On June 2, 2026, the new library building received its building inspection and it passed! It was an exciting day. There has been so much work done to get to this point. Many thanks to our library board members, both past and present, and especially to Carl Lippert, the library board representative who has been and continues to work closely with our construction management team at Royal Construction.
There is still more work to be done, but we’re getting closer to opening the new building to the public!
Since we received the ‘go ahead’ to move some things into the new building, I decided it was time to start moving the circulating collection that has been housed in the UCC belfry over to the new building. This collection includes around 1,000 titles that just did not fit in the log cabin space. This took some thought and planning, as our furniture and shelving will not arrive until much later, most likely not until the early fall. We’re hoping for it to arrive by August. These items have been purchased, but they need to be manufactured, delivered, and set up.
I felt that the UCC collection would fit in a couple of our meeting room spaces and would be able to still accommodate room for furniture and shelving when it arrives. We don’t want any items to be in the way when those very important items arrive.
After sending out an email for volunteers, we had two wonderful groups come and help on Monday and Tuesday (June 8th & 9th). I did have volunteers set for Wednesday as well, but we ended up being ahead of schedule and we ended up finishing the job before Wednesday.
Our volunteers included:
Peter Wright, Mary D’Andrea, Jan and Irv Berlin, Joan and Dale Forde, Jodie Larson, Ellen Main, Karen Malmquist, Mary Jordan, Rita Miller, Justin Barnes, and 
Judy Doonan-Twohy (If I missed anyone, please let me know! It was a very busy couple of days.)
Also helping out during this time was Janis Pribyl, hard at work in the front flower bed area of the library – helping our plants to grow big and beautiful!
We have a wonderful community of very helpful volunteers. We are very fortunate for that!
Our Forest Lodge Library Board of Trustees and Katie Flowers Endowment Board of Directors are all volunteers as well. The library board is currently full, but the Katie Flowers Endowment Board of Directors always loves having more help and supporters of the library and its services. Currently the KFE board is looking for individuals who are comfortable and interested in working with finance. No experience is necessary, just a love of numbers and the desire to help out in this way.
We also have some regular volunteers at the library – helping with shelving, light cleaning, processing materials, and getting programming material ready. Many thanks to Peter Wright, Mary Ann Allen (who also has supported the ‘Free Little Library’ for many years), Diane Devroy, and Mary D’Andrea. When she’s in the area, Jeannie McCarver has been in to help as well.
Respectfully submitted by Director Amanda Westlund
6/14/2026 
