Yakima Valley Library

The Yakima Valley Library (YVL) is a public, 19-branch library system located throughout the Yakima Valley, in central Washington State, USA. The library system's collection includes public access to books, CDs, books on tape, DVDs, and other materials, in both Spanish and English.

History

The Yakima Public Library was constructed in 1904, primarily using $10,000 grant donated for that purpose by Andrew Carnegie. The Rural Library District #1 (RLD) was established in 1944, and, in 1961, pooled resources with the City of Yakima to form the Yakima Valley Regional Library System. Over the next decade, the rural cities of Zillah, Union Gap, Granger, Naches, Mabton, unincorporated Buena, joined the burgeoning library system. The cities of Sunnyside and joined the Regional Library in the 1950s. The 1970s saw the addition of Tieton, Harrah and Zillah, as well as the establishment of the Summitview (Yakima) branch. Moxee and Harrah joined in the 1980s, followed by the City of Toppenish, and the establishment of the Southeast (Yakima) branch in the 1990s, completing the current 19-branch system.[1]

Library Mission

The Yakima Valley Library Mission Statement, adopted August 24, 2009, states:

"Yakima Valley Libraries supports lifelong learning and an informed citizenry by providing free, open, and full access to a vast array of ideas and information." [2]

Organization

Many of the library branches are small and offer somewhat limited services to small, rural communities. The largest branches of the YVL system are Summitview, Selah, and the Downtown branch. The Downtown library is the largest, busiest branch, and, according to the YVL website, "also houses the library system's service center which includes programing for all ages, outreach services, technical services, information technology, and administration."[3]

The Library is headed by the five-member Board of Library Trustees, who are appointed by the Yakima County Commissioners. The Board is in charge of appointing the Library Director, who administers and adheres to the policies laid down by the Board. In addition, the Library is supported by Friends of the Library, who help coordinate donations and grants for the library, as well as furthering the role of libraries in the public, and raising funds for projects that aren't covered in the library budget.[4]

Branches

The branches of the Yakima Valley Library include:

Buena
Granger
Harrah
Mabton
Moxee
Naches
Selah
Southeast (Yakima)
Sunnyside
Terrace Heights (Yakima)
Tieton
Toppenish
Wapato
West Valley Community Library (Yakima)
White Swan
Yakima (Downtown/Main)
Zillah

Services

Children

Storytime
Arts and Crafts
Summer Reading Program
Educational and Bilingual books, CDs, movies and computer games

Teens

Teen/Young Adult Reading Area (Downtown Library)
Book Discussions
Book-related Game and Movie Nights

References

Career Center
Research Databases
Microfiche/Microfilm
Relander Collection (Local archives)
Local History Files (Local newspaper clippings)

Other services

Outreach Services (brings library materials to patrons who are physically unable to visit the library)

References

  1. ↑ "Library History." Yakima Valley Libraries. Accessed: November 30, 2009.http://www.yvrl.org/system/aboutHistory
  2. ↑ Yakima Valley Regional Library. "About the Library." Accessed: Nov. 30, 2009. http://www.yvrl.org/system/about
  3. ↑ Yakima Valley Regional Library. "About the Library." Accessed: November 30, 2009.http://www.yvrl.org/libraries/Yakima
  4. ↑ "Library Board of Directors and Trustees." Yakima Valley Regional Library. Accessed Nov. 30, 2009. http://www.yvrl.org/system/aboutBoard

Coordinates: 46°36′16″N 120°30′15″W / 46.60444°N 120.50417°W / 46.60444; -120.50417

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