Birch Bay Vogt Community Library

Latest News

Birch Bay Vogt Community Library Fact Sheet (PDF)

• Library system extends WiFi serviceAugust 5, 2020
• State budget includes $2 million for Birch Bay Vogt Community LibraryApril 30, 2019
• Library Receives $100,000 Gift from BP Cherry Point for Birch Bay LibraryJanuary 7, 2019
• Community Input on Birch Bay Library ProjectDecember 16, 2018

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Imagine…

• Storytimes on the lawn
• A quiet reading area with bay views
• A modern library with WiFi, public computers, a teen space, a meeting room, books, movies, music and more!

The Vision

Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) is committed to expanding library services to the 8,400+ members of the Birch Bay community. In April 2017, WCLS purchased property at 7968 Birch Bay Drive for a future full-service library that will one day replace WCLS Bookmobile service to Birch Bay.

The Name

The offi­cial name of the new library, once built, will be the Birch Bay Vogt Community Library in honor of the original family who homesteaded this area, and their descendants who sold the property to WCLS. This is in keeping with the Everson McBeath Community Library, named for a former mayor of Everson. The Birch Bay site is on the ancestral homelands of the Coast Salish Peoples. WCLS staff are working closely with Lummi Nation to protect cultural artifacts beneath the site and to honor Lummi Nation’s enduring care and protection of our shared lands and waterways.

The Plan

In spring 2019, the Washington State Legislature provided $2 million in funding for the Birch Bay Vogt Community Library. The estimate for the total cost of the project, including the purchase of the land, is $6.5 million to build a 7,600-square-foot library. Supporters have secured donations that — coupled with the $2 million state appropriation — reduce the total amount still needed to approximately $4.35 million. More funding must be raised quickly in order to ensure access to the state funding. All private donations will help reduce the amount property owners will pay if voters approve the formation of a Birch Bay Library Capital Facilities Area on Nov. 3, 2021. See the Fact Sheet on this page for more information.

WCLS is working with the Friends of the Birch Bay Library, who will raise the remaining funds to pay for the new library.