SEQUIM — Library patrons will have to wait until mid-summer to try out the new Sequim location.
Administrators said delays in receiving some materials have pushed reopening the renovated Sequim branch of the North Olympic Library System (NOLS) into late July or early August.
“With a project of this scale, some things are out of our hands, and they will show up when they show up,” NOLS executive director Noah Glaude said.
That includes glass panels and dividing walls, he said.
“They’re not going to be on site until later than expected, but contractors are doing everything they can to work around that,” Glaude said.
In the fall, contractors also experienced a delay in the delivery of the building’s steel.
“Our contractors did everything they could, and we’re happy with the work they’re doing; we were just on site (last) week,” Glaude said.
Sequim’s $10.6 million renovated library will be expanded to about 10,000 square feet with more general collections and seating space, new bathrooms, event and meeting rooms at 630 N. Sequim Ave.
NOLS has more than $6 million for the project, including donations, and will seek low-interest financing through the state treasurer’s office to cover the remainder of the project.
Glaude said donors continue to give despite the deadline closing for names to be added to a donor wall.
He said prices for the library’s new elements were locked in long ago, and overall the project remains on budget as contractors await certain elements to be built and shipped.
“There are many different players in these different steps,” he said.
“No one wants delays … but we’re not talking years or months. It’s a month or so later than expected.
“We’re really wanting to wrap things up as quickly as possible. Our timing has been pretty good.”
Initially, NOLS staff planned to be reopening the original library sometime in the spring, and in February that shifted to prior to the start of the Summer Reading Program.
That program will continue with special events likely occurring at other community buildings during the transition between the temporary library at 609 W. Washington St., Suite 21, and the renovated library, Glaude said.
Sequim’s library closed March 10, 2024, to move materials and operations to the temporary library, which opened April 1, 2024.
Glaude said staff are considering an option to offer holds for pickup at the temporary library during the transition back to the renovated library. He said the transition will likely take another three weeks.
NOLS trustees initially approved a two-year lease for the temporary library space at a cost of about $151,000 from Aug. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2025.
Glaude said they’re mindful of that July date, and they have an option to have a month-to-month lease afterward, if needed.
“We have a series of steps that need to be done; get technology in place, moving the collection, having staff in there and trained, and getting notice out to the community about what services will look like,” he said.
“We’re about to move into this beautiful building and the delay is not an unexpected thing, but we hope the community gives us a little grace as we make that transition.”
For more information about the Sequim Library Renovation and Expansion Project, visit NOLS.org/Sequim.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
