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Timberland Regional Library

{{Short description|Public library system in Washington}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox library

| library_name = Timberland Regional Library

| library_logo = File:Timberland Regional Library new logo.png

| image = Centralia Timberland Library.jpg

| caption = Centralia branch in Lewis County

| type = Public library

| established = 1968

| location = Western Washington, U.S.

| coordinates = {{coord|47|02|38|N|122|49|21|W|display=inline,title}}

| num_branches = 27 locations

| collection_size = 1.2 million items

| req_to_access =

| annual_circulation = 4.5 million

| pop_served = 496,075

| members = 240,508

| budget =

| director = Cheryl Heywood

| num_employees = 250

| website = {{URL|trl.org}}

| references = Washington Public Library Statistical Report, 2016{{cite web |date=October 2017 |title=2016 Washington Public Library Statistical Report |url=https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/library/libraries/libDev/2016stats.pdf |publisher=Washington State Library |accessdate=December 25, 2017}}

}}

Timberland Regional Library (TRL) is a public library system serving the residents of western Washington state, United States including Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties. Timberland Regional Library has 27 community libraries, 2 cooperative library centers, and 3 library kiosks. 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 and local sources.{{cite news |date=August 15, 1968 |title=Regional Library Plan: Voters To Decide TLD's Future |page=18 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16049051/timberland_library_vote_1968/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} 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.{{cite web |date=March 2013 |title=TRL Board of Trustees Manual: A History of Timberland Regional Library |url=http://www.trl.org/About/Board%20Manual/HISTORY.BD-031813.pdf |publisher=Timberland Regional Library |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} The Timberland Library Demonstration relied on the Washington State Library to process its books, which were also stored in municipal libraries. The system debuted its bookmobile in September 1964, based in Centralia and traveling on ten routes between rural areas in all five counties.{{cite news |date=June 17, 1968 |title=Free Library 'Ride' To End In Nov. 5 Election |page=1 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16050326/timberland_library_bookmobile_june_1968/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}}{{cite news |date=August 29, 1964 |title=Timberland Demonstration: Bookmobile Service Set In County |page=7 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16049966/timberland_bookmobile_1964/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} 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.{{cite news |date=June 22, 1966 |title=Timberland: Library Vote Postponed |page=1 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16050085/timberland_library_vote_1966/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} 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.{{cite news |last=Koenninger |first=Tom |date=August 13, 1966 |title=Timberland Library Battles For Survival |page=7 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16050133/timberland_library_survival_1966/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} After months of negotiation, the two counties reversed their decision, allowing the demonstration project to continue for another two years.{{cite news |date=December 14, 1966 |title=Timberland: Threat to Library Lifted |page=1 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16050160/timberland_library_threat_1966/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}}

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.{{cite news |date=November 11, 1968 |title=Timberland: Board To Be Selected |page=1 |work=The Daily Chronicle |location=Centralia, Washington |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16050437/timberland_library_approved_1968/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} 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.{{cite news |last=Boone |first=Rolf |date=May 20, 2023 |title=Timberland Regional Library system weighs closing rural branch, shift to mobile services |url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article275576551.html |work=The Olympian |accessdate=June 12, 2023}}

=Library relocations=

On October 21, 1996, the North Mason branch in Belfair was divided into three sections and shipped {{convert|16|mi|km}} by barge on Hood Canal to 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.{{cite news |last=Grady |first=Vanessa |date=October 21, 1996 |title=N. Mason library move overdue |page=A2 |work=Kitsap Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/kitsap-sun-n-mason-library-move-overdue/126154775/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 12, 2023}}{{cite news |date=October 22, 1996 |title=Library makes trip down Hood Canal |page=C1 |work=The Olympian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-olympian-library-makes-trip-down-hoo/126323476/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 12, 2023}} The Hoodsport branch opened in March 1997, following renovations and the replacement of the roof.{{cite news |last=Gerhardt |first=Taryn |date=March 11, 1997 |title=Hoodsport library opens its doors |page=C3 |work=The Olympian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-olympian-hoodsport-library-opens-its/126323530/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 12, 2023}} The new building for the North Mason branch opened in March 1998 after a year of construction.{{cite news |last=Jones |first=D. Eric |date=March 17, 1998 |title=Mason County library opens |page=C3 |work=The Olympian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-olympian-mason-county-library-opens/126323632/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=June 12, 2023}}

The TRL proposed a similar building swap in 2023 to relocate the Amanda Park branch to Randle, {{convert|153|mi|km}} to the east.{{cite news |last=Mikkelsen |first=Drew |date=June 9, 2023 |title=Amanda Park library could be moved 150 miles to save costs |url=https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/amanda-park-library-could-be-moved-save-costs/281-4cf958c1-ba72-44b9-a139-2f663c971f13 |publisher=KING 5 News |accessdate=June 12, 2023}} 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.{{cite news |last=Boone |first=Rolf |date=June 8, 2023 |title=Timberland staff recommends moving Amanda Park library branch to Lewis County |url=https://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article276210641.html |work=The Olympian |accessdate=June 12, 2023}}

=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.Thurston County Elections website. Accessed 3/28/2009. {{cite web |url=http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/thurston/Pages/ElectionResults.aspx?e=20090203 |title=Election Results |accessdate=2009-03-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413101920/http://wei.secstate.wa.gov/thurston/Pages/ElectionResults.aspx?e=20090203 |archivedate=2009-04-13 }} 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.The Olympian, March 16, 2009. Accessed on The Olympian's website on 3/28/2009. http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/788736.html{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}

Branches

The Timberland Regional Library system has 27 community libraries and four kiosks serving most cities in its five-county area.{{cite web |title=Timberland Library Locations |url=http://www.trl.org/Locations/Pages/Locations.aspx |publisher=Timberland Regional Library |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} The cities of Mossyrock, Napavine, Ocean Shores, Pe Ell, and Vader are not part of the library's district.{{cite web |date=December 19, 2012 |title=2012 Action Plan Status Report |url=http://www.trl.org/About/BoardDocs/Action%20Plan%20Status%20Report%20December%202012.pdf |publisher=Timberland Regional Library |accessdate=December 27, 2017}} 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 and digital audiobooks, provided by the digital distributor OverDrive, can be downloaded from the library's website.

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Zine collection

The Olympia branch has a special collection of zines, many created by local authors.{{cite news|newspaper=Northwest Military|location=Tacoma|title=South Sound zine scene|author=Tammy Robacker |date=May 29, 2008|url=http://www.northwestmilitary.com/archives/2008/05/south-sound-zine-scene/}}{{cite web|url=https://zines.barnard.edu/zine-libraries|title=Zine libraries|publisher=Barnard College|work=Barnard Zine Collection|access-date=May 22, 2020}} There were over 2,000 zines in the collection {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.{{citation|title=Olympia Zine Festival|author=Micheal Martinez-Esquibel|date=October 12, 2016|work=Cooper Point Journal|url=https://www.cooperpointjournal.com/2016/10/12/olympia-zine-festival-the-second-annual-fest-featured-zines-workshops-and-activities/}}

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.

References

External links

  • [http://www.trl.org/ Timberland Regional Library]

{{Washington library systems}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:County library systems in Washington (state)

Category:Education in Grays Harbor County, Washington

Category:Education in Lewis County, Washington

Category:Education in Mason County, Washington

Category:Pacific County, Washington

Category:Education in Thurston County, Washington

Category:Government agencies established in 1968