Washington County Libraries: Writing Our Future Together

How libraries work in Washington County

As a resident of Washington County, you know it is a special and unique place to live. What you may not know is that in Washington County, we run our public libraries in a unique way, too. Since 1976, public library services have been provided to the community in a cooperative partnership that has grown to include Washington County, 9 cities, and 3 non-profit agencies.

WCCLS provides:

• More than $28 million in operational funding annually, supported by the county's general fund and voter-approved 5-year operating levy.
• E-books and audiobooks, central services, and internet to link local libraries into one system that anyone can use, whether you live in North Plains or Beaverton, Garden Home or Sherwood.

Partner library operators (cities and nonprofits) provide: 

• Library buildings, staff, physical collections, and local programs and events.
• Cities also provide funding to their libraries, which comes from their city’s tax base.
• Non-profit agencies run libraries in unincorporated areas of Washington County, like Aloha, Bethany, Cedar Mill, Garden Home and West Slope. These non-profit libraries lease their buildings, and contribute some operational funding to their libraries, which comes from local fundraising efforts.

Challenges with our service model and funding

Washington County libraries are busy places and enthusiastically supported in our communities. However, the cooperative model of providing library services in Washington County, and the way we distribute funding, also brings challenges. 

• Like so many public agencies in Oregon, public libraries serve an increasing community need, yet the cost of delivering services is growing faster than our revenue. WCCLS has not asked voters for an increase in the levy rate since 2015. In fiscal year 2024 – 2025, the levy represents 45% of WCCLS’ revenue.
• The library cooperative has an opportunity to find efficiencies by providing more services centrally, which reduces costs while maintaining service levels.
• The way funding was distributed between partners in the past created unintended consequences, where some communities received higher levels of county investment, and others did not, which does not fulfill our commitment to make library services accessible for all county residents.
• See the Current State Assessment for more information on the challenges we are seeking to address.