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3450 NW Carlton Street
Silverdale, WA 98383-8325
360-692-2779
A Brief History of the Silverdale Branch Library
Silverdale has had a library since 1945 when the county library district was formed. The library was originally housed in a Sunday School room in the Methodist Church and staffed by volunteers. In 1946, the Silverdale Library Committee remodeled an Army surplus building for use as the local library. The building size was 16'x16'.
In 1955, the Kitsap County Library and the Bremerton City Library merged to form Kitsap Regional Library. Eveyln Bowen was the first Library Director. Kitsap Regional Library provided staff and books to the branch library, but the community provided and maintained the building.
The small building was inadequate by 1958 and volunteers remodeled and expanded the building to 16'x30'. A heater and a small bathroom were part of the remodel. Total cost of the project was $500.
By 1970, the little Army surplus building was worn out and out grown. The Friends of the Silverdale Library launched a building campaign led by Ray M. Hess. In just 6 months, enough money was raised to build a 1000 square foot structure. The new library was open 15 hours each week. The building was officially designated the Ray M. Hess Memorial Library after Mr. Hess' death in 1973.
The Navy's decision in the mid 1970's to make Bangor a Trident facility spurred enormous growth in the area. The Federal government made Trident Impact Funds available to help the community cope with the sudden growth. John Horsley was the Trident Impact Funds Coordinator.
The Friends of the Silverdale Library still owned the Ray M. Hess building, but the group did not qualify for Trident Impact Funds. In order to apply for the funding to build a new library, the Friends gave ownership of their building to Kitsap Regional Library. Silverdale Branch and the Sylvan Way facilities are the only buildings owned by the library system. Kitsap Regional Library applied for Trident Impact Funds in 1974 and the new building was completed in 1980 at a cost of $270,000. The original Ray M. Hess library, now called the Hess room,is still a part of the library and functions as a training center and staff work space.
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Silverdale Friends of the Library
The Silverdale Friends continue to support their branch library. The group raises money through booksales and sale of clown beanbags. Their money is used to pay for groundskeeping, public programs, and other special projects.
Today, Silverdale Branch is open 48 hours each week and has 2 full-time and 7 part-time staff members to serve the community. We offer a wide array of library services.
If you are in the Silverdale area, stop in and take a look at our library. If you found us on the Web, let us know!
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