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Dear Community, April is always one of my favorite months. It brings along the lovely days of spring, and also National Library Week, which takes place April 6-12 this year. The week helps us highlight the valuable role that libraries and everyday library workers play in strengthening our communities and transforming lives. Unfortunately, this is also an uncertain time for libraries. As you may know, a White House Executive Order was issued on March 14 that called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). IMLS is the only federal agency that is dedicated to funding library services, with a mission to “advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.” Funding for IMLS represents less than 0.003% of the annual federal budget, and despite the inclusion of IMLS operations in the approved 2025 budget, future funding is uncertain. On March 31, all IMLS employees were placed on administrative leave, which suspended all grants and contracts.  (For more details on the Executive Order, please visit the American Library Association’s FAQ page.) IMLS funding is provided to the State Library of Oregon, who then provides the funds to libraries throughout the state of Oregon in various ways. While the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library doesn’t directly receive funds from IMLS, these cuts will still affect us. For example, the State Library operates a Statewide Database Licensing Program, purchasing usage licenses to a variety of useful databases for all libraries across the state. The goal of the program is to equip libraries with a core set of quality online information resources that support basic library services and meet information and research needs within their communities. This [Read more]

Dear Community, Since March is Women’s History Month, I thought it would be an appropriate time to share the origin story of the Corvallis Public Library. In 1883, the Corvallis Coffee Club was formed by Mrs. Rose J. Wilson, who saw a need to serve coffee and sandwiches to firefighters on duty. She invited eight other women to join her: Mrs. L. H. Additon, Mrs. M. A. Atwood, Miss Kate Carlile, Mrs. James Cauthorn, Mrs. F. A. Helm, Miss Eda Jacobs, Miss Rose Jacobs, and Mrs. Nellie Woodward. They began their work immediately. The activities of the Coffee Club soon expanded to include a variety of other community service projects and fundraisers, and at the club’s meeting on October 30, 1899, the group voted to create a Coffee Club Library. This led to the formation of a Library Committee in charge of selecting books for the collection. The first two books purchased were Pilgrim’s Progress and World Almanac. For those especially curious, the library was housed on the same floor as the fire department! Initially, these library books were only for members of the Coffee Club. According to club minutes, it took a “liberal donation” of $30 by the firemen for them to receive “the privilege” of using the collection too! It would take another 15 years for the collection to become the official Corvallis Public Library, and 16 years after that, in 1920, the City of Corvallis assumed responsibility for the library. Mrs. Rose J. Wilson eventually became the first chair of the Library Board, and the Corvallis Coffee Club eventually became the Corvallis Woman’s Club, and to them we are immeasurably thankful! One last fun fact about our library and the women [Read more]

Dear Community, As I sit down to write this letter to you, the sun is shining through my window. It is a rare and lovely sight in January. However, clear winter weather often brings below-freezing temperatures as well. During these times, all our library locations serve as warming centers during open hours. Unfortunately, the library cannot always be open. This might be because of dangerous and challenging travel conditions for staff or because we are closed in observation of a holiday. In anticipation of these types of closures, last fall we worked on a solution with our partners at Benton County. On January 20, we put this plan into action. While the rest of the Corvallis Library was closed to observe a holiday during freezing temperatures, Benton County staff were able to open the Library’s Main Meeting Room so that community members could visit the library and stay warm. We had about 40 visitors during the open hours of 9am-4pm. Well-behaved and housebroken pets were also allowed, as pets are a common reason people do not seek refuge during extreme weather events. A group of four high school students also used the space to work on their school projects together. Visitors enjoyed snacks and hot cocoa, learned more about the resources available to them, and spent a quiet day together in a nice, warm space. We are very thankful for this partnership with Benton County. Best, Ashlee Return to all Library Director's Letters

Dear Community, As we approach the end of 2024, I would like to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible support we have received from our community throughout the year. It’s been a year of growth and exciting initiatives, all made possible because of you—the patrons, donors, and volunteers who help make the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library a vital resource for everyone in our community. We are especially excited about our recent floorplan changes at the Corvallis Public Library, and I encourage you to stop by and experience them firsthand! As you may know, we were recently closed in order to replace our outdated carpet and took the opportunity to rearrange the youth and teen sections of the library in order to create a more engaging and welcoming space. Whether you're looking for a cozy area to read with your children, a fun play space to enjoy with younger kids (and maybe meet new friends), or you are a teen looking for a great spot to study and hang out, we hope you’ll find this updated space both enjoyable and inspiring. December also brings an opportunity to shop for holiday gifts while supporting the library. The Friends of the Library’s Holiday Book Sale will be taking place on December 6 and 7, offering a curated selection of gift-quality books. It's a perfect chance to find that special present for the book lover in your life, all while supporting the continued work of the library. Here’s to a joyful, peaceful, and book-filled December for all! Warmly, Ashlee Return to December Newsletter Return to all Library Director's Letters

Dear Community, Welcome to Fall! This is my favorite season and one that is particularly enjoyable in Oregon! Not only is the weather beautiful, but we have some fantastic projects coming up at the Library! The first exciting project comes with a small dose of bittersweet news: the Corvallis Public Library will be closed from November 3 - November 18. This closure will allow for the carpet on the first floor of the library to be entirely replaced, something that has not occurred for over thirty years in some of the areas! During this time, we also plan to change some floor plan arrangements that will allow for us to create a sensory play area for younger children and a more defined space for teens. During this closure, there will be limited access to some of our items, but we plan to offer delivery service and our branch libraries will remain open. If you’ve never visited the locations we have in Alsea, Monroe, and Philomath, this would be an awesome time to check them out! Speaking of the Philomath Community Library, you may already know that this beautiful and charming branch location is a well-loved building in the community. Since the building was originally constructed, the size and needs of the Philomath community have changed substantially. To ensure that we are offering library services that meet the needs of the community, the City of Philomath recently engaged the services of Robertson Sherwood Architects to embark on a feasibility study regarding an expansion of the library. Throughout this study, RSA has studied the needs of the library patrons, the existing footprint of the building, and ideas for potential future expansion. We are now ready to [Read more]

Dear Community,Happy New Year!For many people, January brings about a time of reflection, planning and goal setting. Whether or not you happen to fall into this category, remember that the Library is here to be a resource for you all year long through our expansive collection of materials, dedicated staff and safe and welcoming spaces. I hope you all have an amazing year ahead of you.The Library also has some fun goals we are taking on in 2024! We are taking on several new initiatives including developing a new strategic plan, pursuing installation of a solar array at the Corvallis Public Library, and furthering our work in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we settle into using our new computer system, we also hope to make some of the most-requested changes from library patrons, so that your experience can be as smooth as possible. I am certain that by the end of 2024, the Library will only have continued to innovate, improve and offer you the best service possible.With all of that said, I hope you start 2024 off with a visit to your local library. There’s nothing quite so inspiring as walking through the stacks and seeing what new adventure awaits you.Best,Ashlee Return to CBCPL January 2024 Newsletter Return to all Library Director's Letters

Dear Community, I hope I am not the only one who feels like December just popped up out of nowhere! We must be having too much fun at the library—time is simply flying by. This month, I want to share my gratitude for your support. October and November were big months for the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, thanks to you. First, I’d like to thank everyone who voted in the November 2023 election. The straight renewal of the City’s Local Option Levy passed with a 66.5% yes vote. This local option levy provides nearly 35% of the library’s budget and is critical to maintaining our current service levels to the community. Thank you for the greatest level of support you could possibly show us by voting yes. Second, I’d like to thank you for your patience with our two-day closure in October. This allowed for some maintenance and changes to occur at the Corvallis Library, including new furniture in the Youth Services area. It also allowed staff in all our locations to come together for a staff development day. This annual day of learning and camaraderie is extremely important for our staff and means better service to all community members. Lastly, I’m excited to share that the results of the 2023 Corvallis Community Survey have been released. This statistically valid survey occurs every two years and asks community members about their satisfaction with City of Corvallis services. I’m happy to say that 96% of Corvallis community members ranked public library services as either good or excellent. This score puts us at the top of our national benchmarks and is an improvement from our 2021 score of 91%. We have even more amazing things planned [Read more]

Dear Community, It really has been a transformative and busy summer at the Library! First, I want to extend my gratitude for your patience as the Library transitioned to a new computer system. I hope you are enjoying the new online catalog, auto-renewals of your library materials as they come due, the ability to manage notifications, and a seamless experience in checking out downloadable items. Please know there are still enhancements and fixes that we are continuously working on. I expect that you will continue to find new services to enjoy and that if you have any frustrations, they will soon be remedied. We welcome your feedback and the opportunity to ensure you have the best possible experience using the library. Also, I am hopeful that everyone enjoyed our Summer Reading program. It was wonderful to see so many of you at our events and visiting our libraries these past few months. A massive thanks to the Friends of the Library who continue to financially support this annual program by providing funding for a variety of high-quality performers and giveaway books for all ages. The fall season will bring many more improvements and fun programs your way. As always, delivery services will continue to be offered. If you find yourself too busy to visit the library in the upcoming busy season and haven’t tried delivery before, I encourage you to sign up and enjoy the convenience of it. Best,Ashlee Return to CBCPL September 2023 Newsletter Return to all Library Director's Letters

Dear Community, As you may have heard, the Library is in the process of upgrading to a new computer system. This system will roll out on June 20 — less than a month away! This means that you’ll see some changes in the library’s online catalog and start to hear about new and useful services we will offer. We have spent a lot of time working on getting the system to as close as perfect as we can before releasing it and we think you’ll be very pleased with what you see and experience! However, we all know that there is always a learning curve with new systems and we realize we may need to make some adjustments after we launch the new system. Your feedback is always welcomed. There are a few changes coming that I know will be hard for folks but please know that these changes make your accounts more safe and secure. Additionally, our new system also comes with many perks we know you will enjoy. We appreciate your flexibility, patience and adaptability. We have had the same computer system for over 20 years so this is a big change for all of us! Lastly, I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported the Friends of the Library by shopping at the Big Book Sale last month. Thanks to your purchases at the sale, you continue to help fund our summer programs, maker space supplies, staff trainings and much more. We really appreciate you. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer — we hope to see you at the Library! Best, Ashlee Return to CBCPL June 2023 Newsletter Return to all Library Director's Letters [Read more]