Fort Vancouver Regional Library District

1007 E. Mill Plain Blvd.

Vancouver, WA 98663

360-695-1561

www.fvrl.org

General Information

Incorporation: Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, headquartered in Vancouver in Southwest Washington State, was established in 1950 as the first inter-county rural library district in the state. The district has grown since 1950 to serve all of Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties, and the City of Woodland and the independent Yale Valley Library District in Cowlitz County.

Current Service: With 13 libraries, three bookmobiles, a Vancouver operations center, and dial-up and Internet access to electronic services, Fort Vancouver Regional Library District provides information resources and services, and community and cultural events for a population of more than 425,000 residents. The service area is more than 4,200 square miles and includes farm, open range and national forest lands, communities along the Columbia River, small towns and expanding urban and industrial areas. Branch libraries are located in the communities of Battle Ground, Cascade Park, Goldendale, La Center, North Bonneville, Ridgefield, Stevenson, Three Creeks (Salmon Creek area), Vancouver (main library), Vancouver Mall, Washougal, White Salmon Valley, and Woodland.

Mission: Fort Vancouver Regional Library District provides gateways to ideas, information and community interaction.

Form of Government

Board of Trustees. A seven-member Board of Trustees with representation from Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties.

Board of Trustees

Position #1 - Clark County: Karen Peterson
Position #2 - Clark County (recommended by the City of Vancouver): Merle Koplan
Position #3 - Skamania County: Bill Yee
Position #4 - Clark County: Jerry King
Position #5 - Clark County (recommended by the City of Vancouver): Jack Burkman
Position #6 - Klickitat County: Bonnie Reynolds
Position #7 - Clark County: Rose Smith

Engagement Opportunities

Meetings are generally held in the evenings. The meeting time for one month is set at the prior meeting.

Staff

Bruce Ziegman, executive director

Notes of Special Interest

94 percent of the library’s revenue comes from property taxes at a maximum allowed rate of 50 cents per thousand dollars assessed valuation rate.

Circulation is 2.87 million.
Library visits are 1.8 million per year.
Active registered borrowers from the library are 188,188.
The libraries are open 662 hours per year.
The collection size of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District is 784,850.
The Library District covers a total of 4,200 square miles in southern Washington State.