There is a cozy corner in an upstairs room at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts where anyone who feels the urge to act out can play with plays.

This week, WICA opened its new theater library to the public. Furnished with a comfortable couch, reading lamps and a shelf stocked with 250 scripts and 25 theater-related books, it is the best place in town to find a good line.

WICA house manager Deana Duncan spent the last year collecting the plays and books from local theater buffs. She said putting them in a theater library that is open to the public is a new step for WICA. The scripts and books can be checked out, something Duncan said is unusual for a theater.

Opening the library gives South Whidbey residents a theatrical resource that is usually only available at large universities. It will also serve as a way to build a better relationship between the theater and the public.

“We haven’t accomplished that yet,” Duncan said.

Included in the library collection are scripts for all the plays ever performed at WICA and scores of others donated by philanthropic theater buffs. The theater is also a subscriber to the nation’s two largest play services, so almost every play every written is available for loan for $5 to $8 each. There is no rental fee for the materials owned by WICA.

Duncan said she wanted to open the library because there are so few places to find a good selection of plays.

“I come from a small town and I know how hard it is to find plays,” she said.

Located in a room adjacent to the theater’s second-story control booth, the library is one of the quietest places for a good read. Duncan said she hopes people interested in browsing the collection will spend some time in the library and take advantage of being able to bring the books and scripts home.

The library is open on weekdays between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.