimagining the 17,566 square feet to create a welcoming, inspiring space featuring a large collection of books. Renderings are not an exact science yet; they help give us a visual of the space but do not tell the full story! The shelves are shorter to make books easier to access for all our readers and provide wonderful sightlines to the beautiful Puget Sound.
Sno-Isle Libraries library cardholders have access to approximately 1.8 million materials in our collection!
Please reach out if you have any other questions.
After looking at the renderings of the restored library, my first comment is, “Where are all the books?” I want a library with books not a view of the sound. I come to the library to get books, videos, music CDs, research something, not look at the view. I can get a view by walking throughout Edmonds. Given a choice between light(shorter shelves) and more books, the answer is books. Really, how many people could not reach the shelves? That seems a real stretch -no pun intended. And, if so, what happened to asking someone to reach the item for you? I want a functional library with books and computers for the residents to use. Every time I would come to the library, most of the computers were occupied. Will there be just as many computers available?
Did anyone ask the using Public if the wanted reservable meeting rooms? And if so, was it explained that you could get meeting rooms at the expense of fewer books?
I realize Sno-Isle system has nearly 2 million books but I would rather have more books and computers in the Edmonds branch and less space for socializing.
I agree that books are the main point of a library. The renderings look beautiful, and meeting space is nice, but doesn’t that come more under the umbrella of the ‘community center’ concept? Perhaps that is now the mission of libraries in general, and if so then the public should be made aware of that. I’m all in favor of improving the children’s area because it’s vitally important to stimulate those young minds- I think the Winslow Children’s Library on Bainbridge is one example the planners should consider. Besides the amazing number of kid’s books, it has toys, games, an aquarium, little snug spaces to curl up with a book. As for those shorter shelves- how easy will it be for those of us in our 70’s to go down very low to even see the titles? Many people still like to browse that way in addition to using the computer.