Randle’s Mountain View Library may soon have new digs, as Timberland Regional Library leadership works with a local agent to find a different location.
In 2018, the rural library joined several others on the chopping block, slated for closure until public outcry. An hour of public testimony preceded TRL’s decision to extend Mountain View Library’s lease.
And now that TRL is “committed to having a library in Randle,” administrative coordinator Rose Enos-Weedmark said, “it is more ideal to have a permanent, TRL-owned building.”
“While the current library is well loved and well used, it is time to upgrade to a space that better fits the needs of the community,” Enos-Weedmark wrote in an email.
Since a location hasn’t yet been identified, there’s no immediate timeline for when bookworms can expect to enjoy their new space.
TRL’s Board of Trustees has set aside $1 million for the project, and will be looking into grant funding opportunities as well, including money set aside for distressed counties.
The state’s new Library Capital Improvement Program also offers public libraries a funding opportunity, although the Mountain View Library was not included in the 2021-23 list of facilities receiving money.
In a 2019 state-requested report by the Washington state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Timberland’s Randle, Oakville and Packwood libraries were found to need new facilities.
