Director’s Letter

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 As you may know, we were recently closed in order to replace our outdated carpet and took the opportunity to rearrange the youth and teen sections of the library in order to create a more engaging and welcoming space.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, As August rolls in, I am excited to share the highlights of a bustling summer at our libraries. Thanks to your enthusiasm and participation, our Summer Reading Program has been a resounding success! Year after year, we see a record number of participants, and this year we expect to smash our old numbers once again. It’s been wonderful to meet so many inspiring readers. Even though August is often a quiet month for us, we’re not slowing down! We’re in the middle of some fantastic projects that promise to enhance our libraries and your experiences with us: Philomath Community Library Expansion: I’m happy to share that we are conducting a feasibility study regarding an expansion of the Philomath Community Library. This potential expansion would provide more space, resources, and opportunities for all. In October, we plan to have several events seeking public input, as well as a few potential designs for review. Corvallis Public Library Goes Green: Sustainability is key to our future, and we’re taking a significant step in that direction by installing solar panels on the Corvallis Public Library. This initiative will help us reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs, and keep us working toward our goal of being good environmental stewards. Improved Services at the Monroe Community Library: Patrons visiting the Monroe Community Library can now scan documents for free using the library’s copier. In the coming months, there will also be some shifting of the collections so that items are easier to find and browse. These changes might seem small, but they add up to better service for our community members. Alsea Community Library Art Installation: Arts and culture is thriving at the Alsea Community Library! As [Read more]

Dear Community, As April begins to paint our surroundings in vibrant hues, we have a plethora of exciting events here at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. This month is especially meaningful to us at the Library because April is when we celebrate National Library Week! This year’s theme is “Ready, Set, Library!” and promotes the idea that in our always-online world, libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most. During this time, we encourage you to explore, become inspired, and connect with the library in whatever way fits your lifestyle best. While I know patrons and community members appreciate the invaluable contributions the library makes to our community, it’s also helpful to understand the scope of that impact. Here are a few statistics that you might find interesting. Did you know that we see an average of 630 people sign up for a library card every month? Or that through the hard work of staff and volunteers, we fill an average of 26,300 holds each month? Perhaps even more surprising is that the libraries in our system see an average of almost 35,000 visits per month. This is the perfect time for me to express my gratitude to all our staff and volunteers, who come to work each day at the Library with a sense of purpose, passion, and enthusiasm. A library is more than a building and it’s thanks to these amazing individuals that we can provide excellent service to the community. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to seeing you this April! Warm regards, Ashlee Return to April Newsletter Return [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]

Happy Spring and Happy National Library Week! National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians, and library workers play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. This year, National Library Week takes place from April 23 to 29 and is being celebrated with the theme “There’s More to the Story.” This year’s theme is a reminder that libraries are about more than books! Libraries are welcoming spaces that bring communities together for entertainment, education, and connection through book clubs, storytimes, movie nights, crafting classes, lectures, and more. Libraries also play a critical role in the economic vitality of communities by providing internet and technology access, literacy skills, and support for job seekers, small businesses, and entrepreneurs. That isn't to say libraries are not facing some difficult times. Just this week, the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom released new data documenting 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling this data more than 20 years ago. This nearly doubles the 729 challenges reported in 2021. 58% of these challenges targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula and 41% of the book challenges targeted materials in public libraries. I also want to focus on the many victories we can celebrate here in Corvallis and Benton County. Here are just a few: The Corvallis Library finished a construction project that expanded the square footage of the building, adding four new study rooms, a reading lounge, and a small classroom space. In partnership with the Alsea Community Effort, we began new fundraising efforts to support the Alsea Community Library and received several large [Read more]

After observing National Banned Book Week in September, and with recent headlines about the rise in book challenges across the country, it seems appropriate to talk a little more about the topic. The American Library Association (ALA) reports that between January 1 and August 31 of this year, there were 681 attempts to ban or restrict library resources in the United States, targeting 1,651 unique titles. This is an unprecedented number. In 2021, there were 729 reported attempts to censor library resources, which is the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began documenting these numbers over 20 years ago. We are well on our way to outpacing that number in 2022. Here at CBCPL, we always offer patrons the opportunity to file a formal “reconsideration request" in addition to providing feedback. In these cases, patrons fill out a form that documents their concerns and our response to their request. We have received 4 requests so far in 2022, and we received 11 in 2021. Both of these are high numbers for the state of Oregon, though not the highest in our state, either. These numbers do not include “informal” requests, where a patron may suggest the removal of an item or provide feedback for our consideration on a particular item in the collection. During the review process, our library’s management team and the selector for that particular collection analyze the item in question to determine if it violates the principles found in our guiding documents. Our two main guiding documents for the selection of library materials are the American Library Association’s Bill of Rights and a City of Corvallis Administrative Policy that covers the Selection of Library Materials. The ALA Freedom to [Read more]