Company Profile
Company Overview
The Hood River County Library District is dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of reading and culture, responding to the community's need for information, and enriching quality of life for its patrons. The library serves approximately 24,000 people in a county that is changing constantly. Library users checked out over 135,000 items in 2014-15. All three libraries are crucial sources of free public Internet access and electronic information, with over 11,000 Internet sessions logged in 2014-15 by residents and visitors alike on the library's computers. The Hood River Library was expanded in 2003 and now boasts nearly 20,000 square feet of space for programs, collections, and public computers, as well as a beautiful set of gardens that are at the center of downtown Hood River. Cascade Locks and Parkdale are located in the busy centers of their communities, housed in the City Hall and Community Center respectively. Between taxes, donations, and other income sources, the district will have a budget of $1.3 million in 2016-17. HRCLD is a member of the Sage Library System, Libraries of Eastern Oregon, and the Metropolitan Interlibrary eXchange (MIX).
In addition to spending a large portion of its budget on collections, HRCLD is dedicated to strong programming. Adults, kids, and teens alike have access to programs ranging from storytimes, concerts, hands-on classes, lectures, an extremely popular community reads program, a busy Summer Reading Program for all ages, and much more. Staff also do extensive outreach within the community and weekly on the radio, especially to the nearly one-third of county residents of Latino or Hispanic heritage, the largest proportion of any county in the state. In 2015-16, over 30,000 people will have been touched by a library program. HRCLD is among the busiest libraries of its size in Oregon for program attendance.
The district also enjoys very supportive Friends of the Library and Library Foundation groups. The two groups contribute over $65,000 annually to HRCLD's budget. The Friends of the Library make up the core of the library's volunteers, who gave over 4,000 hours in 2014-15. The Library Foundation is tireless in its fundraising, including by coordinating its annual Feast of Words gala fundraiser that brings in $25,000-30,000 annually.
Hood River County is in the heart of Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area and includes Mount Hood and its National Forest. The area is world-renowned for its beauty and outdoor recreation. It is among the top-ranked areas in the world for windsurfing, kiteboarding, and sailing. Mount Hood is one of the few mountains in the area to boast skiing and snowboarding opportunities nearly year round. Others come to enjoy the area for its kayaking, cycling, mountain biking, hiking, and much more. Locals and visitors alike frequent the county's great restaurants, breweries, cideries, distilleries, and shops. It is no wonder that Hood River County is often referred to as a playground for both kids and adults.
For more information, please visit us online:
• Hood River County Library District - http://hoodriverlibrary.org
• Sage Library System - http://catalog.sage.eou.edu/
• Hood River County Chamber of Commerce – http://hoodriver.org/
Company History
In 1908, the women of Hood River came together to build the community a library. The tax-supported library opened in 1912, initially located in a tiny house near downtown Hood River. With much community help and a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, the library moved into the stunning downtown Hood River Library in 1913. The library later added two additional branches in the small communities of Cascade Locks, east of Hood River on the Columbia River, and Parkdale, right at the base of Mount Hood to the south.
For ninety-eight years, the three libraries were operated by Hood River County. Then, in 2010, disaster struck as the County was forced to close the libraries due to rapidly increasing costs and decreasing revenues. Horrified at the idea of a community with no libraries, Hood River County citizens rallied to create the Hood River County Library District (HRCLD) in 2010. Library services resumed in July 2011. The library district has its own independently-elected governing board. It's permanent tax rate of $0.39 per $1,000 of assessed property value will bring in about $800,000 in revenue in 2016-17.
From these humble beginnings and harsh closure, Hood River County's libraries have come a long way. HRCLD is now dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of reading and culture, responding to the community's need for information, and enriching quality of life for its patrons.
Benefits
HRCLD offers compensation packages comparable to similarly-sized and situated libraries and government agencies in Oregon. All employees receive sick leave benefits. Employees regularly-scheduled for twenty hours per week or more receive other fringe benefits including medical, prescription, alternative care, vision, and dental insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, vacation leave, paid holidays, and a 403(b) retirement plan.