Tacoma’s Eastside, Hilltop lost libraries a decade ago. Is it time to bring them back?

More than a decade has passed since two libraries in Tacoma closed due to budget cuts, leaving a gap in library access for people in the Eastside and Hilltop neighborhoods.

Now, Tacoma Public Library and partners across the city are looking at how they can restore that access.

That might not mean building new library buildings — it all depends on what the community wants and is willing to invest in, and if infrastructure can support them.

The city of Tacoma committed $350,000 in its budget last year for a Tacoma Public Library Eastside and Hilltop Feasibility Study. Tacoma Public Library hired BERK Consulting to conduct the study, which launched in September.

The study is meant to help Tacoma Public Library better understand the options to restore library services in the Eastside and Hilltop communities, culminating in potential options for the city to pursue and what it would cost to do them.

For example, if the community wants brand new library buildings, a capital bond might be something the city would consider presenting to voters, according to Tacoma Public Library director Kate Larsen. The study would also look at other options, like co-locating with another organization or book bikes/bookmobiles that move book collections around from place to place.

There are no scenarios or financial plans outlined, but there should be by the summer of this year, Larsen said.

“No matter what the scenarios are, it’s going to give us the tools we need to start the conversation about funding with the funders,” Larsen said.

Gaps in service

Since the two libraries closed in 2011, some people have been fighting to get them back, arguing there is a gap in service for economically and racially diverse communities in Hilltop and Eastside.

The Tacoma Hilltop Library Planning Committee, for instance, has advocated for restoring a library in Hilltop to replace the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, which opened in 1988 at the corner of South 19th and South Cedar streets.

The library was one of two branches that closed in 2011 due to budget restraints, low circulation and proximity to other libraries. The other was Swan Creek Library, located at East 38th Street and Portland Avenue, which first opened in 1989. Both libraries were funded through a $15.8 million bond passed by voters in 1984.

Tacoma Public Library now has eight library branches. Three of them are within or adjacent to the Eastside and Hilltop neighborhoods: Main, Mottet and Moore. The Main branch is along the border of the Hilltop neighborhood near Tacoma Avenue, while the Mottet branch is located on G Street in the northernmost part of the Eastside neighborhood and the Moore branch located off South 56th Street in the South End Neighborhood Council district.

According to an assessment by BERK of the current state of Tacoma Public Library, the most recent structural remodels of the system’s oldest libraries — Main and Wheelock — happened 30 years ago.

The Mottet branch closed temporarily in December due to concerns of criminal activity and is expected to re-open sometime in March. Currently there are curbside services. In 2019, Tacoma Public Library opened a microlibrary inside the Eastside Community Center. A microlibrary is an interactive kiosk where people can choose to borrow from a list of items using their Tacoma Public Library card. That microlibrary is now no longer in operation.

Tacoma Public Library has a budget of $29.4 million for the 2021-22 biennium, primarily funded through the city of Tacoma’s general fund. TPL also was earmarked $2.2 million in capital funding for building repairs and upgrades in 2019-20..

Between 2010 and 2021, the population in Hilltop has grown from 13,829 to 15,048 people according to the BERK assessment. In Eastside, population grew from 28,896 people to 32,815 people during the same time frame. Compared to all of Tacoma, which has an annual growth rate of 1.06 percent, Hilltop had a slower annual growth rate of 0.85 percent and Eastside has a faster one at 1.28 percent.

Both Eastside and Hilltop are more diverse than other areas of Tacoma and Pierce County. In Hilltop, 60 percent of population is non-white, while 65 percent of the population in Eastside is non-white. Comparatively, 46 percent of Tacoma’s overall population is non-white, while only 36 percent of Pierce County’s total population is non-white.

“The closures of library branches in the Eastside and Hilltop neighborhoods have been a significant loss and detriment to the communities there, specifically the African American community in the Hilltop and the Latinx community in the Eastside. Rebuilding trust and the commitment to make library service a priority in these neighborhoods should be given strong consideration,” states Tacoma Public Library’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, meant to outline the system’s values and priorities.

Tacoma City Council member Catherine Ushka, whose district includes Eastside, said she’s supportive of the study and is interested to see what residents have to say.

“When (library services) have closed, people have been very unhappy about it,” Ushka said.

When asked if she would be supportive of a potential bond measure for library services, Ushka said that generally she is supportive of bonds but that it would depend on the specifics of such a measure.

“The fourth district is interested in having a robust library system that we have access to,” Ushka said.

Interest in new libraries

The study collected initial feedback from the community between September and December of last year, reaching more than 800 people through nine community partners and more than 2,000 people through surveys.

Community partners were organizations paid to solicit feedback for the study. They included groups like Booked with Hilltop, Metropolitan Development Council, Sound Outreach and Tahoma Indian Center.

The study paid $2,400 to each community partner during the first phase, with another $2,400 budget for community groups in the second phase. Larsen said the intent was to support local groups by paying them for their time rather than relying on volunteers.

According to feedback, roughly one-third of people feel they do not have access to all the library services they want: 31.3 percent on Eastside and 37.7 percent on Hilltop.

“There is an overwhelming desire for a physical location on both Eastside and Hilltop neighborhoods,” stated a report summarizing the feedback.

Respondents said that right now, there are barriers to accessing current library services, including lack of convenient hours and the library closest to them not having what they need.

The study said people want a place to access resources, like computers and printers, but also a community space. Respondents also prioritized walkability and transit access.

“I have four young kids ages 10, 9, 7, and 6. Even though there’s digital resources...there’s something important about going to the place to see and touch the books,” a participant was quoted as saying in the study.

Now, the consulting firm is collecting more feedback and hosting workshops in January and February, both in person and virtually:

• Library Visioning Workshop for Hilltop: 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 29 at Tacoma Community House, 1314 S. L St.

• Library Visioning Workshop for Eastside: 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5 at Eastside Community Center, 1721 E. 56th St.

• Virtual Library Visioning Workshop: 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10 on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83295696887.