About the Library
The West Linn Public Library is a vibrant and vital part of life in West Linn. Positioned to meet the educational, informational, cultural and recreational interests of the public, the library provides free and open access to a wide variety of materials and programs.
Since opening its doors in 1939 with a collection of 350 books and two magazine subscriptions, the West Linn Public Library has grown with the West Linn community and is now a welcoming 28,000 square foot facility with meeting rooms, a public art gallery, computer labs, and wireless access throughout the building. Quick facts: 15,160 registered borrowers, 101,795 items in the collection, 409,176 items checked out, and 530 programs offered (as of July 1, 2020).
More stats are available here.
Library History
March 1, 1939: The new West Linn Library opens on the second floor of the City Hall building with a collection of 300 books.
March 30, 1965: The City makes plans for a new 7,000-square-foot library building on city-owned property at West A Street and Willamette Falls Drive, but the bond measure fails to pass. A second attempt on the May 28 ballot also fails.
October 1978: The library moves out of City Hall and into the 1,500-square-foot community room at the Bolton Fire Station.
March 31, 1987: Voters approve a $1.2 million bond proposal to finance construction of the city’s first dedicated library building.
April 1988: West Linn City Council approves a resolution authorizing the purchase of a 1.5-acre piece of land on Burns Street.
December 1988: Crews break ground on construction of the new library building.
December 1989: The new 10,000-square-foot library opens to the public.
May 2000: Voters approve a $3.9 million bond measure to remodel and expand the library.
June 2001: The library moves to temporary quarters at Bolton Elementary School while the library building is remodeled. SRG Partnership, the architect used to design the original building, designs the expansion.
June 2002: The newly remodeled and expanded 28,000-square-foot library re-opens to the public.
March 2020: The library closes its doors to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
June 2020: The library begins offering a curbside pickup service for patrons to check out their holds.
March 2021: The library re-opens to the public for no-appointment holds pick-up only.
June 2021: The entire library building is fully re-opened to the public.
Read a history of the library compiled by volunteer Alan Lewis.
