The Jefferson County Library District was recently awarded a $285,000 Library Capital Improvement Grant from the Department of Commerce in the state’s 2021-2023 budget cycle to embark on a mobile services expansion project. 

The new grant is designated  to build a dual-van garage with storage/book sale space next to the library’s existing bookmobile garage. 

Once the building is complete, it will house the library’s existing courier van, a new electric delivery vehicle, office/storage space, and a sales space for Friends of the Jefferson County Library. 

The project will help improve and expand mobile services in several ways. 

Currently, the library’s courier van is parked at the county shop every night, because the library does not have a secure garage or gated area on the property. It takes significant staff time to retrieve and drop off the vehicle daily, so having it safely stored on-site will save time as well as fuel costs. 

A new electric delivery vehicle will allow the library to expand delivery of programs and materials around the county, to transport staff and supplies to outreach events, provide full carts of materials to browse in any location, deliver holds, provide HomeDelivery services, and more. It will supplement the existing Bookmobile service. 

Having a designated storage and sales space for the Friends of the Jefferson County Library will assist the group with generating increased revenue, which is used to support outreach events and other library activities around the county.  

The garage project is slotted for completion by mid-2022, after which the new delivery vehicle will be acquired.  

The Jefferson County Library Board of Trustees has decided to name the new building the Hagen Building, after trustee emeritus Tom Hagen of Quilcene, who passed away in 2020. 

More about the grant — and the other awarded projects — can be found at www.commerce.wa.gov/building-infrastructure/library-capital-improvement-program/.