A ribbon cutting open to the public at the highly anticipated Mount Vernon Library Commons will be followed by guided tours this Saturday, Sept. 28, at 10 a.m. The new Commons — the result of combined community dreams and ideas — is at 208 W. Kincaid Street, across from the courthouse.
The Library Commons is scheduled to be open to the public in early October.
“Hard work and perseverance” is what made this multifaceted building come to be, said Isaac Huffman, who has been the library director for seven years.
“The idea really came from the citizens of Mount Vernon,” said Huffman during a one-on-one tour of the Commons. “They dreamed of economic development, a better downtown, a conference center, a place of community, better transit, environmental progress, a new library, and more.”
These ideas were captured over the decade from many different feedback mechanisms and compiled in 2019, Huffman said. “It was then the brilliance of a few people in city government to combine as many of these dreams as possible into a single facility.”
More than a library
Indeed, it’s the spirit of community that will make the Commons more than what people often think of as a public library.
“Talking to individuals who have been deeply affected by the library over the course of their lives, you come to essential truths about library service,” said Huffman. “Beyond the typical aspects of learning, growth and study that everyone likely associates with a library, you can find that libraries have value in creating safe spaces and communities.” [Also read “Library … plus: today’s version provides much more than books,” Salish Current, Feb. 27, 2024]
To that end, the Library Commons will not only offer an expansive collection of books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks — and many computers — but there are multiple dedicated gathering spots for community purposes. Approximately a third of the building is devoted to meeting spaces.
There will be a dedicated children’s room that doubles the square footage of the current library (located at 315 Snoqualmie Street), a teen room, a teen STEM center and a conference center capable of hosting 200 to 500 people.
The library staff is continuously refining programming based on community feedback, and the design of the building was shaped by this feedback over time.
A kitchen, too?
What may be most unique about the Commons is the commercial kitchen.
The kitchen has several goals, Huffman explained. These include supporting programming such as conferences, promoting economic development in Skagit Valley, an incubator program providing rental services for food-based businesses and serving as a space during a disaster.
Huffman elaborated on the broader plans for the Commons and the philosophy of what a public library should be — a safe space for everyone.
“When you combine the safe space of libraries with the services that they provide to connect individuals, support personal growth and [provide] access [to] information, a library will accumulate a large number of stories where a path of personal growth, recovery, or resilience plays out,” he said.
“Over the next year, the library will continue to develop the right blend of services and preparedness to help individuals who need additional support,” Huffman said, noting that the Commons can provide shelter for up to 1,000 people in the event of a disaster.
From the street, the building is imposing, but inside, its design is both practical and inviting, with warm architectural features and an efficient traffic flow.
How did this happen?
“A younger, less experienced version of myself would’ve thought a project begins with design,” Huffman said. “I now know that design, especially in the case of a building, is a multi-year process of merging the vision you have with the limitations you encounter.
He said the project started with a vision to combine economic development, transit and library into one project. After gaining support from stakeholders, the project began to move forward, even before complete funding was secured. In fact, Huffman added that funding wasn’t finalized until April of this year.
Funding for the $60 million project came from various sources: $20 million in local funding (including foundation, city and county support), $20 million in state support and $20 million in federal funding — a first for a project like this one which did not require raising local taxes
Supporting local businesses was a key priority throughout the project, with emphasis on buying locally sourced materials.
Part of that local commitment was to build to the highest federal standards called “Buy American,” which requires sourcing materials from within the United States.
This led to another first. Along the way one of the interesting challenges of the project has been steel, Huffman said. Structural steel (rebar, etc.) was easily sourced, but nonstructural steel is another story.
“The Library Commons is the first vertical structure ever to be finished to Department of Transportation standards for structural steel,” Huffman said.
Also notable is that the Mount Vernon Library Commons is a community-oriented transportation hub.
“The goal of a structure like ours is to support efforts to broaden how people travel,” said Huffman.
The building is located near the Amtrak station and the Skagit Transit bus line and will have its own stop for quick transit. The will also support electric vehicle (EV) travel with the inclusion of 76 EV chargers, and encourage bicycle travel with the inclusion of bike lockers, bike racks and bike chargers.
“For me, finishing the building is really the start of a new [era of] library service,” Huffman said. “I’m looking forward to being able to share this incredible resource with the people in this area.”
The Salish Current is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, online local news organization serving Whatcom, San Juan and Skagit counties by reporting local news with independence and strict journalistic integrity, and by providing fact-based information and a forum for civil commentary.
