Construction begins on Menan’s long-awaited public library
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MENAN – Construction on a new public library in Menan is finally moving forward.
The Friends of the Menan Annis Grant Library — a nonprofit raising funds for the library’s construction — held a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday. The 7,500-square-foot building is being built in a one-acre field at 3550 East and 665 North east of the Menan City Park.
Nonprofit Vice President James Zolman tells EastIdahoNews.com construction is slated to last about a year. He says he’s excited to see this project finally come to fruition.
Zolman says the timing of construction couldn’t have come at a better time because the lease for the current library — a 1,500-square-foot trailer behind Midway Elementary in Menan — expires in 2027.
“Luckily, the school is willing to work with us,” Zolman told EastIdahoNews.com last month. “They’ll let us stay there until the new building is done.”
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The Menan Annis Grant Public Library is one of three libraries in the Jefferson County Free Library District. Had this project not gotten underway when it did, library district trustee Laurie Willmore told EastIdahoNews.com in 2025, the closure of the Menan library would have dissolved the library district.
The district began raising funds for a new library in 2017. From the beginning, the goal was to make it a community-driven effort, rather than trying to pass a bond. To date, Zolman says they’ve raised $500,000 for the project through grants, in-kind and cash donations. A total of $2 million is needed to pay for it.
Central Fire District in Jefferson County donated the land to the city years ago for the project. Zolman says Isaiah Womack with Aspen Architecture, and Greg Nelson, a general contractor with Northern States Development, grew up in the area and have donated a significant portion of their services towards its completion.
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During Saturday’s groundbreaking, Zolman recognized local teacher Thelma Crook, whose “final gift of over $200,000 really launched this project into the stratosphere.”
The most recent batch of in-kind donations from the city, county and local businesses is the cash equivalent of about $100,000.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Zolman said. “This community is coming together to build this library and that’s so good to see.”
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Others he paid tribute to include Norma Eames, who founded Menan’s first library in the old rock schoolhouse in the 1960s. She died in 2017 at age 90.
Since then, raising funds for a new library has been an ongoing process. Zolman says he’s grateful to see it finally move forward after years of work.
“It’s going to be beautiful, going to be big,” Zolman told Saturday’s crowd. “We want to memorialize this library. Everyone’s donations, no matter how big or small, we’re putting a tiny little leaf on a tree (hanging) on the wall in the (current) library.”
Donations and community support is still needed to make the project a reality. To make a contribution or see a rendering of what the completed building will look like, click here.
Our attorneys tell us we need to put this disclaimer in stories involving fundraisers: EastIdahoNews.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries.