On June 29, 2002, the Delridge Branch, The Seattle Public Library opens at 5423 Delridge Way SW in West Seattle. The $3 million building includes 19 low-income apartments on the upper floors and a large meeting space. It is the third branch opened under the 1998 "Libraries For All" bond issue.
The Delridge neighborhood never had a proper branch library of its own. A small self-service library in a social-service agency had served the area before. In 1998, Seattle voters approved $196.4 million to build 27 new branch libraries and a new central library. The Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, a not-for-profit developer that handled the project, convinced the City to include apartments.
The new branch featured 5,600 square feet of space to hold 20,000 books, videos, and CDs. The collection includes works in Cambodian, Lao, Thai, and Arabic to reflect the immigrant composition of the neighborhood.
Sources:
Phung Cat Le, "Check It Out: Delridge Branch to Open Ahead of Schedule," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 20, 2002, p. B-1; Alan Snel, "Check This Out -- Apartments Atop The Library," Ibid., June 11, 1999, p. C-2; Christine Clarridge, "New Library Checks Out Fine," The Seattle Times, June 30, 2002, p. B-1.
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