BOISE, Idaho — Earlier this month, several citizens expressed their desire for a public library branch in the West Boise neighborhood.
Related | West Boise family is leading the charge to get a public library in the area
The group, called Citizens for a Library, created a petition that has almost 1,000 signatures. They presented it to the city council and the library board.
They argue there is a gap in coverage for West Boise citizens. They say most Boise residents live within two miles of a library, except for West Boise citizens.
Here is their map:
“This is fundamental for lifelong learning, not only for the kids that are in school but for those who have never had access to libraries," Said Luci Willits, the city councilwoman representing West Boise. "So what we’re doing today, has the opportunity to change people’s lives because it gives them the opportunity for knowledge.”
Luci Willits has lived in West Boise for 20 years. In 2021 she was elected to represent her neighborhood after the Idaho legislature passed a law that said cities with populations over 100,000 people had to hold city council elections in districts.
Willits says the change gave West Boiseans a voice.
"And what changed when the Idaho Legislature said you have to district if you're over a certain population is that it gave areas of the city more of an identity," Willits told Idaho News 6. "It gave citizens someone to call when they had an issue that didn't really exist before."
Although calls for a library are strong, the process might take a long time.
The Boise Public Library is looking forward to its facilities plan which will look at major changes to the Library system in the next couple of decades.
"We could actually go out and look at, with our new modern zoning code, how is the city of Boise going to continue to grow and where should we be looking to add resources," Jessica Dorr, Boise Public Library Director told Idaho News 6.
As they start their facilities plan, a timeline would become more clear as to if and when a Library in West Boise would become a possibility. The Library told Idaho News 6 any timeline would be speculation at this point.
