Clinton Library celebrates 25th birthday

The Clinton Library made sure to have plenty of cake as it celebrated 25 years on Saturday.

By Marina Blatt • August 26, 2025 1:30 am

What’s a birthday without cake? The Clinton Library made sure to have plenty as it celebrated 25 years on Saturday.

The event honored more than a number — it represented the public’s commitment to come together with the Friends of the Clinton Library, and create the building that stands there today, Eric Howard, Sno-Isle Libraries’ executive director, said.

“That, I think, is what’s really powerful and unique about Clinton Library is it came from the will of the people,” he said. “Much of what the celebration was about just how hungry the community there is for library services, that they wielded into existence.”

The community-driven project to create the Clinton Library took a lot of work, Howard said. At the 25th anniversary, Debbie Turnbull, the previous branch manager, recounted what it was like to first take on this project. Other speakers included Brian Tidwell, the current branch manager, and Rep. Clyde Shavers.

Howard was most moved by the speakers who illustrated digging the trenches out and physically clearing the spaces themselves for the library, all because they valued community connection and nourishing the “spirit and health” of locals.

When people were asked if they were original contributors to the building, many hands went up, Howard recalled.

“This is why I think it is such a powerful story and just demonstrates how much Clinton loves their library and needed the library,” he said.

Howard intends to continue to have regular discussions with the community to see what other changes they may want to see for the next 25 years. He believes people want to continue to nourish the library and support it because of the human desire for community spaces. There are few spaces left in the country, he said, where people can come together and connect. Howard enjoys hearing stories from community members who use the Clinton Library, and who, through its programs, are able to remain connected with their neighbors.

“It is critically important for our civic health and then also just for our mental health to have spaces where people can be connected with one another,” he said.

After renovating the Langley Library, Sno-Isle Libraries has seen a 60% increase in attendance at that facility, Howard said. Therefore, management is eager to modernize the buildings all throughout the library system, with Clinton’s facility at the top of the list, Howard claimed.

“We were very upfront with our board in November when we said the budget by 2029, the expenses outstrip the revenue,” he said.

In order to modernize its buildings, the library system will need to go for a levy lid lift, Howard said, which they usually try every seven to 10 years. He and his staff are working at creating a plan to make a strong recommendation to their board about it. Once it’s passed, he said, they will be able to move quickly to modernize the Clinton building, along with other libraries in the system.