Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries (FVRL) is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

system in southwestern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state. It serves a four-county area centered around the city of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, where the system is headquartered. FVRL has 15 library branches, two

bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

s, and online services for its 147,000 patrons. The service area includes

Clark Clark is an English language surname with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland, ultimately derived from the Latin ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educated ...

, Klickitat, and Skamania counties, and portions of

Cowlitz County Cowlitz County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 110,730. The county seat is Kelso, Washington, Kelso, and its l ...

. The library district was established in 1950 as the first inter-county rural library district in Washington. The collection for the district includes 705,000 items, including books and eBooks, magazines and eMagazines, DVDs, audio book CDs and eAudio, and streaming video.

Description

The Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries system has 15 branches and two

s that serve an area of across four counties in Southwest Washington. Its service area includes all of

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

except for Camas, all of

Klickitat County Klickitat County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,735. The county seat and largest city is Goldendale. The county is named after the Klickitat tribe and contains part of the Y ...

, all of

Skamania County Skamania County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,036. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, although the Carson River Valley CDP is more populous. Ska ...

, and two areas in

: the city of

Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

and the independent Yale Valley Library District. , FVRL has over 147,000 active patrons and an annual circulation of 5.4million for its 705,000 items, which include physical and digital materials. Its libraries have a combined footprint of and an estimated 1.3million annual visits. The library district is governed by a

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

with seven members who are each appointed by local governments to seven-year terms. The Clark County Council appoints three members, while the

Vancouver City Council Vancouver City Council is the governing body of Vancouver, British Columbia. The council consists of a mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city ...

appoints two members and county commissions of Klickitat and Skamania counties each appoint one member. The appointments are confirmed by the three full county members of the district.

History

Early libraries

The earliest recorded circulating library in Southwest Washington was the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

Library, which began as early as 1833. Records indicate that the library was located in

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

, and provided service to officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. The service ended in 1843. The Vancouver Catholic Library Association was established between the years of 1865 and 1870, and in 1872 was reported to maintain a collection of 1,000 volumes. The library was closed in 1886, and the collection was dispersed. The Vancouver Library Association was formed on January 11, 1877. An initial collection of 27 books was gathered and housed in the same building as the Vancouver Independent, the local newspaper of the period. In 1878, the Good Templar Lodge disbanded and donated its collection of books and furniture to the Odd Fellows Lodge, for the purpose of setting up a free reading room. In December 1878, the Vancouver Library Association moved its small collection of books from the offices of the Independent to the newly established Free Reading Room. By 1891, the library had changed locations several times and was in danger of being closed due to lack of funds. A petition was put before the city council to establish a tax-supported public library, and on April 4 of that year the request was granted. This tax supported library came to be called the Vancouver Public Library. The first librarian for the Vancouver Library was C. W. Shane. In 1895, Mr. Shane noticed that many young people enjoyed reading, so he opened a circulating library of his own, called the Shane Library, specifically for the area youth. In 1908, Edward Swan, an attorney, solicited the Home Trust Company for Carnegie Library Funds to build a new library. The request was approved, and by the middle of 1909 the new library building was completed. Over the next 30 years, the Vancouver Public Library, headed by Mrs. Marion Pirkey, grew to nearly 20,000 volumes. Meanwhile, another library was taking shape in

, in the town of Camas, Washington. In 1923, a collection of books was gathered together and housed at a local drug store. After two years the collection was moved to an alcove at Camas City Hall, and later it was moved again to the Telephone Building. The popularity of the library grew over the next decade as Camas experienced rapid industrial growth. It was decided that a professional librarian was needed, and in January 1932 Eva Santee was hired. The library was well supported, and in 1939 a bond was passed supporting the building of a new library. In 1940, Eva Santee took over as librarian of the Vancouver Public Library, and worked to set up rural library service for the outlying areas of Clark County and

Bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

service was established and proved successful. When the United States entered into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1942, Vancouver was heavily impacted due to the heavy population growth as workers flocked to the area to work at the

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...

. To support this new population, a petition was passed to establish a county library district. The measure was passed, and the first rural library district in Washington was established. Near the end of 1942, another library system came into existence, through the Vancouver Housing Authority. Library quarters were set up in each housing project in the area. Funding difficulties for both the Vancouver Public Library and the Housing Authority Libraries caused some staff to leave the system, until only Eva Santee and a children's librarian remained. In March 1943, all three library systems met and agreed to work together to provide library service to the area. Each system took on a variety of responsibilities, with the Vancouver Public Library providing the headquarters, the County Library maintaining the rural bookmobile services, and the Housing Authority Libraries maintaining a portion of the collection and providing some clerical personnel. In 1944 the Clark County Library took over administration of the Vancouver Housing Authority Libraries. These libraries were located in the following neighborhoods: *McLoughlin Heights *Bagley Downs *Harney Hill *Fruit Valley Homes *Burton Homes *Ogden Meadows In February, 1944 the Washougal Public Library in

Washougal, Washington Washougal ( ) is a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,039 as of the 2020 census. Etymology The name Washougal originated from a Chinookan term of disputed meaning that was recorded by fur trader Alexander R ...

was made a branch of the Clark County Library System. The Washougal Public Library had its start in 1924 through the Washougal Women's Club. The library was housed in a variety of buildings. When the Library was integrated into the County Library System, the collection was moved to Washougal City Hall. On April 1, 1944 the Battle Ground Library was opened in the Odd Fellows Hall of

Battle Ground, Washington Battle Ground is a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,743 at the 2020 census. As of 2023, its population is 22,285. History Name Battle Ground got its name from a standoff between a group of the Klickitat p ...

as part of the County Library System. Over the next 5 years, the idea of unifying the County and the City Library systems was continuously discussed, without agreement being reached. It was not until July 1, 1950 that the two systems were successfully merged to form the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System, under the direction of Eva Santee. At that time, the system consisted of one main library, six branch libraries, and two bookmobiles. Though the new Regional Library District provided some service to schools in

, Skamania was not officially a part of the new District. Also, Camas City Library, though located in

, was not a part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District.

Later 20th century through early 21st century

Eva Santee retired in 1967 and was replaced as library director by Ruth Watson, who served from 1969-1987. During this time, the library opened up a new location in the Vancouver Mall and expanded its area of service to include

. In 1988, Sharon Hamer became library director, and in 1993, the library catalog first became remotely accessible via dialup using the Dynix integrated library system. Bruce Ziegman took over as director in 2001. In 2009, Battle Ground Community Library was re-opened in a larger location, and new libraries were opened in Cascade Park and downtown Vancouver. Following Ziegman's departure in 2011, Operations Director Patty Duitman was appointed to be interim executive director by the Board of Trustees. Nancy Tessman, formerly of

Salt Lake City Public library The Salt Lake City Public Library system's main branch building is an architecturally unique structure in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is located at 210 East, 400 South, across from the Salt Lake City and County Building and Washington Square. ...

, was selected as the new director in 2012, and served through 2015. She was succeeded by current director Amelia Shelley in 2015. In 2018, the district was formally rebranded from Fort Vancouver Regional Library District to Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries.

Locations

References

General citations

*Newsom, Harry Edwin (1954)
"Fort Vancouver Regional Library; A Study Of The Development Of Public Library Service in Clark and Skamania Counties, Washington,"
Thesis, University of Washington.

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Clark County, Washington County library systems in Washington (state) Education in Clark County, Washington Education in Cowlitz County, Washington Education in Klickitat County, Washington Education in Skamania County, Washington