Library celebrates 100th anniversary

SANDPOINT — Most of the patrons at Sandpoint Library come for the fundamentals.

It has been that way for a century.

The library celebrated its centennial this week, and although there were speeches, cake, music and even balloons, patrons like Kat Burnham came for the books.

“Books, movies, audio,” Burnham said as she perused the DVD aisles for movies that she and her two children could enjoy. “They have a good variety.”

Burnham, who works in Sandpoint and lives in Naples, is a click on the library’s enumerator that keeps track of patrons.

She is among 20,000 card-carriers in a service area of 31,000, according to Sandpoint Library statistics.

She calls herself a regular library user who sticks to the basics while her two children head to the computers as soon as they pass through the doors.

 On the hallway wall in the administrative arm of the library, tucked behind a door on the top floor, a framed document hangs near Wayne Gunter’s door.

The document was signed in 1910 by Idaho Secretary of State Robert Lansdon, lending official credence to the local library.

Gunter is the director of the East Bonner County Library District, which services Sandpoint and Clark Fork, and whose bookmobile travels between outlying schools in the district.

Gunter started at the then-Sandpoint Library as assistant director in the mid-1970s.

He remembers the downtown library, a stately brick building that reminds passers-by of a Spanish plaza. Like many patrons, he enjoyed the old library for its aesthetics, but there were problems.

Slow but certain growth that would eventually exceed capacity, and a downstairs meeting area that was red flagged by the state — and eventually closed in the early 1980s— the old building was replaced a decade ago.

It was a contentious issue, with many patrons calling foul, but Gunter takes the change in stride.

“It only had 11 parking spots,” he said. “People found it difficult to find parking.”

When the state’s building inspector paid a visit to the downstairs meeting room, he decreed that it was unsafe because of its steep stairwell and single exit.

“They said only one person could be down there at a given time,” Gunter said.

The declaration put an end to the library’s children program as well as use of the room by various community groups.

The library itself was becoming increasingly crowded, Gunter said.

“We invited people to come in and bump into their neighbors,” he said. “People could actually see it was outgrown, and there were no other options.”

Patrons approved a $3.5 million bond to pay for a new 30,500 square-foot building, which was six times the size of the downtown library.

The money also paid for a library in Clark Fork and a bookmobile.

The 11-space parking lot jumped to 80 spaces at the new 1407 Cedar Street location.

“That still is not enough at times,” said Gunter.

Seven employees worked at the old Spanish-style building, built in 1967 compared to 44 at the new building, and the number of materials increased from 16,000 to 153,000.

In addition to a leap in circulating items, the new library provides computers and classes, tutoring services, U.S. citizenship programs, English as second language courses, proctoring and programs that help residents earn a high school diploma.

An inter-library loan program has access to libraries worldwide, including the Library of Congress, Gunter said and the library provides free notary services.

“We have a wide diversity of programs,” Assistant Director Ann Nichols said.

The library’s meeting rooms are free and usually booked in advance, she said.

Sandpoint resident Emily Jenkins has attended some library functions, but primarily she is there to read and check out books.

“It’s a daily habit,” she said.

She liked the old library, she said, but the new one is just fine.

 “This one is better,” she said. “It’s bigger, and it’s architecturally user friendly.”

And it has more books, she said. A lot more books.