The Eugene Public Library is a municipal public library in Eugene, Oregon, United States. It has been in four different buildings since 1898.
Eugene Public Library | |
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Location | 100 W. 10th Ave. Eugene, OR 97401, United States |
Established | 1898[1] |
Branches | 3 (Downtown, Bethel, Sheldon) |
Collection | |
Items collected | Books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, audio books; streaming/download ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies[2] |
Size | 400,000[2] |
Access and use | |
Population served | 150,000 (Eugene)[2] |
Other information | |
Website | Official website |


History
editIn 1898, a group of women founded the Fortnightly Club and opened a private reading room in a store building in downtown Eugene.[4] Eugene Public Library was established as a tax-supported entity in 1904.[1][5] In 1906, Oregon's first Carnegie Library was established on the corner of Willamette Street and East 11th Avenue.[4][6] In 1959, a new library building opened at the corner of West 13th Avenue and Olive Street.[1] This remained the main library building until it was moved to its current ___location at West 10th Avenue and Charnelton Street in 2002. At this time, the library already had two branches—Bethel (West Eugene) and Sheldon (Cal Young neighborhood)—that had opened in 2000.[1]
In 2003 the new library building won first place in the American Institute of Architects of Southwest Oregon's public architecture awards.[7] The library received a $1.1 million bequest in 2009 from the estate of Frederick "Doc" Rankin, a Eugene doctor and property owner who died in 2004.[8]
Current building
editThe library's latest building and its underground parking garage have been described as "energy efficient, low maintenance, and filled with daylight."[9] The new building is four times larger than the older one.[10]
The number of users of the library approximately tripled after the new building opened, and then further increased following the economic downturn of 2008.[11] In addition, its collection of items has had a net increase since 2005, as well as its circulation and visits.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Grand opening" (PDF). Eugene Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c "About the library." Eugene Public Library. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ OSU Special Collections and Archives: Gerald W. Williams Collection (May 21, 2012). "Carnegie Public Library, Eugene, circa 1910". Flickr. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
- ^ a b Walker, Barbara (January 21, 2021). "Fortnightly Club of Eugene". Oregon Encyclopedia. Portland State University and the Oregon Historical Society. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ Lowry, Marian (August 20, 1931). "Eugene Public Library 25 years old Thursday." The Register-Guard (Eugene, Oregon). Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ Scheppke, Jim. "Carnegie Libraries in Oregon". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Portland State University. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- ^ "2003 awards". AIA Southwest Oregon. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
- ^ Bolt, Greg (November 15, 2009). "Library gets $1.1 million gift". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. p. B1. Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- ^ "Sustainable, high efficiency lighting in a municipal library". Lighting Design Lab. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011.
- ^ "City of Eugene, Eugene Public Library." Shepley Bulfinch. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ Adams, Tom (August 12, 2008). "The library as a tranquil oasis." KVAL News (Eugene, Oregon). Retrieved September 1, 2010.
- ^ "Library, Recreation & Cultural Services Annual Report 2010" (PDF). City of Eugene. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2011. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
External links
edit- Official site
- "Public libraries grow to support community needs": Daily Journal of Commerce