PORT HADLOCK — Jefferson County Public Library has proposed a $5.4 million expansion plan that would almost double the size of the current facility in Port Hadlock.
“We’re aware that our library is very well used, but we’re running out of space to put things,” said county Library Director Ray Serebrin.
Serebrin points to stacks of tightly packed books, overbooked meeting rooms and lack of adequate seating for library patrons as reasons for expansion.
The library commissioned Seattle-based Buffalo Design under a $7,500 contract to come up with viable plans for the project last fall.
The plan will expand the 11,170-square-foot building to 20,274 square feet, building out in the direction of Ness Corner Road.
The plan is based on 20-year projections for increases in collections and for enhancements to the facility required to serve an estimated rural county population of 27,000 in 2026.
The rural county population is currently 19,000.
Originally built in 1984, the library was expanded in 1991, and the current proposal isn’t planned for construction until 2011.
