Enjoy 45 minutes or less express in-building services like browsing, tech services and more at your favorite Kitsap Regional Library location. Curbside service is still available. Visit Reopening Plan for more details on our reopening. For information about COVID-19, click here.
In July 1947, Mary J. Sanford, owner of the Manchester Shopping Mart and member of the Kitsap Regional Library board of trustees, donated a corner of the shopping mart for use as a library. The library moved to a 16-by-24 modular building at the Port of Manchester in 1954. The Friends of the Library received designation as a nonprofit organization in 1976 and two years later, were able to successfully secure a Farmers Home Administration grant which allowed for the construction of a permanent building. With collections, staff and interior furnishings provided by Kitsap Regional Library, the current Manchester library location opened for business in September of 1980.
The Manchester location benefits from its surrounding gardens, which the Long Lake Garden Club and the Friends of the Library design and maintain. The gardens are an active teaching space that demonstrate water-wise, sustainable gardening techniques and educate the public on local flora. The Manchester location building is currently owned and maintained by its Friends of the Library group; the property on which it is located is owned by the Port of Manchester.
