The Eugene Public Library is a municipal

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in Eugene,

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It has been in four different buildings since 1898.

History

In 1898, a group of women founded the Fortnightly Club and opened a private reading room in a store building in downtown Eugene. Eugene Public Library was established as a tax-supported entity in 1904. In 1906, Oregon's first Carnegie Library was established on the corner of Willamette Street and East 11th Avenue. In 1959, a new library building opened at the corner of West 13th Avenue and Olive Street. This remained the main library building until it was moved to its current location at West 10th Avenue and Charnelton Street in 2002. At this time, the library already had two branches—

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

(West Eugene) and Sheldon (Cal Young neighborhood)—that had opened in 2000. In 2003 the new library building won first place in the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

of Southwest Oregon's public architecture awards. The library received a $1.1 million bequest in 2009 from the estate of Frederick "Doc" Rankin, a Eugene doctor and property owner who died in 2004.

Current building

The library's latest building and its underground parking garage have been described as "energy efficient, low maintenance, and filled with daylight." The new building is four times larger than the older one. The number of users of the library approximately tripled after the new building opened, and then further increased following the economic downturn of 2008.Adams, Tom (August 12, 2008)
"The library as a tranquil oasis."
''KVAL News'' (Eugene, Oregon). Retrieved September 1, 2010. In addition, its collection of items has had a net increase since 2005, as well as its circulation and visits.

References

External links

Official site"Public libraries grow to support community needs"
''Daily Journal of Commerce'' {{Authority control 1898 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Eugene, Oregon Education in Eugene, Oregon Library buildings completed in 1959 Library buildings completed in 2002 Public libraries in Oregon Libraries established in 1898