There’s power in quiet. Not the kind of quiet that means nothing is happening, but the kind that reflects careful thought and steady behind-the-scenes work. That’s what the library foundation is doing as it works diligently to plan and build a new downtown Grants Pass library.
The Josephine Community Library Foundation is raising funds to build a new main library in downtown Grants Pass, on the city block between Sixth and Seventh streets and J and K streets. The foundation purchased the property in 2023 with support from grants and individual donations. That purchase secured the first step in a large project — a permanent home for a new library.
After having reconstructed the Williams library in 2023 for $1 million and remodeled the Illinois Valley library the following year for $2.5 million, this will be the largest project the foundation has taken on, with an estimated cost of $26 million.
That number is daunting. It is also why the foundation is in what fundraisers call the “quiet phase.” This is the early stage of a capital campaign when the work happens one conversation at a time. Library leaders are meeting with stakeholders, listening to what they care about and allowing their input to shape the design and development of the project. Quiet does not mean slow. It means deliberate.
Recently, the library foundation and district partnered with a security advisor from U.S. Department of Homeland Security to review early site plans. He offered practical suggestions for visibility, secure access points, and roadway safety barriers. This type of safety and security opens up the project for new grant opportunities, especially in emergency preparedness. The quiet phase is the right time to consider those details, while we can still build them in.
We’ve also established a relationship with Oregon Corrections Enterprises for building furniture and custom cabinetry. The company supports workforce training for incarcerated adults and the woodworking products it builds are durable and cost-effective. It is another example of how a building project can reflect community values and create funding opportunities.
In 2023, the library hosted six communitywide meetings over the summer to decide the shape and orientation of the building. Community input led to the decision to build a large 200-person meeting room, a secure outdoor courtyard for youth and community programming, and a single floor design to lower costs. Even with this cost saving measure, $26 million is hard to fathom. It’s an “eat the elephant one bite at a time” kind of project.
This month, we will receive new community input from teens through the Teen Space Design Showcase. This showcase follows Girls Rock!, a free STEM event for girls ages 9 to 13 to be held March 7 at Grants Pass High School, sponsored by AAUW, Zonta, and Soroptimist. Girls Rock is about building confidence through hands-on learning and helping girls see themselves in science, technology, engineering and math activities and careers. For more information, visit girlsrockgrantspass.org.
Lead architect Jessi Russell of ZCS Engineering & Architecture will be co-facilitating a workshop at the Girls Rock event called “Design Your World” for youth to create their own teen library space in the new downtown Grants Pass library. The artwork will be on display at the library beginning March 10 and throughout the month.
The community is invited to the Teen Space Design Showcase, a meet-and-greet with the youth designers on Saturday, March 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Grants Pass library. Teens will share what shaped their choices and Ms. Russell will be on hand to answer questions.
During this quiet phase, the library foundation is also gathering input by meeting with donors. While we cannot incorporate everyone’s vision, those conversations matter. One donor spoke passionately about education and hands-on learning, the kind his late wife brought to local schools through science and art exhibits. That conversation led us to design a larger, more open lobby area to accommodate traveling exhibits, including free and low-cost library displays from the Smithsonian.
In the months ahead, the project team will be thinking through individual room layouts and furniture details, such as how many linear feet of bookshelves are needed. You might be surprised to learn how much space book carts require in a library and how much design planning goes into bathrooms, parking lots, and trees.
Quiet is not a pause. It is progress and it is happening every day. What you see on the surface is only part of the story. Beneath it, the work continues.
Between the Pages is a monthly column written by Kate Lasky, library director for Josephine Community Library since 2009. To send comments or questions, email klasky@josephinelibrary.org.
BY KATE LASKY
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GRANTS PASS DAILY COURIER | February 2026