Beaverton City Library seeks entries for local authors' book fair

The Beaverton City Library will host a free local authors' book fair on Saturday, May 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 12375 S.W. Fifth Street.

The library is seeking writers from Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas counties to apply for a space to share and promote their latest work. All genres are welcome, including adult, young adult, and children's literature. Selected authors will receive table space to discuss and sell their books.

There is no cost to participate and authors will keep 100 percent of proceeds from sales. In exchange, the library requests that each participating author donate two books, one of which will be raffled off to attendees and the other of which will be considered for inclusion in the library's collection.

Donated books not added to the collection will be sold by the New Friends of the Beaverton Library to support library programs and services. Up to six authors will be invited to speak or read from their work at the event. Participants will be chosen by random drawing.

Applications are due on Tuesday, March 15, 2016.  For more information or to request an application, contact Helen Butler.

Winter holiday closures for WCCLS member libraries

Please note most WCCLS member libraries will have reduced hours for the upcoming holidays... but remember that you can download e-books and audiobooks anytime!


Check here for regular WCCLS member library hours.

Library	Thurs., Dec. 24	Fri., Dec. 25	Thurs., Dec. 31	Fri., Jan. 1
Banks	Closed	Closed	Closing at 3pm	Closed
Beaverton	Closing at 5pm	Closed	Closing at 5pm	Closed
Beaverton at Murray Scholls	Closing at 5pm	Closed	Closing at 5pm	Closed
Cedar Mill	Closed	Closed	Closing at 5pm	Closed
Cedar Mill at Bethany	Closed	Closed	Closing at 5pm	Closed
Cornelius	Closing at 2pm	Closed	Closing at 5pm	Closed
Forest Grove	Closing at 2pm	Closed through Dec. 27	Normal hours	Closed
Garden Home	Closing at 3pm	Closed	Closing at 3pm	Closed
Hillsboro Main Library	Closing at 4pm	Closed	Closing at 4pm	Closed
Hillsboro Shute Park Branch	Closing at 4pm	Closed	Closing at 4pm	Closed
North Plains	Closing at 2pm	Closed	Normal hours	Closed
Oregon College of Art and Craft	Closed Dec. 23 to Jan. 4
Sherwood	Closing at 2pm	Closed	Closing at 5pm	Closed
Tigard	Regular closure	Closed	Regular closure	Closed
Tualatin	Closing at 6pm	Closed	Closing at 6pm	Closed
Tuality Health Resource Center	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed
West Slope	Closing at 4pm	Closed	Closing at 4pm	Closed

Cornelius Library awarded $500,000 grant for new library

Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici today announced a grant to help the City of Cornelius build a new library and community convening space. The award comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Challenge Grant program and recognizes Cornelius Library’s commitment to improve the cultural and civic life of the city.

“The city of Cornelius deserves tremendous credit for its hard work to earn this extremely competitive grant,” said Senator Wyden. “A new library and public space will provide residents of all ages with a wonderful asset for learning and community.”

“In many of our rural communities, libraries are the heart of the community,” said Senator Merkley. “They are a gathering space for people of all ages to learn and grow, and serve as a crucial link for so many Oregonians whose only internet access may be the local library. This new library in Cornelius will help enrich the community and as a bonus will provide much needed senior affordable housing. This is a great day for the Cornelius community.”

“Thank you to the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Cornelius Library is an important part of the community, and they truly deserve support for their expansion,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “Many Cornelius residents have no internet access at home and they rely on the library for important tasks like applying for jobs or checking their children’s grades. This expansion will include a much-needed community space, increase community access to computers, and provide local affordable housing.”

“There is no better community for this investment,” said Karen Hill, Library Director. “Cornelius has the highest level of poverty and illiteracy in Washington County. The new space is designed to yield some amazing opportunities to provide new and expanded literacy and cultural services to the community.”

Cornelius expects to begin construction in December 2016 on the new three-story building that will have a library and community space on the first floor and affordable senior apartments (funded separately by development partner Bienestar, Inc.) on the second and third floors. The new library will expand from 3,000 square feet to almost 14,000 square feet, with a 100-person community meeting room, four conference/study rooms, a teen zone and large collections of children’s and Spanish language books. Because this is a challenge grant, the Cornelius Library will need to raise $1.5 million in matching funds from donors.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States.  The Cornelius Library is a member of Washington County Cooperative Library Services.

Banks Library bookdrop temporarily closed

The Banks Library has had to close the media and book drops because of leaks from excessive rain. Once everything is dried out and the rain slows down, the book and media drops will be reopened. Please return items inside the library during library hours or drop them at another library if that isn't possible. Call the library at 503 324-1382 with any concerns.

Thank you for your patience during this wet time!

New Notes in the WCCLS Catalog

As of today, you’ll start to see more items in the WCCLS online catalog and mobile catalog with Notes. Notes contain added locational or informational details about specific items.

For example, notes may help you locate what you're looking for; such as an item on display or the bottom shelf because it is oversize.  It will also let you know if the item cannot ship to another library, and must be picked up at the owning library if you place a hold.

If you have any questions about the notes, or need more information on searching the WCCLS catalog, please contact your local library.