Douglas County Library System
{{distinguish|text=Douglas County Libraries in Colorado}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox library
| name = Douglas County Library System
| logo =
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| type = Public library
| established = {{start date|1953}}
| dissolved = {{end date|2017|06}}
| location = Douglas County, Oregon, United States
| coordinates = {{coord|43|12|45.8|N|123|20|26.1|W|display=inline,title}}
| num_branches = 11
| members = 8,500
| items_collected =
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| pop_served = 107,000
| budget =
| director = Harold Hayes
| num_employees = 52
| website = {{URL|http://www.dclibrary.us/|dclibrary.us}}
}}
The Douglas County Library System (DCLS) was a public library system in Douglas County, Oregon, United States. The library system was founded in 1953 and operated eleven branches across Douglas County at the time of its closure in 2017.
History
Douglas County's first library was established in 1912 to serve Myrtle Creek. The Myrtle Creek library was followed by other local systems in Roseburg, Reedsport, Glendale, Drain, Yoncalla, and Sutherlin in the 1920s and 1930s.{{cite journal |last=Hayes |first=Harold A. |date=October 2016 |title=Douglas County's 'Long and Winding Road' |pages=23–26 |volume=22 |issue=2 |journal=OLA Quarterly |publisher=Oregon Library Association |url=http://commons.pacificu.edu/olaq/vol22/iss2/7/ |doi=10.7710/1093-7374.1856 |accessdate=June 16, 2017|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}
The Douglas County Library System was established in 1953, based in Roseburg and operating eight branches across the county. Two new libraries were built for Winston and Riddle in the 1960s, and in 1994, a new main branch was opened in Roseburg. The system was funded by the county government, which was heavily reliant on declining sales taxes on timber harvests on federal land, and began budget reductions in 1982. The expiration of the federal Secure Rural Schools program in 2015 further constrained funding for Douglas County,{{cite news |last=Cegavske |first=Carisa |date=September 27, 2016 |title=DeFazio pushes for Secure Rural Schools |url=http://www.nrtoday.com/news/government/defazio-pushes-for-secure-rural-schools/article_9f96e3a2-fc36-5772-b02a-223c0128d7be.html |work=The News-Review |location=Roseburg, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}} forcing the system to run on grants from the Ford Family Foundation until a public vote on funding could be held in 2016.{{cite news |date=November 28, 2015 |title=Douglas County libraries get temporary help till 2016 vote |url=http://theworldlink.com/reedsport/news/douglas-county-libraries-get-temporary-help-till-vote/article_89475c96-9e97-5f13-bc2f-8e2158143d52.html |work=The Umpqua Post |location=Reedsport, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners voted in June 2016 to place a ballot measure asking to create a public library district and fund it using a property tax of 44 cents per $1,000 in assessed value.{{cite news |last=Cegavske |first=Carisa |date=June 8, 2016 |title=Library issue will be on ballot |url=http://www.nrtoday.com/news/elections/updated-library-issue-will-be-on-ballot/article_3c03b948-2dc7-11e6-8e25-fbcda5039e7a.html |work=The News-Review |location=Roseburg, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}} During the November 2016 election, the library ballot measure was rejected by 55 percent of Douglas County voters.{{cite news |last=Cegavske |first=Carisa |date=November 8, 2016 |title=Douglas County voters reject library district |url=http://www.nrtoday.com/news/elections/douglas-county-voters-reject-library-district/article_d1bfc9a4-4983-5db7-b6a6-011bd5c29bdf.html |work=The News-Review |location=Roseburg, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}{{cite web |date=November 2016 |title=Official Final Results: November 8, 2016 Election |page=7 |url=http://www.co.douglas.or.us/clerk/election_results/election_20161108_summary.pdf |publisher=Douglas County Clerk |accessdate=June 16, 2017}} After the failure of the ballot measure, the county government sought other funding solutions, opting to run through the end of June with funds from the county's general fund.{{cite news |last=Ehrlich |first=April |date=January 10, 2017 |title=Douglas County libraries slated to close April 1 |url=http://www.nrtoday.com/news/douglas-county-libraries-slated-to-close-april/article_1058ca57-7ebf-5356-94ca-461c5fbfe935.html |work=The News-Review |location=Roseburg, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}
The ten branch locations of the library system closed on April 1, 2017.{{cite news |last=Friedman |first=Gordon R. |date=March 31, 2017 |title=Douglas County libraries to close after voters reject funding |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/03/douglas_county_libraries_to_cl.html |work=The Oregonian |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}{{cite news |last=Darling |first=Dylan |date=April 1, 2017 |title=Closures come for libraries around Douglas County; public library in Roseburg closes May 31 |url=http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/35434273-75/closures-come-for-libraries-around-douglas-county-public-library-in-roseburg-closes-may-31.html.csp |work=The Register-Guard |location=Eugene, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}} The Roseburg main branch closed on May 31, 2017, and library supporters held a wake during its final evening in service.{{cite news |last=Cegavske |first=Carisa |date=June 1, 2017 |title=Supporters give Roseburg library a wake in its final hour |url=http://www.nrtoday.com/news/government/douglas_county_government/supporters-give-roseburg-library-a-wake-in-its-final-hour/article_f5807cda-2a5e-5ceb-bd2f-9a081d593099.html |work=The News-Review |location=Roseburg, Oregon |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}
The Douglas County system became the third county library system in Oregon to be closed, after Jackson and Josephine counties closed their systems in 2007. Both systems later re-opened under non-government management in limited capacity.{{cite news |last=Swindler |first=Samantha |date=April 5, 2017 |title=When libraries close, timber counties face tough reality |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2017/04/when_libraries_close_timber_co.html |work=The Oregonian |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}{{cite news |last=Peet |first=Lisa |date=February 22, 2017 |title=Douglas County Libraries Face Closure |url=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2017/02/budgets-funding/douglas-county-libraries-face-closure/ |work=Library Journal |accessdate=June 16, 2017}}
Branches
At the time of its closure in 2017, the system operated eleven branches in the cities of Canyonville, Drain, Glendale, Myrtle Creek, Oakland, Reedsport, Riddle, Roseburg, Sutherlin, Winston, and Yoncalla. The Sutherlin Library was reopened by volunteers one day following the April closure. By the following year, nine branches had reopened under the care of volunteers with grants from city governments as well as private donations and fundraisers.{{cite news |last=Dixon Kavanaugh |first=Shane |date=June 30, 2018 |title=An Oregon county closed all its public libraries. These rural, DIY book lovers revived them |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/06/e72ef198469825/county_govt_closed_all_their_p.html |work=The Oregonian |accessdate=August 22, 2022}} The City of Roseburg reopened its library in January 2019, following a year of planning.{{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Scott |date=September 28, 2021 |title=Roseburg Public Library details progress after reopening, COVID-19 |url=https://www.nrtoday.com/news/education/roseburg-public-library-details-progress-after-reopening-covid-19/article_fd218325-3d33-5c5d-971d-4bb571f86025.html |work=The News-Review |accessdate=August 22, 2022}}
References
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{{Portal bar|Oregon}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1953 establishments in Oregon
Category:2017 disestablishments in Oregon
Category:County library systems in Oregon