Homer Public Library

Library main entrance.

The Homer Public Library is located at 500 Hazel Avenue in Homer, Alaska. It serves the communities of the Southern Kenai Peninsula from Ninilchik to the south side of Kachemak Bay.[1]

The library, a department of the City of Homer, has six full-time and three part-time staff. The director of the library is Ann Dixon[2] who succeeded Helen Hill in 2011.[3] The same year the library was rated by Library Journal as one of 262 star libraries in the US.[4] The library is aided by an advisory board and Friends of the Homer Library.

Building

Construction of a new library building started in 2003 and ended in 2006.[5] It was opened to the public September 16, 2006,[6] covers 17 000 feet and costed a total of $8,8 million to construct.[7] It was funded primarily through Government grants ($3,813,000), a 30-year USDA Rural Development loan ($2,200,000) and various foundation grants ($1,336,000).[8]

The building was awarded LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. The library is only the third LEED building in Alaska and the second to achieve the silver rating.[9] LEED certification encourages the use or reuse of local materials which meant, among other things, that an old gym floor from the Kenai High School was used for countertops.[10]

The architecture firm, ECI/Hyer, has received several awards for the building:[11]

In 2005, the library was investigated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act for failing to apply for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.[12]

References

External links

Coordinates: 59°38′38″N 151°31′51″W / 59.6438°N 151.5308°W / 59.6438; -151.5308

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