Going Green for Books: St. Patrick’s Event Boosts New Palmer Library

The future of the Palmer Public Library is looking gold—and a little green—this March. As the community prepares for the groundbreaking of the new facility, the Friends of the Palmer Public Library, in collaboration with AKtive Soles, hosted a festive St. Patrick's Day celebration on Sunday, March 15, inviting residents to "make a joyful noise" and raise funds to outfit the new space.

“We are here to make a joyful noise together for our new library,” said organizer Janel Gagnon and member of the Friends of Palmer Public Library (FPPL).

Just over three years to the day after a devastating roof collapse forced library services into temporary, cramped quarters, Palmer has been at work to re-build the library, often seen as the center of the community. “This is about celebrating community, and the library literally sits in the middle of this town. Libraries are for everybody,” said Gagnon.

Dressed as a "Lucky Leprechaun" complete with a pot of gold, Palmer Mayor Jim Cooper brought a festive spirit to a chilly Alaska day. Proclaiming a "start of a new chapter" for the town, Cooper announced that construction on the new Palmer Library will officially start this May. The crowd responded with enthusiastic applause, celebrating the long-awaited progress on the municipal project.

“Soon, we’ll have a place where stories can live and we can continue to meet up and celebrate reading and learning,” he said before leading the contingent on a quick parade to the Palmer Train Depot.

The event featured a community parade, and Irish music and dancers, and the "Palmer’s Dash for the Gold" 5K and 10K races for adults, and a 1-mile race for everyone else, including the youngest members of the community. Over 100 racers of all ages and abilities with all proceeds directly benefiting the new Palmer Public Library construction project.

“We are here for the library, and can’t wait to have the new library built,” said Jessica, a mother of three kids who were participating in the 1-mile race. She says that they miss having a bigger library and while they are eager for the new one to be built, they still make weekly trips to the current, temporary library.

She said that her children used some money they had earned to put in the “pot” to help build the new library, which is set to break ground this May.

While utilizing insurance and grants, the city faces a significant funding gap, triggering community efforts including the St. Patrick's Day fundraiser, donation boxes at local businesses, and tiered donor recognition. To help increase fundraising efforts, the FPPL launched a new, active fundraising campaign in February to fund construction and furnishings for the new library building following the 2023 roof collapse.

The new fundraising theme and logo symbolizes the community's effort to build the new library, using branding created by local artist Lynsey Dellinger and Alopex Interaction Design to create a logo and slogan.

Gagnon explained the new logo, saying that it celebrates the hard work behind the new library’s development, particularly now that a design and construction company are secured. They were fortunate to discover that the logo and slogan entered the public domain earlier this year, allowing them to collaborate with Dellinger on branded materials, including posters and tote bags. Ultimately, Gagnon noted, the logo represents more than just a brand—it symbolizes the entire community coming together to make this project a reality. “We have a design, we have a construction company, so we needed a logo.”

She explains that it’s more than a logo for FPPL. “But it’s more than that. It’s the whole community that has come together to make this happen.”

With proceeds from Sunday’s races and activities aimed at supporting the new library building—slated to break ground with H5 Construction this May—participants were not just celebrating, but actively building a new chapter for Palmer’s readers.

To learn more about fundraising and Friends of Palmer Public Library, please visit www.friendspplak.org