Does it make sense to continue operating a library branch that serves fewer than 100 people?
That was essentially the conversation Timberland Regional Library’s facilities committee had last week, weighing the benefits of its Amanda Park branch in northwest Grays Harbor County in the face of declining use and millions spent.
The numbers aren’t pretty, according to operations director Brenda Lane and executive director Cheryl Heywood, both of whom attended the meeting with board trustees Mary Beth Harrington and Toni Gwin.
Since 2016, the library has spent a little more than $2 million on salaries and other repairs and improvements to the building. Meanwhile, the population of Amanda Park is 89 people, said Lane, citing U.S. Census figures. And the total number of active library card users is probably less than 50, she said.
Heywood added that since 2011, there has been a 99 percent decrease in book holds, an 83 percent decrease in physical checkouts, a 68 percent decrease in giving out new library cards, but a 130 percent increase in downloadable checkouts.
“There are literally hours of the day when nobody is in the building at all,” Lane said.
And mobile services are set to begin in the area later this year, which Lane said could serve other nearby towns such as Neilton, Humptulips, Pacific Beach, Taholah and Quinault.
How did the Timberland library system, which serves a multi-county area, including Thurston County, wind up in Amanda Park? In the 1980s and 1990s, the district was flush with timber money and began building rural library branches, Lane said.
But times have changed. “We are spending a lot of money for very little output and return,” she said.
One other challenge: The library manager recently resigned at Amanda Park, so it is now overseen by the library manager in Aberdeen, Heywood said.
Although Tuesday’s discussion was focused only on Amanda Park, the talk of a possible building closure is likely to stir fears of other changes elsewhere in the rural communities the library system serves.
In 2018, the district proposed closing rural library branches as part of an effort to address budget deficits, but that plan was widely opposed in the community and ultimately rejected by the board.
Trustee Harrington said that just with Amanda Park alone, the library district might receive some push back from those throughout the system.
She asked about other options. Since the building is owned by Timberland, could the space be leased, such as for a joint community center/library building?
Lane said the district has discussed such options, but the town still has just 89 people, she said.
“Why would there be a community center if we can’t get them to come to the library?” Lane said.
The group acknowledged that they need to share the information with the full library system board and get ideas from them.
“We, as the administration and the board, especially the board, are fiduciarily responsible for taxpayers’ money,” Heywood reminded the group.
The next regular board meeting will be held at the Shelton Timberland Library, 710 W. Alder St., at 5:30 p.m. May 24.
This story was originally publishedMay 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
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