Tribe receives $325,000 grant to double size of current facility
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde has received a $325,000 Indian Community Development Block Grant that will help double the size of the current 1,390-square-foot Tribal Library.

Added to $108,334 in Tribal matching funds, the federal grant will pay for the addition of 1,500 square feet to the Tribal Library located in the Tribal Education Building.

The Tribe originally requested $500,000, said Tribal Planning & Grants Development Manager Kim Rogers, for an almost 2,900-square-foot addition and finished just out of the running for federal funding.

However, when other regions did not spend all of their federally allocated block grant funds, the Tribe received a call from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Public and Indian Housing, asking if it would accept a $325,000 award instead.

The answer was “Yes,” and the Tribe scaled back the expansion to 1,500 square feet because of the reduced funding.

Still, the addition will more than double the library’s size and address one of the more pressing needs on the Grand Ronde Tribal campus.

The Tribal Library, which serves the entire community, has issued 1,200 library cards to Tribal and community members. In 2009, it had more than 7,000 visits and more than 6,500 circulations.

It is too small to hold the library’s collection of 11,000 items, which has increased from about 800 items in 2004, when the existing library facility opened.

“Shelf space has become crowded and there is little room left to add new items in many of the collection areas,” said Tribal Elder and Tribal Librarian Marion Mercier. “Non-fiction and DVD/video shelf space is about non-existent at this time. There is still shelf space for growth in the children and youth collection, but floor space is very crowded for the four youth groups that come in for story and library time each week.”

The library also doesn’t have room for the computer and media stations and work tables that it needs to serve a variety of users.

Also, the library’s entrance and bathrooms are the same ones used by the Tribe’s Education Building. During weekend and evening hours, the library exposes the rest of the building’s offices, including Cultural Resources on the second floor, to unauthorized off-hour visits.

The expansion will make the Tribal Library self-contained, with its own entrance and restrooms.

Mercier will lead programming efforts in the design of the library addition. Construction should begin by March 2011 and be completed by the summer or fall of 2011.

The expansion will allow the Tribal Library to hold and offer more programs and serve a wider variety of users, which will enhance the education of children and adults, the grant application states.

“Library services and programs provide enrichment resources and activities that support early literacy, education benchmarks, job search efforts and the opportunity to participate in alterative activities,” Mercier said. “The library helps youth pursue their interests and build self-esteem. Education and self-esteem are important for self-sufficiency.”

The larger space, however, will not require increased staffing. The Tribal Library currently has 1.2 employees.

“Most clients occupy themselves at the library for the vast amount of time spent and only a small portion of the time requires interaction with the librarian,” the grant application states. “Additional staff could be hired someday and the addition will allow enough counter space for this future growth to be included.”

“I expected it to happen someday and I’m excited that it happened now,” Mercier said. “We have little shelf space left. I think, for the population base we have now, the library will be adequate being doubled.”

Mercier said doubling the Tribal Library’s size will be enough space to accommodate more housing expansions in the Grand Ronde area.

“It should be good for a number of years,” she said. “It’s exciting. I am proud that our Tribal leaders take note of the Tribal membership and community needs and then take actions for improvement.

“The Tribal Council’s support of the library expansion is another example of the generosity and forward thinking by our leaders in making changes for a positive difference in our community. The library is an awesome place to be.”

Photo by Michelle Alaimo