What makes a library essential to its community?
95-year-old Harry Coles, who has been a patron of the Northgate Branch since it opened in 2006, has an answer.
“In all the years that I have gone to libraries, this is the friendliest, the cleanest, and the nicest,” he says.
Harry is among many Northgate patrons who are excited to honor a milestone birthday for this community-centered branch.
On Tuesday, July 14, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Northgate Branch will celebrate 20 years of providing a welcoming space for families, older adults, immigrants and refugees, job seekers, students, and others in the neighborhood.
Stop by to enjoy cake and refreshments, crafts, games, a photo booth, and more. Special guests will include Chief Librarian Tom Fay, The Seattle Public Library Foundation’s CEO Brian Lawrence, and Buoy, the Seattle Kraken mascot.
Celebrate at several other family programs that week, including a West African dance workshop, baby story time, firefighter story time, a cempasuchitl mixed media workshop, and a magic show. Check the branch’s calendar to find all the events.
A community cornerstone amid sweeping changes
The 10,000 square-foot Northgate Branch opened on July 15, 2006, with a celebration that included Mayor Greg Nickels and City Librarian Deborah Jacobs. It was the 18th project completed under the voter-approved 1998 Libraries for All bond program.
The branch was designed by Miller Hull as part of an urban gathering space that included the Northgate Community Center and adjoining park. With a LEED Gold rating, the new branch featured sustainable elements, capacity for 40,000 books, and rocking chairs that quickly became a beloved spot for patrons.
Library Associate IV Ali Math recalls how busy opening day was.
“We had a mariachi band playing in the corner,” he recalls. “We had so many new Library patrons that day, but it was hard to hear what was going on because of the band.” In the first hour, thousands of books were checked out.
In 2006, the neighborhood was defined by the Northgate Mall, a landmark since 1950. Today, the mall is gone, and the branch is ringed by new retail and housing developments, a Link light rail station, and the Seattle Kraken headquarters.
“We’re seeing more and more regular patrons who live in the area, who moved to housing around here,” reflects Adult Services librarian Eric Grob, who has been with the branch since 2012. “We’re more of a neighborhood branch than we used to be.”
Harry Coles is one of the regulars. He walks to the branch from his home at Northaven, one of several senior housing facilities near the branch. Born in 1931, Harry grew up going to the Ballard Branch when it was housed in the original Carnegie building. Neither of his parents were educated beyond high school, “but they both loved to read,” he says. They passed that love on to him.
Harry, like other patrons, comes to the Library for its free programs and services, checking out books and reading the newspaper. But he stays for something more intangible: connection. Northgate Branch staff regularly help him look for books and place holds on titles he’s read about, and have helped him research his family history.
“I like coming here because it’s friendly,” Harry says. “They help me and I can sit and talk to them. And they’re courteous to senior citizens.”
The branch cultivates this kind of connection with patrons in other small but important ways. Families know Northgate as the “Pokémon branch” for its informal tradition of letting children choose a free card if they ask at the circulation desk.
A popular weekly baby story time serves the youngest Library patrons. Babies socialize and enjoy songs and books, while caretakers learn about early literacy and chat.
The Library has become a “third place” for kids enrolled in the preschool and day care at the community center next door. Children’s librarian Jesse O’Dunne regularly visits the classrooms, and families often come to the Library after school to say hi to Jesse and hang out.
Other regular programs – from Homework Help to a weekly Conversation Circle – create opportunities to find resources and connection. Memory Café, held in partnership with Seattle Parks & Recreation, supports people with memory loss and their care partners.
20 years of memories
The 20th anniversary is also a chance for staff to share two decades of memories with each other, which are also markers of neighborhood changes.
In the branch’s early years, for example, it regularly held story times at the Northgate Mall.
Now, the Seattle Kraken’s mascot Buoy occasionally shows up at branch events, to the delight of families. Buoy will be there on July 14!
“While Northgate has changed dramatically over the past two decades, the Library has remained a constant gathering place and source of community connection,” says Regional Manager Daniel Nguyen. “We’re here for you!”
P.S.: Another recent addition: A King County Elections ballot box is now hosted outside the Northgate Branch, which expands voting access for neighborhood residents!