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 ...
system serving the residents of western
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
, United States including
Grays Harbor Grays Harbor is an estuary, estuarine bay located north of the mouth of the Columbia River, on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington (U.S. state), Washington state, in the United States of America. It is a ria, which formed at the end of the l ...
,
Lewis
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
,
Mason
Mason may refer to:
Occupations
* Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces
* Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
,
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, and Thurston counties. Timberland Regional Library has 27 community libraries, 2 cooperative library centers, and 3 library
kiosk
Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...
s. It was founded in 1968, following a four-year demonstration project, and is funded through property taxes and timber taxes.
History
A two-year demonstration library system, the Timberland Library Demonstration (TLD), was established in 1964 to serve Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties, using $310,000 in funds from the federal
Library Services and Construction Act
The Library Services and Construction Act, enacted in 1964 by the U.S. Congress, provides federal assistance to libraries in the United States for the purpose of improving or implementing library services or undertaking construction projects.
The ...
and local sources. Each of the counties had cities with independent library systems and several rural library districts, including the Grays Harbor County Rural Library District and South Puget Sound Regional Library, who chose to either join or opt out of the demonstration project. The Timberland Library Demonstration relied on the
Washington State Library
The Washington State Library is a government agency that operates public libraries in Washington state's prisons and mental hospitals, and maintains collections related to the state government. Based in Tumwater, it is a service of the Washington ...
to process its books, which were also stored in municipal libraries. The system debuted its
bookmobile
A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
in September 1964, based in
Centralia
Centralia may refer to:
Places Australia
*Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia"
Canada
* Centralia, Ontario
** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base
** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome
United States ...
and traveling on ten routes between rural areas in all five counties. The formation of a permanent library district would require a public vote, which was pushed back from 1966 to 1968, waiting for a more favorable general election. The South Puget Sound Regional Library, which comprised Mason and Thurston counties, threatened to leave the demonstration later in 1966 over the effectiveness of the program for their counties. After months of negotiation, the two counties reversed their decision, allowing the demonstration project to continue for another two years.
On November 5, 1968, residents of unincorporated areas in the five counties approved the establishment of an intercounty rural library district, with four counties having large margins in favor of the library. The Timberland Regional Library became the state's third intercounty district, following the North Central Regional Library in northeastern Washington and the Sno-Isle Regional Library in the northern
Puget Sound area
The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington, including Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. ...
. The new library formed its board the following month and opened its headquarters at the 1914 Carnegie library in Olympia. In the 1980s and 1990s, the district expanded and built several new branches in rural communities with funding from strong timber sales.
Library relocations
On October 21, 1996, the North Mason branch in Belfair was divided into three sections and shipped by barge on
Hood Canal
Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins,Hoodsport to be reused as the new building for their branch. The move was chosen due to its cost savings compared to construction of a new building and demolition of the North Mason building, which was due to be replaced. The Hoodsport branch opened in March 1997, following renovations and the replacement of the roof. The new building for the North Mason branch opened in March 1998 after a year of construction.
The TRL proposed a similar building swap in 2023 to relocate the Amanda Park branch to
Randle Randle, as a surname or a given name, may refer to:
Surname:
* Betsy Randle (born 1955), American actress
* Bill Randle (1923–2004), American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor
* Brian Randle (born 1985), American NBA coach and basketba ...
, to the east. The Amanda Park branch had served a small population with a severe decrease of book holds and physical checkouts since 2011, while Randle was due to receive a new building that would cost $1.8 million to construct.
2009 ballot measure
On February 3, 2009, approximately 53% of voters within TRL's five-county district turned down "Levy Lid Lift Proposition 1" in a special election. This proposition would have lifted the 34.5-cent (per thousand dollars of assessed valuation) cap on TRL's property tax levy rate. As a result, the Library Board determined that approximately 2.5 million dollars would need to be cut from TRL's 2010 budget.
Branches
The Timberland Regional Library system has 27 community libraries and four kiosks serving most cities in its five-county area. The cities of Mossyrock, Napavine, Ocean Shores, Pe Ell, and Vader are not part of the library's district. TRL also offers access to information services via online reference databases, library catalog, toll-free telephone 6 days a week as well as many other resources 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Ebooks
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
and digital
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
s, provided by the digital distributor
OverDrive
Overdrive may refer to:
Organizations
* OverDrive, Inc., a digital distributor of entertainment media
** OverDrive Media Console, a media player developed by OverDrive, Inc.
* Overdrive PC, a subsidiary of Velocity Micro
Technology
* Overdrive ...
, can be downloaded from the library's website.
*
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
Centralia
Centralia may refer to:
Places Australia
*Central Australia, sometimes called "Centralia"
Canada
* Centralia, Ontario
** RCAF Station Centralia, a former Royal Canadian Air Force training base
** Centralia (Essery Field) Aerodrome
United States ...
*
Chehalis Chehalis may refer to:
People
* Chehalis people, a Native American people of Washington state
**Lower Chehalis language
**Upper Chehalis language
* Sts'Ailes people (Chehalis people), a First Nation in British Columbia
* Chehalis First Nation, Bri ...
Hoquiam
Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a common economic history in lumbering and exporting, but Hoquiam has mainta ...
*
Ilwaco
Ilwaco ( ) is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 936 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1890, the city was home to the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company along the Long Beach Peninsula, with its core economy b ...
*
Lacey
Lacey may refer to:
People Surname A–L
* Andrew Lacey (1887–1946), Australian politician
* Bill Lacey (American football) (born 1971), American football player and coach
* Bill Lacey (footballer) (1889–1969), Irish footballer
* Bob Lacey ( ...
*
McCleary
McCleary is an Irish surname. It originated in Galway, Ireland, but the surname is primarily now found in Ulster and Scotland with many descendants in Ulster Scots and Irish areas of North America.
The name McCleary is derived from the Gaelic ...
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton ...
(kiosk only)
*
Naselle
Naselle is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pacific County, Washington, United States located about 23 miles (37 km) from the mouth of the Columbia River. The population was 419 at the 2010 census. The valley's Naselle River flows west into ne ...
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
Randle Randle, as a surname or a given name, may refer to:
Surname:
* Betsy Randle (born 1955), American actress
* Bill Randle (1923–2004), American disc jockey, lawyer and university professor
* Brian Randle (born 1985), American NBA coach and basketba ...
(Mountain View)
*
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
*
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
Shelton Shelton may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
*Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire
*Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire
*Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfor ...
*
South Bend
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
*South Puget Sound Community College, Hawks Prairie campus (kiosk only)
* Tenino
* Tokeland (Shoalwater Bay Tribal Community Library)
* Toledo (kiosk only)
*
Tumwater
Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...
zine
A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...
s, many created by local authors. There were over 2,000 zines in the collection .
Reciprocal library systems
TRL participates in reciprocal borrowing agreements with the following public library systems in Washington State. Under this program, TRL cardholders can obtain free accounts at these library systems, and vice versa.
* Fort Vancouver Regional Library District (Clark, Klickitat, Skamania Counties)
*
King County Library System
The King County Library System (KCLS) is a library system serving the residents of King County, Washington, United States. Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, KCLS was the busiest library system in the United States as of 2010, circulating 22. ...
*
Kitsap Regional Library
The Kitsap Regional Library is a public library system in Kitsap County, Washington. Founded in 1944, the library system serves over 260,000 Kitsap residents with nine locations across the county and through a variety of outreach services.
Th ...
Seattle Public Library
The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the city in 1890. The syste ...
*
Sno-Isle Regional Library System
Sno-Isle Libraries is a public library system serving Island and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The system is among the largest in Washington state and has an annual circulation of 11 million materials. The library's 23 bran ...
(Snohomish, Island Counties)
*
Whatcom County Library System Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) provides public library services for residents of Whatcom County, Washington through 10 library branches, a bookmobile, and on the web at http://www.wcls.org. Christine Perkins is the current WCLS Executive Direc ...