On April 11, 1994, the North Bend Library reopens in a new 9,600-square-foot building located at 115 E 4th Street. The new facility replaces a building on the same block originally built in 1958 and expanded in 1979 by being combined with an adjoining structure. The new North Bend Library is the largest in the Snoqualmie Valley and the first anywhere in the King County Library System (KCLS) to provide computers for patrons to use. A year later it will become the first to provide lessons on using the new personal computers. Renovated in 2008, the North Bend Library continues to serve residents of the city and surrounding Snoqualmie Valley communities.
Origins
The North Bend Library traces its origins to the World War II era. Beginning in 1942, members of the North Bend Study Club, a women's service organization, began working to bring a public library to their town. With money and most everything else in short supply, it was not until after the war ended that sufficient funds had been raised. In March 1946, library supporters convinced the North Bend City Council to contract with the recently formed King County Library System to operate a library in the city.
The library first occupied a church pastor's study and then moved to a room in the former North Bend High School building. Not until 1958 did the library get a building of its own, built by volunteers using donated supplies. It was located on 4th Street between Main and Ballarat avenues. Twenty years later the library was expanded by combining it with the old building next door, which had previously housed the Snoqualmie Valley Historical Museum.
That cobbled-together structure did not remain adequate for long in the fast-growing community. In 1988, North Bend voters took two significant steps that made possible the construction of a brand new library building. In March they voted to annex their library to the King County Library System, which allowed the North Bend Library to benefit from KCLS's countywide tax base. And in September, along with voters in unincorporated King County and other cities that had annexed their libraries to KCLS, they approved a capital bond issue to fund construction of much-needed new library buildings. Five years after those votes, in June 1993, North Bend residents celebrated the groundbreaking for their new library, which was designed by the architects of the Bassetti Norton Metler Rekevic firm.
Local Touches
Construction was completed 10 months later, and on April 11, 1994, the new 9,600-square-foot North Bend Library opened at 115 E 4th Street. The building, which was the largest library in the Snoqualmie Valley, featured a number of local touches. The circulation counter was made of granite from Mount Si, the massive peak that towers over North Bend, and local artist Dick Burhans was commissioned to paint a mural for the library. It was initially suggested that the mural illustrate the area's dramatic scenery, but Burhans demurred, noting "the average guy (in North Bend) sees Mount Si every day" (Long). Instead the artist suggested a mural featuring characters from literature, and proposed that schoolchildren in the area nominate their favorite books to be illustrated. Burhans painted the children as characters such as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, and used other local residents as models for the adult characters. The library mural was dedicated in September 1995.
North Bend residents were particularly proud that their library, opening near the dawn of the Internet Age, was the first KCLS library to make public computers available. The library also led the way in providing lessons in using the internet computers. By September 1995, North Bend headed a list of KCLS libraries "offering people ages 10 and older a chance to learn how to surf on the Internet" ("Libraries to Offer ...").
In 2008, after more than a decade of intensive use, the North Bend Library benefited from interior improvements funded by a 2004 countywide library bond. The circulation desk was replaced and the Mount Si granite from the original counter "was repurposed into tops for the end table, atlas and dictionary stands" ("North Bend Library 2011 Community Study"). The improvements also included new furniture, carpeting, paint, and signage. More than two decades after it opened, the North Bend Library remains a popular and important gathering place and cultural resource for the city and the entire Snoqualmie Valley community.
