Douglas County’s ‘Long and Winding Road’

Authors

  • Harold A Hayes Douglas County Library System

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1856

Keywords:

Oregon, Oregon libraries, academic library, libraries, librarians, northwest, information science, information literacy, social media, writing, library trends, books, donors, library funding, Oregon library association, quarterly, Oregon library association quarterly, American library association, ala, ola, reading, library success, success, evolving roles, new discipline, changes in libraries, career, careers, library careers, library career, new department, student workers, spring, 2016, access services, professional journal, scholarly, academic, circulation, public, Portland, access, aspen institute, report, Oregon libraries answer the challenge, re-envisioning, beer, EveryLibrary, library campaign, vote, voting, ballot measures, non-partisan, PAC, political action committee, Douglas County, Douglas County Library System, Roseburg, ballot, measure, tax, library district, Drain, Oakland, Glendale, DCLS, Ford Family Foundation, grant, budget, reduction, plan, Canyonville, Myrtle Creek, Reedsport, Riddle, Winston, Yoncalla, branch, crisis, help, hope, rural

Abstract

The Douglas County Library System (DCLS) formed in 1953 with the main library located in the courthouse in Roseburg, eight branches located in the several small communities, and a bookmobile. The benefits included the economy of scale, access to a wider collection, and shared functions with greater internal support. Today the DCLS includes the main library in Roseburg, completed in 1994, and 10 branches located throughout the county. Winston and Riddle got their libraries after the system was formed, in 1964 and 1966 respectively.

In a county that has historically relied on timber sale taxes, budget reductions began as early as 1982. This became a frequent if not an annual occurrence over the years since. Next year will be our capstone. Our budget direction given to the library system for the fiscal year 2016/17 was to cut $495,000 dollars from last year’s budget, a 42 percent reduction. This decades long and winding road has led us to a fork in the road with the future of the library up in the air. Rest assured, we have not been sitting around waiting and hoping!

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Author Biography

Harold A Hayes, Douglas County Library System

Harold A. Hayes

How does a reluctant reader become a library director one might ask? Well, start with a mother who read to her children extensively—including that reluctant reader— as well as frequent trips to the public library. Add to the mix a teacher who made his students read and do book reports. Then down the line marry off that reluctant reader to a librarian and later still find the first career path eliminated by technology. To this add a return to school and the acquiring of an MLIS. Pile on 17 years of professional and management experience and an application and voila, you have a library director!

My professional career has taken me from the award of that MLIS at the University of Washington to Wyoming and back to Washington, where I worked for two different library districts, always working with small rural branches. I have had the privilege of working as the director of the Douglas County Library System since the beginning of 2013, which has also afforded me the opportunity to live in Oregon again since leaving to attend college back in 1979. Roseburg, with a population of 22,000, is the county seat and the location of our main library. It’s as big as it gets here. Our 10 branches are located in rural communities throughout the county.

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Published

2016-10-10

How to Cite

Hayes, H. A. (2016). Douglas County’s ‘Long and Winding Road’. OLA Quarterly, 22(2), 23–26. https://doi.org/10.7710/1093-7374.1856

Issue

Vol. 22 No. 2 (2016): Re-Envisioning with the Aspen Institute: Oregon Libraries Answer the Challenge

Section

Articles