THE OLD TOWN HALL/JAIL in Yacolt was converted into a Library Express for the Town of Yacolt. The Library Express officially opened Sept. 4, and had about 49 visitors that day, including town council members, the mayor and families with their children. A grand opening will be held for the Library Express Sat., Oct. 20, 2-4 p.m., at the library. The Library Express will be accessible with a card reader on the door and patrons will be able to enter without any staff present.
Possibilities – that’s what a library express is all about, according to Sam Wallin, librarian and Fort Vancouver Regional Library District (FVRL) rural services coordinator.
“It’s small and it provides basic library services, and for some places that may be enough for the long run,” Wallin said. “In other areas, it might just be the first step toward something greater. As a library district, we have to look at the whole district as well as our individual locations and do our best to develop within our capabilities. While we’d love to see all of our smaller facilities grow to the right size for their communities, we know that can sometimes take a lot of time to realize.”
On Sept. 4, the Yacolt Library Express officially opened to the public. The FVRL converted the former jail and town hall in Yacolt into the new resource for Yacolt and other North Clark County visitors. The new Library Express is located at 105 E. Yacolt Rd.
Back in January, when it was announced that the bookmobile would no longer serve in Clark County, Wallin said he started looking at rural areas that would be affected. He said Yacolt has been a big user of library service and the bookmobile for several years, so he knew he needed to figure something out for those residents and he needed to do it fast. After discussing some different options with Yacolt Town Council members and the mayor, as well as several town citizens, Wallin said the best option seemed to be the old town hall.
Over the next few months, Wallin said they worked on developing a plan of what library services they would like in the building and then worked out a lease agreement for the library to use half of the building. He said town officials agreed to replace the carpet and paint in the rooms the library would occupy and officials from the FVRL brought in new shelving, counters, chairs and other furnishings.
“All in the all, the process went from ‘what should we do?’ to ‘the door’s open’ in about nine months,” Wallin said.
The 400-square-foot Library Express has room for about 2,500, which Wallin said includes books, audio books and DVDs for all ages, both fiction and non-fiction. Wallin said they tried to create a “well-rounded” collection, but one that also appeals to people who are browsing. He also said if people are looking for something specific and don’t see it on the shelf, they can put it on hold to be sent to Yacolt from another library.
As a Library Express, the Yacolt library will be an unstaffed library. An unstaffed library has some of the basic library services available – a book drop, the ability to pick up holds and maybe a small collection of materials to browse through – that people can use without staff being present. There will be card reader access on the front door so that people can scan their library card and gain access to the building.
Since opening on Sept. 4, Wallin said they’ve had a staff person at the facility every weekday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. to talk to people about the library and show them how the different self-service options work. Card readers were installed on the front door Sept. 17, which allow patrons to scan their library card and unlock the door even without staff present. Unstaffed hours are Mon.-Thurs., 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Fri.-Sun., 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Wallin said they chose these hours because they match the hours of their Telephone Information Service. There will be a phone in the Library Express that connects people directly to the Telephone Information Service for questions, concerns or compliments.
If for some reason the card readers are not ready at the projected time, Wallin said they will continue with their current hours, Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Staff will be present at the Library Express a couple of times each week. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, Wallin said staff will come to the location and set up a laptop lab where people can access the internet. During this time, he said staff will empty book drops, bring out holds for people to pick up, restock the shelves and will be available to answer questions or sign people up for library cards. The laptop lab hours will be Tues., 10 a.m.-noon and Thurs., 1-3 p.m.
During the Library Express’ first day, Wallin said they had 49 visitors, including several members of the town council and the mayor, who came in to see how the library turned out. He said they also saw lots of families come in with their young children and “even a couple of teenage boys who were riding by on their skateboards who decided to drop in and check it out.”
Since the opening day, Wallin said they’ve been averaging about 35 visitors each open day.
“We have some people who are starting to make return visits, but for the most part I’m seeing new faces almost every time the door opens, so we know the word is really starting to spread,” Wallin said.
The new “Friends” group for the Library Express, Friends of Yacolt Library Express, donated some knitted library card holders for children to use to carry their new library cards in. The group will also help support the facility and its programs as it continues to grow. Jan Shaul, a Yacolt resident who is a member of the Friends group, said they are launching a membership drive and are currently planning a grand opening for the Library Express that will be Sat., Oct. 20, 2-4 p.m. Shaul said the grand opening will have guest speakers in attendance, but in lieu of a ribbon cutting they will be sawing a log, “making a new branch in the library system.” There will also be refreshments and an opportunity to tour the building, the historic old town hall complete with three jail cells.
“We are excited to have the library here for many reasons, but the one I hear most often has to do with distance from the nearest larger library, which is in Battle Ground,” Shaul said. “For most of us, it’s at least a 15-mile trip to pick up a book on hold, check out a book we find on the shelf or return a book. In the winter, this is not always an easy trip. Also, school children will have an option to check out books after school hours, as well as access to computers for research. We see this as a real benefit to them. Adults who commute will also have access in what would normally be after hours.”
