Library Story Like No Other
Providing free, equitable access to information, in a safe space for people and ideas to come together.
The Josephine Community Library was founded in 1914. Since then, this community has repeatedly affirmed the importance and value of our public library system. Read more about the library’s history. Regardless of national political rhetoric, taglines, or sales pitches, any attack on our local community library is manufactured outrage and a short-sighted power play. The library’s mission is steadfast: Provide access to resources, technology, and information for early literacy and lifelong learning.
The Library District is supported by a permanent tax rate of 39 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for property owners within the district. Voters approved Measure 17-79 on May 16, 2017. The district serves approximately 44,000 residents in four noncontiguous areas surrounding branch libraries in Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek, along with additional properties which have been approved for annexation into the district. Learn more about the library district.
Libraries are the great equalizer. There is no greater opportunity for families to build literacy than the public library, where more materials are available for everyone, free. We are fortunate indeed to have an open library system, and we are even more fortunate to live in a community that continues to support it.
—Brady Adams, Grants Pass Daily Courier, 2012
We believe the purpose of a public library is to provide free, equitable access to information. Reading is fundamental to being human, and libraries provide a window to the world.
As a center for information in our community, the Josephine Community Library is a safe space for people and ideas to come together. The library offers whole-family programming that includes:
- Access to technology, including computers and digital resources.
- Early literacy, including resources for children birth to age 3, kindergarten readiness, and more.
- Access to research materials, information and programming for teens and young adults.
- Lifelong learning, including resume building, tax assistance, and partnerships with other community organizations.
- Library of things, which means library users have equitable access to books, meeting spaces, materials, and development resources from sewing machines to guitars.
The library is a community center. Everybody is welcome, as long as everybody follows the conduct policy.