EVERETT—Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02) personally hand-delivered 47 children’s and young adult books to Mariner Library from the Library of Congress’ Surplus Books Program on Saturday, February 1 as part of the inaugural Mariner Future Fest presented by ChildStrive, Sno-Isle Libraries, and Sound Transit. He then sat down with kids and young adults and read to them the children’s book “I Feel Purple” by Margaret Salter.
“This is a really special focus on the Mariner Community,” said Sno-Isle Libraries Executive Director Eric Howard. “I really want to thank the Congressman for coming.”
Larsen shared that public libraries breakdown barriers within a community and the importance of reading to being informed and knowledgeable.
“I grew up in Arlington, Washington and every Wednesday night at the Larsen household was library night,” Larsen said. “We would pile into Chevy Impala station wagon, made when cars didn’t have seatbelts…Dad would drive us to the library we would bring our stack of books we read in the last week, we turned them in and we would check out more books for the next week. Libraries are very important to education and very important to my family.”
Because Mariner Library has the highest percentage of Spanish speaking patrons within the Sno-Isle Libraries system, books Larsen donated were both in English and Spanish.
During Storytime, the book read by Rep. Larsen, “I Feel Purple,” explores the color purple and the various emotions and experiences it could possibly represent and encourages the reader to reflect on where one may see purple in daily life.
Jessica Russell, Director of Collection Services, shared with the Lynnwood Times what piqued her interest in reading at a young age.
“I was so curious about the world and yet, you know, kind of shy and hesitant. So, reading let me have this incredible universe of experiences in ways that felt safe to me,” Russell said.
Over the last 30 years, Russell has read thousands of books in what she called “reading phases,” different focuses and fixations in her reading life. Sno-Isle Libraries has a vast collection of over 1.4 million items for residents to check out as they see fit.
“A library symbolizes the freedom to read, the library supports all kinds of opinions and perspectives,” she added.
Mariner Community Campus
Larsen then toured the future site of the upcoming Mariner Community Campus (MCC) project, that when completed will bring together a public library and mixed income housing. The project is located at the northeast corner of 4th Ave W and 128th St SW in South Everett but what locals prefer to call “Mariner City.”
Terry Lott Jr, Mariner Community Lead with Sno-Isle Libraries, shared with the Lynnwood Times that the new Mariner Community Campus is expected to open no later than 4 years and expected to serve 30,000 residents. It is currently in the pre-design/pre-development phase.
“So, we’ll have space for nonprofits, for government agencies to come in and do classes. Maybe it’s a cooking class, maybe it’s a tutoring class. They’ll actually have a place to be without having to like to set up a brick and mortar. Then the anchor it with the brand new state of our Mariner Library,” said Lott Jr.
Currently, the Everett Housing Authority is working on purchasing the strip mall behind the old Patty’s Eggnest plot that was acquired by Sno-Isle Libraries in June 2024. If the purchase goes through, Lott Jr. shared the vision of a combined plot with Marier Library Community Campus on ground level with housing above.
“This is right along with the Snohomish County Planning & Development and their future comprehensive plan for this neighborhood,” said Lott Jr. “It’s directly aligned with that. And it gives us some advantages. We’re going to be a four-minute walk to Mariner Park & Ride, a two-minute walk to the Swift line, and then you’re going to be within five minutes of whatever station that Sound Transit sets.”
Lott Jr added that when the Mariner Community Campus is complete, a Ballot Dropbox, for the first time, will be placed within the Mariner community, bridging the barrier to voter participation and engagement in the democratic process for tens of thousands of residents.
The Snohomish County Planning & Development Services is hosting a FREE all-ages workshop on February 8 for a newly proposed Light Rail Community (LRC) zone that involves the Mariner Community. To learn more visit https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2025/02/04/light-rail-community/.
Library of Congress Surplus Book Program
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library with over 178 million items in its collection. The Library of Congress’ Surplus Books Program is available for eligible organizations and institutions within the United States and fall into one of the following categories:
- Full-time, tax-supported or nonprofit educational institution: school, school system, college, university, museum, or public library.
- Agency of local, state, or federal government.
- Nonprofit institution or organization that has tax-exempt status under the provisions of section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (see 41 CFR 101-44.207 (a)(17)) and that operates a library and/or research center open to the public.
Author: Mario Lotmore
