Our place

WASILLA — In this modern age, where virtually every piece of information throughout human history can be accessed through one’s cell phone, a pragmatist might ask, “Who needs libraries?”

Hundreds of Valley residents provided a response to that question as they weathered sloppy conditions to pour into the brand new Wasilla City Library for its ribbon cutting and kickoff celebration. Politicians, dignitaries and less-heralded members of the years-long effort to build the 24,000 square-foot facility on Crusey Street, just down the hill from Wasilla Middle and High Schools and the new Iditarod Elementary, spoke before a pair of local youngsters cut the ceremonial ribbon with the guidance of current mayor Bert Cottle.

Cottle pointed out that more than 1,900 students attend school within a quarter-mile of the new building, and recited the names of mayors, city council and borough assembly members who held office through critical junctures of the process. Then, it was time to take a look at and dig into what Mat-Su Borough Mayor Vern Halter called, “Probably the nicest, greatest library in the state of Alaska.”

Marci Hawkins, vice-president of the borough’s library board and a board member of the Friends of the Wasilla Library, could barely hold back tears of joy as she guided the first tours.

“Between history, excitement and wow!” Hawkins described her feelings. “I would hope people would get the vastness — this is so impressive and it’s been a lot of hard work getting to this point.”

The price tag for the new library came to about $15 million, paid through state grants, the gifting of the land by the borough school board, and most vitally a temporary 1-cent sales tax in Wasilla proper.

Hawkins hopes taxpayers will come in and see the fruit of their investment and take in all that a 21st Century library can be.

“Libraries are not just books, that’s what people don’t realize,” Hawkins said. “People hear library, they think mothballs, but this isn’t mothballs, this is community to make big possibilities grow.”

Karen Zaccaro lives in Anchorage where she works as part of the ECI design team that put together the new library. They couldn’t wait to see what had become of all those blueprints.

“We made a day of it; it was such a special project for us,” Zaccaro said, checking out the stacks by herself. “The exterior façade system stands out. It’s a unitary curtain wall system — it’s not a 45-year building; it’s a 100 year building. The City of Wasilla knew it would be more expensive, but they wanted to do it anyway because they wanted it to be a lasting place.”

A lover of libraries in her free time, Zaccaro believes they’re an institution worth saving.

“The library is one of the last public, democratic places we still make. Here, everybody is invited and included and there’s things to share. For a lot of people, especially the very old and very young, it’s a critical part of the American experience,” she said, adding that technology can’t satisfy us completely. “We’re human and we still need interaction. The library becomes that place. Maybe they do just sit down and get on their phones, but this is one of the last public places you can do that.”

Borough Assembly Member Jim Sykes argues that libraries can provide things the Internet can’t.

“It’s always good to browse the stacks,” Sykes said. “On the Internet, you can look for something specific, but sometimes you find something you’re not even looking for when you browse the stacks. You get to touch it and we’re kind of losing that with the Internet. Here, you get to touch it and to think. If you thought the Internet would wipe out libraries, it hasn’t happened yet and I don’t think it’s going to.”

The new library, however, is also extremely accommodating for computer users with an extended aisle of them in the middle of the great space, and another enclave of computers in the back, under a stained glass mural decorated with masks made by Wasilla Middle School students.

The facility also includes an enclosed and large area for small children and families, a multi-purpose room and even a fireplace and cove in the rear.

The library opens officially today at 10:30 a.m.