Santaquin Residents Pass 3,320 Books Hand to Hand to the New Library

On a Tuesday afternoon, 178 people formed a line outside the Santaquin City Library and passed books from hand to hand across the street to the city's new library. In about two hours they moved 3,320 books. The full collection is about 28,000 books, so thousands remain to be moved, and city officials say more book brigades are planned in the coming months. The new building is expected to open in January with a special kickoff event.

KSL reported the story on Nov. 8, 2026. The piece, by Cassidy Wixom, did not give the calendar date of the move, only that it happened on a Tuesday afternoon.

What happened

Dozens of children, parents and other residents lined up between the two buildings and handed books along the line, from the old library to the new one across the street. Mayor Dan Olson told KSL that "the books moved feverishly," and described the line as a beautiful sight, with many kids and adults taking part.

The numbers are the reason the event drew attention. A line of 178 people moving 3,320 books in two hours works out to roughly 1,660 books an hour, with no trucks or carts described in the report. Even so, the first brigade covered a little under an eighth of the collection. KSL reported that the library holds about 28,000 books in all, which means more than 24,000 are still waiting to be moved. City officials told the station that more brigades are planned over the coming months.

The Santaquin City Library page on santaquin.gov carries a notice that the library closed on Nov. 2, 2026, for relocation, with moving details linked from that page. That closure fits the timeline in the KSL report: the move is underway, but the new building is not yet open to the public.

The old library, and why it is being replaced

The current library sits in a historic brick building at 20 W. 100 South. The Herald Extra reported in 2011 that the building was constructed in 1901 as the first LDS church building in Santaquin. After it stopped serving as a church it was used for apple and hay storage, and another religious denomination later owned it. The city bought the building after it had fallen into disrepair and restored it with a matching federal grant, according to that article, which put the restoration at about eight years before its 2011 publication date.

The restored interior has a barrel vault ceiling that workers found when they took down a lowered ceiling, and the original Gothic windows hold stained glass added by Salem artist Bitsy Schultz, the Herald Extra reported. From the street it still looks like a small church.

The building did its job for a long time, but KSL reported that it was remodeled about 25 years ago to meet code and, at about 3,500 square feet, no longer meets the city's needs. The library lends thousands of books each month, and it runs a well-attended end-of-summer event for kids. It also works as a learning center, with computers, printers and internet access that residents use for homework, job applications and everyday errands.

The new building

The new library stands across the street and is about 12,000 square feet, more than three times the size of the old one. KSL reported that it is expected to open in January, with a special kickoff event. The article does not state a year and we have not found a published opening date, so treat "January" as the working target and confirm the date with the city.

The new building has been a long project. A Santaquin Library Board agenda listing a library building progress item dated in October 2025 and city council minutes describing framing as nearly complete point to construction having been well underway more than a year before the book move. A state legislative request also noted that the city had already spent more than $1 million to build the shell of the building. We cite those documents only for the general timeline, since we have not tied each one to a final budget.

How it was paid for

Mayor Dan Olson told KSL that when he was elected five years ago, the library wing was not funded and its plans had not yet been drawn. He said he found the millions of dollars needed to finish it without raising property taxes, and described the effort as a matter of being willing to "go raise a nickel." The mayor also credited chief librarian Jen Wagner, who KSL said pursued grants and raised the library's profile.

A Santaquin library board update noted that funding had come mostly from local businesses moving to Santaquin. That is one board's summary rather than a full accounting, so for exact amounts, sources and any grant totals, the primary documents are the city council agendas and minutes on santaquin.gov and the Utah Public Notice Website at utah.gov/pmn.

Why a hand-to-hand move

Santaquin is not the first Utah County city to move a library this way. In March 2023, hundreds of volunteers formed a human chain to carry books from the old Spanish Fork library across Main Street to the new one, KSL reported at the time. Spanish Fork closed Main Street for about an hour and a half for that move, and the new library officially opened about a month later. The format works when the old and new buildings face each other, because the books never need to be boxed, loaded, driven or unpacked in order.

It also turns a logistics job into a community event, with children among those carrying the books. City officials told KSL that more brigades are planned for the remaining volumes.

What to do right now

• Check the library page first. The city lists the library at 20 West 100 South, Santaquin, UT 84655, and the phone is 801-754-3030. Before the closure the posted hours were Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., closed Sunday and legal holidays. Those hours may change when the new building opens.
• Ask about books you have checked out. The sources we reviewed do not say how returns are being handled during the relocation. Call the library or read the moving details linked from santaquin.gov/Library before you drop anything off.
• Use digital borrowing in the meantime. The city's library page links to Libby and audiobooks, the South County Library Cooperative and the online resources of the Beehive Library Consortium. A Santaquin card is the key to the statewide digital collection, which our Utah Valley libraries guide explains.
• Follow the library on social media. The city lists Facebook and Instagram on its library page. That is where we would expect brigade dates and the January kickoff to be announced, but no one has confirmed that, so call if you want a firm answer.
• Bring kids when the next brigade is announced. KSL reported that dozens of children took part in the first one. We have not seen a published age minimum or sign-up form.
• Plan storytime and clubs. Before the move, the city listed storytime at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., plus book clubs for adults, teens and kids, including BookTok, Dungeons & Dragons, Lego and Magic Tree House groups. Whether these continue during the closure, and where, is a question for the library. Our storytime guide lists what other Utah County libraries offer in the meantime.

What we do not know yet

Several details are not confirmed in the sources we reviewed:

• The exact calendar date of the Tuesday book brigade.
• The exact opening date and time of the January kickoff event.
• The new building's hours, once it opens.
• When and how the next book brigades will run, and how to sign up.
• The final cost of the new building and the full breakdown of grants, local contributions and other funding.
• What will happen to the historic 1901 building once the library moves out. The city has not said in anything we found.

We will update this article when the city publishes a firm date.

Santaquin in context

Santaquin is a south Utah County city of orchards, a growing number of new neighborhoods and a small-town core near the library. If you are new to the area, our Living in Santaquin guide covers the basics, the Santaquin neighborhoods guide breaks down where people live, and the short history of Santaquin covers the fort-era town and what survives of it. Our Santaquin Orchard Days guide covers the city's August celebration. A library three times the size of the old one is a large change for a city of this size.

Sources

• KSL, "The books moved feverishly: Santaquin residents move library books in book brigade," by Cassidy Wixom, Nov. 8, 2026.
• Santaquin City, Library page (santaquin.gov/Library), checked Nov. 9, 2026.
• Herald Extra, "Historic Santaquin library is worth visiting," June 1, 2011.
• KSL, "Human chain moves books to new Spanish Fork library," March 2023.