Community. 

A single word that perfectly describes the small town of Ada. 

Though it has been known to be rich with history, Ada began shedding that reputation only years ago with the renovations of the village. What used to contain small, home-style shops now holds an abundance of mercenary, big city-type stores. 

Ada’s urbanization has been quite topical over the past few years, and it seemed as though it was getting ahead of its time. However, contemporary renovations have been put on hold as the more vintage design for a library has been established. 

The new Kent District Library located in Ada has caused a commotion with its unique facilities. 

The new library is idiosyncratic, but it has brought much excitement to not only the community but to students specifically. Junior Molly Dixon is looking forward to a new place to study as well as a place to keep Ada’s vintage community alive.

“I think it’ll be good for the community,” Molly said. “I know it’s becoming a pretty urbanized area with lots of little shops, so I think it’s good that they’re adding a library: a place that’s more community-based instead of just places that buy or sell stuff.” 

The library had its soft opening only a couple of weeks ago, but its facilities are already being used to the fullest extent. 

Very few students have had the chance to use the designated study spaces in the library, but there are many students who have plans to in the future—Molly included.  

“It’ll be a good place to study once things kind of go back to normal,” Molly said. “It’ll be fun to go there and hang out with friends. I really enjoy libraries as a quiet place to study and read, and the new library is just that.”

Though the refreshing change of scenery when studying is exactly what students need at this time, it should cause no reason to look past the myriad of books held on the rows of shelves in the library. 

Students are now provided with the new opportunity to access library cards through the school as well as the library itself. Though there are still details that need to be worked out, school librarian Jaye Jelier is ecstatic to provide students with this chance. 

“We are automatically providing our kids with the KDL library card,” Jelier said. “I think it’s just wonderful that we now have another opportunity for students to check out books at other libraries without having to necessarily go to the Cascade branch.”

Since the library cards given to students are the standard KDL cards, they will be usable at any of the branches—but there’s hope that the new library in Ada will draw in more students and children in the community.  

“As much as we try to keep track of everything going on and staying up to date with the trends, it’s nice to have the support of other libraries,” Jelier said. “The Cascade branch was the closest one to us before, but now we have the Ada branch, and that’s very exciting.”

The school’s new connection with Kent District Libraries will give students a new selection of stories that the school is unable to provide. 

However, the library is not only accessible to students, but the entire community has a new space to look forward to. 

“I think it’s a fantastic addition to the village,” Jelier said, “and I believe it will really bring the community together.”

And bringing the community together is exactly what the library is for. 

According to one of the librarians at the new library, Penny Zurgable, the library will bring all types of people together. This new melting pot is something Ada didn’t necessarily have, but it is something that will remain in the community for years to come. 

“I think it’s really going to give us a hub within the village: a place to meet up and see the rest of the community,” Zurgable said. “The great thing about libraries [is that] you see a certain type of person at the hardware store and a certain type of person at the grocery store and a certain type of person at the liquor store, but all those people come together at the library.” 

The library truly is a place for all kinds of people. 

Guests have access to not only books, but also video games, podcasts, audiobooks, and the additional rooms located throughout the library. 

Though they are not available to use yet, the tutoring and study spaces will be available to the community in the upcoming future to give guests a place to focus on school and work in an environment not yet known. Guests will be able to reserve these rooms for periods of time for no cost. 

However, there is one room that is available at the moment: the podcast room. 

Reservations for the podcast room will open, hopefully, along with the grand opening on March 18th. However, the podcast room is available for viewing to get a sense of the room’s resources.

“If anyone wants to explore making their own podcasts, we have the capability there to record it with professional, quality microphones,” Zurgable said. “You can learn about sound editing because we have Adobe on the computer. It’s a great opportunity for kids to come in and learn about podcasting and sound engineering.” 

The podcast room is just one aspect of the library, but it makes the library more distinctive than other libraries in the area. 

The grand opening is only weeks away, but there is a profusion of excitement for the new facility. 

“I hope everyone will make [going to the library] a part of their daily routine,” Zurgable said. “I see it being such a great walking destination in the summer for people to come in and pick up a book or even sit down and enjoy the view. It’s really a community gathering place, and that’s my hope for the library over the next couple of years.”