Swinomish Tribe contributes $750,000 for new La Conner Swinomish library

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community will contribute $750,000 toward the construction of a new library, the La Conner Regional Library District announced Monday. The facility, located at 520 Morris Street, will be named the La Conner-Swinomish Library.

The grant supports the building’s construction over the next two years. Projected opening date is in the fourth quarter of 2021.

The library is designed to be a multi-cultural resource center for information and learning. It will double the size of the current building, be wired to provide high-speed Wi-Fi internet service, offer more computers, books, technical instruction, cultural exhibits, study areas and play areas for kids, and have a community meeting room available free of charge to groups within the library district.

The library will feature a Swinomish story pole at the entrance and incorporate Tribal cultural and historical materials and displays within the building to enhance the community’s understanding of the history, identity and culture of Swinomish and Coast Salish peoples. Other important aspects of the new library will be a friendly, welcoming environment and transportation between the library and the reservation to make the library easily accessible for Tribal members.

“We’re excited to be working so closely with the Swinomish Tribe in creating this vital resource for our multi-cultural community,” said Joy Neal, director of the La Conner Regional Library. “This collaboration will help us achieve mutual educational goals we could not achieve individually.”

“The Swinomish Tribe is pleased to be able to financially support this joint effort to create a facility and programs that will meet the educational needs of our communities, encourage cross-cultural learning and prepare our young people to meet the challenges of today’s rapidly changing world,” said Brian Wilbur, Swinomish Tribal Senator, member of the tax committee, and chairman of the health, education and social services committee.

“We are so very grateful and honored,” said Susan Macek, director of the La Conner Library Foundation. “For a number of years, the Tribe has contributed funds to help the library meet its operating expenses and to support its literacy outreach. Now, with this generous contribution to our capital campaign for the new library, they bring us very close to completing the total funding needed for the project.”

The $3.74 million new library project is one large grant away from being fully funded. The state of Washington allocated a total $1.22 million in 2018 and 2019. Local donations are about $1.2 million, including over $50,000 raised at the annual Novel Affair fundraiser Saturday and $50,000 raised in April through the Library Giving Day initiative.

The Town of La Conner is waiting word on a $500,000 grant from Skagit County as an economic development initiative. A decision will be made in early July. The county grant would bring the total to $3.74 million.