District History
The Sandpoint Branch of the East Bonner County Free Library District is
located in our new facility at Cedar and Division Streets.
The library was originally the Sandpoint Public Library. It was located
upstairs in the City Hall building on Main and Second. In December of 1967, after the post office moved to its new
location and the building was remodeled, a chain of high school
students from the Class of '68 moved the books from City Hall to the building at 419 North Second
Avenue, the library's previous home. In 1974 the East Bonner County Library
District was formed after a vote of the county residents. The boundaries
of the district are shared by Bonner General Hospital District, encompassing the
eastern portion of Bonner County from approximately just east of Priest River to
the Montana border.
By the late 1980's the library district had outgrown the Sandpoint facility.
Initially, renovating and remodeling the existing building were considered.
The inability to resolve parking problems, a requirement to bring the building
to ADA standards, and the high costs associated with that, in addition to the
costs of the remodel alone, eliminated that option. Over the course of
about 10 years, attempts to pass a levy or bond to build a new facility
failed. Finally, in May of 1998, the patrons passed a bond that would
build new facilities in both Sandpoint and Clark Fork as well as purchase a
bookmobile. Those facilities are now completed and the bookmobile is on
the way. The facility in Sandpoint is more than triple the space of the
building at Second and Alder and has three meeting rooms for the public. The facility in Clark Fork nearly
quadruples the space previously occupied behind the City Hall, and also has meeting rooms for the public.
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