Langley Library turns 100

One full century after its dedication, the Langley Library remains a popular gathering place not only for those who love to read, but for the whole community.

Earlier this month, the little library in the Village by the Sea hosted a centennial celebration. People shared their memories of the library and took turns signing and drawing on a yellow wall in the children’s area of the building that will be covered over once construction begins on an upcoming renovation project that will transform the well-loved space.

Currently, the project is in the bidding process for construction vendors, according to Sno-Isle Libraries Marketing and Communications Manager Katie Leone. Construction is anticipated to finally begin in 2024.

The design plans include better utilization of the library’s basement, which is currently only accessible from the outside of the building. With the addition of stairs and an elevator, patrons will be able to find more of the library collection downstairs.

“We’re really looking forward to expanding our services down there,” said Kaley Costello, who took over as the library’s manager when longtime manager Vicky Welfare retired earlier this year.

Helen Coe, Langley’s first female mayor, would have been proud to know that her vision to create a library has endured so long. An educator, Coe came to Langley as a young, unmarried woman, according to Bob Waterman, the vice president of the South Whidbey Historical Society.

“She always thought that Langley ought to have a public library,” he said.

In 1916, Coe and a group of South Whidbey women founded the Ladies’ Civic Improvement Club striving towards this goal. The organization would later become known as the Langley Civic Club, and after that, the Friends of the Langley Library.

Coe, who was elected mayor in 1919, spoke to Jacob Anthes and convinced him to deed a plot of land for the library to be constructed on. The stipulation was that it had to be built in six months. Plans for a house were swiftly purchased and modified to fit the library’s needs. Coe donated $500 of her own money towards construction, a sizable chunk of change back then.

The Langley Library was dedicated in 1923 in honor of the young men of Langley and the surrounding area who served in World War I. Coe, who resigned as mayor the previous year, became one of its first librarians. Until the 1930s, when Second Street was added, the library sat by itself out on the grass. It became a community hall of sorts, where religious ceremonies and piano lessons occurred.

Coe spent the rest of her life in Langley and died in 1940. She left no descendants behind, but her legacy remains.

“I think she would be a friendly ghost, honestly,” Costello said when asked if she had ever heard of any hauntings around the library.

Touches of Coe remain all around the library, including a portrait painted by her niece, Margaret Gove Camfferman.

At 100 years old, the Langley Library is the oldest building in the entire Sno-Isle Libraries system. In 1961, the city contracted with Sno-Isle to manage the library, which it has done ever since.

The original building currently encompasses the entire children’s section of the library. The first addition with a new entry was constructed in 1981, and the second in 1994. In 2009, the original building was placed on the Langley Register of Historic Places.

“This place deserves a nice, beautiful facelift and I’m excited to see what it’s gonna look like afterward,” Costello said. “I’m always grateful for the folks who did all the work before us.”

Langley Library Manager Kaley Costello points out her favorite notes on a wall people signed during the library’s centennial celebration earlier this month. (Photo by David Welton)