When my wife and I moved to Friday Harbor eight years ago, one of the first stops we made – even before the moving van arrived! – was at the San Juan Island library to get our library cards. During the introductory tour, the staff made it a point to describe the library’s many features – the different sections of books for children and young adults, computers available for public use, the meeting room, the area used for community lectures – as well as its hands-on programs such as computer assistance and children’s activities. And whatever we couldn’t find on the shelves or in the digital catalogue, they said, we should ask them to search for it through inter-library loans.

From the start, though, we recognized how small the space was for the amount of materials and resources the library had to offer. There was no room for growth back then. Eight years later, the situation is even more pronounced.

The voters of San Juan County have an opportunity to approve a bond proposal that would allow for the construction of a bigger facility in a more central location in Friday Harbor. A new library would provide the entire community with more space for its various collections, larger meeting rooms for community groups and public lectures, and a better chance to offer the technological assistance that libraries will increasingly be called upon to provide in the future.

I urge you to join us in supporting San Juan Island Library District Prop 1.

Fielding McGehee

San Juan Island