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TUALATIN CENTENNIAL
January 3, 2013
408287.010313 TC
We thank the City of Tualatin and all the many friends and
partners whose time and gifts created Tualatin Heritage
Center. Hundreds enjoy services like these each month:
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503.885.1926
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www.tualatinhistoricalsociety.org
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Tualatin Historical Society:
Preserving and interpreting Tualatin’s rich
and colorful history for 27 years
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Thank You
W
hen Tualatin residents
are asked what they
love about their home
town, at the top of ma-
ny people’s list would be the parks
and the Tualatin Public Library.
Modern history of the city’s parks
and library system begins in the
1970s.
In 1975, the public library in Tual-
atin consisted of two shelves of do-
nated books on the second floor of
the Van Raden Community Center
inside Tualatin Community Park. In
1976 Washington County loaned the
city a book van, which was open 36
hours a week and staffed by volun-
teers. That same year the official Li-
brary Advisory Committee was
formed to advise City Council on the
management and operation of li-
brary services.
In 1977, the City Council estab-
lished a city-funded library, and the
library was set up in the Manlove
House also in Tualatin Community
Park. The walls of the 920-square-
foot building were lined with books,
and it had chairs for just six read-
ers. By the following year, the book
collection had grown to 7,000 items
and circulation was 20,000 per year.
In 1983, voters approved a 15-year
construction bond for $500,000. An-
other $200,000 in funding came from
the Federal Library Services and
Construction Act. Construction
started in May 1984 and was com-
pleted in March 1985. Tualatin had
its first building designed specifical-
ly to be a library.
In 2004, Tualatin voters approved
the passage of a bond measure,
which in combination with urban
renewal funds, provided the oppor-
tunity to remodel the Tualatin Pub-
lic Library for modern use and a
larger population. The new building
opened in August of 2008.
The library first got its first com-
puters in 1987, and in1998 there
were 17 computers connected to the
Internet. In 2003/04 the library
checked out 457,000 items. Today
the Tualatin Public Library has a
collection of 90,000 items and offers
the public access to the world via 38
computers. It circulated 766,848
items last year and over 315,000 peo-
ple visit the library last year.
A brief history of Tualatin’s park system and library
PHOTO COURTESTY OF CITY OF TUALATIN
A family takes a moment to study the posted information at an interpretive panel in Atfalati Park.