Library leaders urge College Place to include a larger library in the community opportunity center

During public comment on June 9, Anna Romero, executive director of the Walaw Wala County Rural Library District, asked the City Council to support the community opportunity center and to help deliver a larger library space for College Place residents. Romero said the current College Place branch is "only 1,700 square ft." and that the branch has the district's highest foot traffic and circulation, making a larger, shared community space important for meetings, programs and service providers.

"We want to be the same anchor in the city of College Place for generations to come," Romero said, urging the council to partner with the library district to expand access.

Jen Stzman, branch manager at the College Place Library, described operational impacts of the small footprint: programs with more than about 10 people become crowded, noise from adjacent spaces prevents quiet study or online interviews, staff frequently must move furniture and materials, and she recounted an incident in which a patron fell after a bookshelf shifted during an overcrowded event.

"The worst thing that's happened to me while I was moving the shelf ... a grandma was leaning on the shelf and she fell over," Stzman said, describing why the branch sometimes holds events at off-site locations like the Lions Clubhouse.

Council members thanked both speakers for their partnership and service; no formal action on the community opportunity center was taken at the meeting, and the item was presented during public comment for council consideration as the project moves forward.