New Wasilla Library ribbon cutting set for Sept. 22

The new library building is located adjacent to Wasilla Middle School with a paved trail link between the two facilities. The proximity of the library building to Wasilla Middle School, and coordination with the school’s staff, will create a synergy between the facilities that will help promote literacy for both children and their parents.

“It seems like just yesterday we had the groundbreaking ceremony, and here we are, ready to move into the new 24,000 square foot library nearly 3 times larger than the old library,” exclaimed Archie Giddings, City of Wasilla Public Works Director and Project Manager for the new library. “The new library has 93 parking spaces, an amphitheater and large meeting rooms for the community. The City is grateful for working with the excellent team of ECI/Hyer Architects and Cornerstone General Contractors to deliver a high quality project on budget.”

The total cost for the new library building is $15 million. Special thanks goes to the voters of Wasilla, who passed a 1 cent sales tax increase which began January 1, 2014, and ran through December 31, 2015, at the time when $15 million was available through a combination of sales tax collections and donated funds from other organizations and sources.

“It has been the vision of the Friends of the Wasilla Public Library that the new facility will be a center of the community; a beautiful place for people to come together to learn and celebrate the joy of learning. It has been central to this project to include the community in building this library,” stated Jeanne Troshynski, Friends of Wasilla Public Library President, “Through the sales tax, capital campaign, and generous donations this library truly belongs to both the residents of Wasilla and the residents of the Mat-Su Borough who shop here.”

The new library building would not be possible without the support of the City of Wasilla; the Matanuska-Susitna Borough which donated school land for the new library building in 2012 with support from the Matanuska-Susitna School Board; the State of Alaska, which gave $1.875 million to the project; a $500,000 outright grant and a $250,000 Challenge Grant from the Rasmuson Foundation; $125,000 from the Friends of Wasilla Public Library; an in-kind donation of approximately $55,000 from the Foraker Group; $25,000 from the Mat-Su Health Foundation to purchase health related library materials; and approximately 400 community businesses and individual supporters who have made generous contributions to the new library building’s Capital Campaign, which is on-going until December.

The Wasilla Library has been serving the greater Wasilla community for over seventy-eight years. Founded with a collection of ninety-one books by the Wasilla Library Association on January 23, 1938, the library has been housed in its current building on Main Street since 1978. The association transferred its library holdings, ownership and property of the library to the City of Wasilla in 1986. Today, the library is a part of the City of Wasilla’s Recreation & Cultural Services Department.