Cheney library turns 20

For the last 20 years, residents of Cheney have been able to visit the Cheney Community Library on First Street, whether to look for a book, gather research for a school paper, join a reading group or participate in children’s activities.

And now for its 20th anniversary, the library is hosting a week of events to celebrate.

“It says a lot for a community to have a good library,” said Joan Tracy, a member of the Friends of the Cheney Community Library, which played an active role in getting a library for the city.

When Tracy first moved to Cheney in 1964, she said, she found the doctor’s office, the post office, the schools her children would attend and what was then Eastern Washington State College.

She was surprised to find there wasn’t a public library in Cheney.

In 1966, she and other supporters circulated a petition to establish a library. In September of that year, the measure passed.

The library became a part of Spokane County Libraries in 1967 on a year-to-year basis. A few years later, the city voted to become a permanent part of the county system.

Tracy said the first library in Cheney was operated out of a storefront on First Street.

“It was a very small, very cramped place,” she said.

The Friends of the Cheney Community Library volunteer their time to do things the library is unable to do. The group purchases books for reading groups, sponsors events in the library and holds an annual used book sale during the Cheney Rodeo weekend.

In 1983, the Friends voted to find more library space, and in 1986, a levy received 80 percent approval to build a new library. The building opened Nov. 11, 1988.

Part of the celebration this week will include new furniture donated in memory of longtime Friend Elynor Carney. When Carney died, she left a memorial donation to the library. Furniture purchased with the money will be placed in the adult reading room.

“We want the room to look like Elynor,” said Jan Matthews, another Friend of the Library.

The Friends have had old chairs refurbished and purchased some new end tables and an étagère, an open cabinet for books and other small objects. There is also a new painting of the rolling hills of the area.

During the open house on Nov. 8, the Friends will have a special presentation of the new furniture at 1 p.m.

“We want the (Carney) family to be there,” Matthews said.

For Tracy, who worked for many years as a librarian at EWU, the Cheney Community Library has been an important part of the city.

“I couldn’t live without a library,” Tracy said. “It means a great deal to me.”

Matthews agrees.

“It’s such an important part of my life,” Matthews said. “It’s important for little children to start reading.”