North Plains, Oregon, a rural community of 1800 people, was one of the few towns in Washington County without a public library. In 2000 the North Plains City Council set a goal to change that situation, and a small group of citizens met to explore the concept. This group became the Friends of the North Plains Public Library (Friends), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.  They shared a vision – a library in North Plains that would eventually become a full-fledged member of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services.

North Plains, Oregon was one of the few towns in Washington County without a public library. In 2000 the North Plains City Council set a goal to change that situation, and a small group of citizens, the future Friends of the North Plains Library met to explore the concept. They shared a vision – a library in North Plains that would eventually become a full-fledged member of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services.

Working with the city staff, the Friends identified a small janitor’s closet at the Jessie Mays Community Center as a possible area for the library. Taking book donations from the community, the Friends raised money from book sales while some of the donated books were added to the growing library collection as the small space was converted to serve as the town’s first library.

In April 2002, the City of North Plains established a Library Board to create policies and job descriptions. The Board first met in August 2002, and drafted an ordinance for the city to establish a public library.

In December 2002, the city hired a volunteer library director, Cynthia Peterson. The 590 sq. ft. library at the Jessie Mays Community Center opened in February 2003.

The Library operated solely with volunteers for the first year, In 2004 a part-time volunteer coordinator, Terri Palmer, was hired, and as more volunteers were added, the library could be kept open two evenings a week.

In April, 2004, an exciting event took place: Wayne Holm, CEO of Oregon-Canadian Forest Products offered to donate funds and materials for construction of a new 2,500 square foot building for the library if other funds could be raised for the land, site improvements, equipment and furnishings. A partnership was then formed, with the City of North Plains offering to lease a building site to the Friends for $1 per year, and the Friends committing to raise the funds needed for site improvements, equipment and furnishings.

The new North Plains Public Library building opened on April 29, 2006. Aaron Schmidt took over the helm as Library Director in December, 2006.  On July 1, 2007, North Plains Public Library officially joined Washington County Cooperative Services. Membership in WCCLS has opened up a whole world of opportunities for North Plains residents.  

n 2010 Debbie Brodie was hired by the City of North Plains as a part time Library Director. In April 2010 a full time Volunteer Coordinator position was created. In 2013 through support of the Friends of the North Plains Public Library and a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust, new computers were purchased and self-checkout system was added. The number of visitors jumped from 25,000 in 2010 to 40,000 by 2016 and programming attendance grew. A five year strategic plan was developed and approved by the Library Board on January 20, 2016. This strategic plan among other things modernized our Library Mission statement.

In September 2016 Will Worthey was hired by the city as a full time Library Director. With the kind support of the Cultural Trust of Oregon, the Cultural Coalition of Washington County, and the Abbey Creek Winery, the North Plains Library added a monthly International Movie Night to our programming. In 2017 a full time Cataloger position was created. In 2018 new public computers were purchased via funds from Washington County. From 2016 to 2018 the Library saw a period of intense growth both in terms of visits by the public and double digit circulation growth. The library now houses over 16,000 items! 

 In August 2019 Robin Doughty was hired by the city as the new Library Director. Like many other libraries in March 2020 the library closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We pivoted to providing online programs and and curbside service in 2020 and we continue to operate with the safety of our staff and community as our highest priority. In 2021 a full time Librarian position was created. In  2022 the Friends of the North Plains Library voted to release their interest in the library building. They subsequently signed over ownership to the City of North Plains.