Tomoshibi means small light in Japanese, and for 21 years, that’s exactly what the Tomoshibi library provided for the Japanese community in Bellevue.

Until it ceased operation last May, the library was a beacon for new immigrants finding their way in the U.S., a place to meet new people, read books and speak their native language.

Now, volunteers behind the Tomoshibi Library hope to revive the community hub at the Jubilee REACH Center in the Lake Hills neighborhood. Volunteers hope to raise $45,000 to make the move.

With $8,000 raised so far, Yoko Sueyoshi said she’s hopeful for the library’s future, but they have a long way to go. Sueyoshi and other volunteers took over the library from Yuko Kokage – who ran Tomoshibi out of a 1,000-square-foot shed in her backyard.

When Kokage moved out of her house in May, Sueyoshi didn’t want the decades-old library to cease altogether.

Since the, it’s been more than a challenge to get the funds for a new space.

“Japanese culture is not traditionally familiar with donations and fundraising,” Sueyoshi said, adding that the sizable donations made by local Japanese companies to the tsunami and earthquake relief has made it harder to find funding.

While it may not be a dire cause, Tomoshibi is important to the 250 families who used the library’s 28,000 books free of charge.

Advertising was word-of-mouth. The computer check-out system was pen and paper. And the volunteers who ran the library did it out of love, and in Sueyoshi’s case, family.

“My kids support my project,” said Sueyoshi, a Japan native. “They miss (Japanese) books and manga.”

To donate to the library, contact Yoko Sueyoshi at ourlibrary@live.com. The Tomoshibi library will soon have a page at www.jubileereach.org.