Hillsboro Public Library

space. [Fentress, Aaron. Books by light rail. "The Oregonian", September 24 1998.]

Two times in 2002 and again in 2004, the city had property tax levies on the ballot to build a new $25 million library.Bermudez, Esmeralda. Bookish applaud library deal. "The Oregonian", September 1 2005.] Plans called for building a convert|60000|sqft|m2|sing=on building on Cornell Road at 206th in the Tanasbourne area to replace the Tanasbourne branch. [Stranzl, Justin. Hillsboro hosts final library proposal open house. "Daily Journal of Commerce", July 8 2004.] The levies to build the new library and remodel the Shute Park location failed. The first measure in 2002 received majority support at the voting booth, but lost due to low voter turnout and the state’s double-majority law. [Turner, Anne M. Balloting Backs Growth; Local support for libraries slows but remains firm, as 60 percent of building measures are upheld despite tight races "Library Journal", March 15 2003.] The library closed the Books by Rail branch in 2003 due to a reduced budget. [Anderson, David R. Hillsboro libraries cutting back hours, more. "The Oregonian", January 29 2003.] Hillsboro cut their library funding by $350,000 that year. [Recession, 2003: more cutbacks and closures; News Fronts; libraries suffer throughout the United States due to reduced public funds. "American Libraries", August 1 2003.] In 2005, the city decided on an alternate plan of buying an existing building and renovating it at a total cost of $13 million, with $1 million of the funds coming from private donations.

The city purchased a two-story, convert|77000|sqft|m2|sing=on office building on Northeast Brookwood Parkway near the Hillsboro Airport for $6.8 million in September 2005. With the opening of the new location in a more central area of Hillsboro, the Tanasbourne location was closed with its inventory moved to the new main branch. The new library location opened in May 2007 after the building was renovated.

Facilities and services

The Hillsboro Main Library branch is housed on the first floor of the city owned building, utilizing convert|38000|sqft|m2. [Bermudez, Esmeralda. Get a peek at future site of library at open house. "The Oregonian", April 20 2006.] The library’s collection includes more than 200,000 items. [Gregory, Roger. [http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2007/05/new_hillsboro_library_opens_it.html New Hillsboro library opens its doors today.] "The Oregonian", May 20 2007.] Story readings at the main library are given in a variety of languages including Mandarin, Japanese, Bengali, and Spanish. Additionally, the branch has books in roughly 50 languages.Suh, Elizabeth. Residents flock to new main library east of Hillsboro airport. "The Oregonian", September 20 2007.] This branch includes a privately owned coffee shop with leased space in the building.Rostami, Marjon. Library's coffee court hoping sales percolate. "The Oregonian", July 12 2007.] There are approximately 300 parking spaces at the site. [Bermudez, Esmeralda. New city library to open in mid-May. "The Oregonian", April 12 2007.]

Opened in 1975, the Shute Park Branch is the oldest of the two libraries in the system. The building was designed by Will Martin and cost $760,000 to build. With convert|15000|sqft|m2, it is also the smaller of the two locations. [http://www.hillsboro.plinkit.org/about-us/our-libraries/shute-park-branch.html Shute Park Branch.] Hillsboro Public Library. Retrieved February 4 2008.] The building is triangular in shape, with the north facing wall all glass. Shute Park houses over 105,000 library articles ranging from books and videos to audio materials and periodicals. It contains 36 seats and 31 computer terminals. The branch also houses the collection of the "Hillsboro Independent" and "The Hillsboro Argus" newspapers, dating back to 1887. [ [http://libweb.uoregon.edu/govdocs/indexing/statewideindexes.html Oregon Newspaper Index: Indexes maintained by libraries in Oregon.] University of Oregon Libraries. Retrieved February 4 2008.]

Circulation

As of 2004, the library system had a service area population of 150,000 residents.Bermudez, Esmeralda. Hillsboro looks at options for new library. "The Oregonian", April 14 2005.] That year the Tanasbourne branch served 401,000 people and the Shute Park branch 273,000 people. In 2006, the library system had a rating of 683 from the Hennen's American Public Library Ratings, [ [http://www.haplr-index.com/States/or.html Oregon.] Hennen's American Public Library Ratings. Retrieved on February 4 2008.] down from 705 in 2004. [Anderson, Daivd R. Beaverton city library’s rating in study jumps, keeping it top-ranked in county. "The Oregonian", November 4 2004.]

For 2006 to 2007, combined the library has over 286,000 items in its collections and a circulation of over 1.75 million. [http://www.osl.state.or.us/home/libdev/stats/pl0607/pl0607web.xls Oregon Public Library Statistics.] Oregon State Library. Retrieved on February 4 2008.] Revenue for the library totals $5.6 million, with expenditures slightly exceeding that number. Between the two branches there are 55 staff members including librarians. Hillsboro Public Library has 59,275 library card holders, and is part of the Washington County Cooperative Library Service. Total visits were 644,000. The library is the third largest in Oregon by population served.

References

External links

* [http://libraryfoundationhillsboro.org/ The Library Foundation of Hillsboro]
* [http://www.hillsborolibraryfriends.org/ Friends of the Hillsboro Public Library]
* [http://www.wccls.org/your_libraries/detail.cfm?lc=HPLM Hillsboro Main Library]