Library Information

Library Services | Hours | Driving Directions | Board of Trustees | History

Library Services

Children's Programs
Story times
Summer Reading Club

Computer Use
Internet
Wireless Internet
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher

Interlibrary Loans
Sharing resources with other libraries to provide our patrons with materials not located within our library.

Library Tours
If you are interested in scheduling a tour for your group or class, please contact the Library.

Meeting Rooms
Meeting room is available to the public on equal terms, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups.

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Hours of Operation

The Library observes the following holidays:

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day
Presidents' Day
Easter Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Veterans' Day
Thanksgiving
Day After Thanksgiving
Christmas Day

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Driving Directions

From I-5 North or South:

• Take the Auburn Highway 18 East Exit.
• Take the Auburn, Enumclaw Exit and turn left onto Auburn Way South.
• Stay on Auburn Way South.
• This road becomes Highway 164 and will take you into Enumclaw
• Highway 164 will eventually become Griffin Avenue.
• Proceed east on Griffin Avenue.
• Turn left at First Street (4 blocks down) and continue for one block.
• The Library is on the left, on the corner of Railroad and First Streets.

From Tacoma:

• Take Highway 512 east to Puyallup.
• Take the exit for Highway 410 east.
• Highway 410 takes you through Enumclaw.
• Turn left at Garrett Street and continue for two blocks.
• Turn left at Griffin Avenue.
• Proceed west on Griffin Avenue.
• Turn right at First Street (1 block down) and continue for one block.
• The Library is on the left, on the corner of Railroad and First Streets.

From the Eastside:

• Take I-405 South. Take Highway 169 east from Renton.
• Take the highway through Maple Valley and Black Diamond, and then into Enumclaw.
• Highway 169 becomes Porter Street.
• Turn left at Griffin Avenue.
• Proceed east on Griffin Avenue.
• Turn left at First Street (4 blocks down) and continue for one block.
• The Library is on the left, on the corner of Railroad and First Streets.
  

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Library Board of Trustee

• The management and control of the Library is vested in the Library Board.
• The Library Board of Trustees comprises of five individuals serving a five year term.
• The Board of Trustees meets on a monthly basis, at 7:30pm in the Library’s meeting room on the second Tuesday of each month.

Board Members:
No. 1 Fred Fleischmann (Chairperson) 12/31/2011
No. 2 Charles Sansome 12/31/2012
No. 3 Jim Barchek 12/31/2013
No. 4 Bette Zech 12/31/2009
No. 5 Joan McKinlay 12/31/2010

Staff Representative:
Library Director

Council Representative:

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History of the Library

In 1922, the Parent-Teachers Association, the Pre-School Circle and other interested organizations sponsored a drive to collect books and funds to start a library. The Library opened in 1923 in City Hall. By January, 1924, the Library held 500 Danish books and 939 English language books. There were 548 registered borrowers and a monthly circulation of 736.

Johannes Mahler started a library building fund in the 1920's. In 1928, Mary Fell Stevenson Yerxa willed her home on the corner of Myrtle and Wells along with $100 to Enumclaw for use as a library. Her former residence housed the Enumclaw Library until 1953 when it was razed to build a new concrete block building on the site. The new library building was dedicated February 7, 1954. It had a main floor area of 3,100 square feet and a 1,716 square foot basement at a cost of $37,974, raised through public and private sources as well as a $20,000 bond issue.

From the 1950's to the 1980's, the Enumclaw Public Library served its expanding community from essentially the same physical plant. In 1963, an addition, the Pioneer Room was added after the Scholtfeldt family donated $25,000. The Enumclaw community supported its library with varied and continued gifts such as the Richard R. Lafromboise Memorial Fund in 1987.
The Library increased its hours of service, staff, adult and children's program, outreach to the nursing home and senior residences, and cooperative borrowing arrangements with neighboring Libraries. Unfortunately, by 1989, the library building was becoming grossly overtaxed dealing with 30,000 books and 100,000 plus borrower transactions a year. Growing community sentiment required a new town library be built.

In 1983, the city acquired the Burlington Northern right-of-way and appointed the Town Center Committee to develop a plan for the land. The Library Board of Trustees requested that space be allotted for a new library facility, and this was incorporated into the Town Center plan.

A bond issue was secured and funding was set for the new building. The ground breaking ceremony took place August 21, 1990. The library collection of over 40,000 materials was moved September 21, 1991 with a combination of volunteers and professional help. After a one-week closure, the new library was opened and dedicated September 28, 1991.

Today the Library houses over 50,000 items, circulates over 185,000 annually, and has a patron base of 10,000.

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