The Cornelius Public Library is the municipal library serving the city of Cornelius in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. Founded in 1912, the library is part of the

Washington County Cooperative Library Services Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) is the library system serving Washington County, Oregon. WCCLS distributes tax funds to libraries. It was established in 1975. Libraries WCCLS is made up of 16 libraries which are operated b ...

History

Mrs. Wilkins registered the first library in Cornelius in 1912, which consisted of a single shelf at a local

pool room A billiard room (also billiards room, or more specifically pool room, snooker room) is a recreation room, such as in a house or recreation center, with a billiards, pool or snooker table (The term "billiard room" or "pool room" may also be use ...

. The Cornelius Women's Civic Club later leased a room at the

fire station __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire apparatus, fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equ ...

, and in 1914 the city began taxing residents to pay for the library. The tax rate was increased in 1916 in order to allow the library to expand. A Spanish language program was added in 1984, and the library also closed for a short time in the 1980s due to budget cuts. In 2010, the library was awarded a $20,000 grant to help design a new building. The city then developed plans for a mix-use project combining a new library building with affordable housing for senior citizens. A bond measure to raise $2.4 million for the city's portion of the project was placed on the November 2013 ballot, but did not pass. After plans for the new library were voted down, the state provided $2.4 million for the project in March 2014. Washington County provided grants totaling just over $1 million to the project in March 2015. Plans for the new library included space for chambers for the city council as well as for 3-D printer. The library introduced adventure packs that consist of themed backpacks with books and other supplies to encourage reading in 2015 after a grant from the Oregon International Airshow. In December 2015, the library received a $500,000 challenge grant from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, which was followed by another $500,000 from the 2015-16 Oregon Legislature. The project received a donation of $70,000 from the

Walters family Walters may refer to: Places United States * Walters, Minnesota, a city * Walters, Oklahoma, a city * Walters, Virginia, an unincorporated community Other uses * Walters (surname) * Walters (character), a character on ''Tale Spin'' *The Walters, a ...

in November 2017.

References

External links

Cornelius Library kicks off centennial celebration
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The Hillsboro Argus ''The Hillsboro Argus'' was a twice-weekly newspaper in the city of Hillsboro, Oregon, from 1894 to 2017, known as the ''Washington County Argus'' for its final year. The ''Argus'' was distributed in Washington County, Oregon, United States. First ...

{{Authority control 1912 establishments in Oregon Buildings and structures in Washington County, Oregon Cornelius, Oregon Libraries established in 1912 Washington County Cooperative Library Services