Get to Know BCL
This year, we're featuring statistics and your feedback to highlight services, collections, and events that Beaverton City Library provides to the community. It's a year of anniversaries for BCL - the main library celebrates 25 years at its current location on 5th and Hall, and the Murray Scholls branch commemorates 15 years, and 10 years since its Reser Family Children's Room expansion.
It's a great time to honor our wonderful libraries and their long history of serving the Beaverton community. Share your gratitude for BCL! Recognize a specific library staff person or shout out a library service that you love: Comment form
In 2024, you checked out 2,666,672 books, movies, music, and other items from our library locations!
Our outreach team works hard to connect adults with the library. Through "Library 101" presentations, conversations, giveaway books, and more, we share BCL's resources with as many people as we can. This has been our busiest season yet! Since the beginning of December 2024, we've connected with over 200 adults by visiting ESL classes, community events, health- and immigration-focused clinics, free food distributions, affordable housing complexes, and senior living facilities. We can also provide library cards at outreach events! Learn more.
This fall, the main library celebrates 25 years in its current location! A grand opening was held on Sept. 10, 2000. Since then, we've hosted almost 40,000 free events, and about 15 million people have visited the library and checked out over 50 million items.
BCL's Murray Scholls branch opened on June 19, 2010, and was renovated and expanded to include the Reser Family Children's Room in 2015, celebrating a grand opening on Apr. 11 of that year. On Apr. 11, 2025, during National Library Week, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Murray Scholls expansion with a special storytime, scavenger hunt, crafts, treats, and a visit from Billie the Beaver! Since its opening almost 15 years ago, we've hosted 4,500 free events at the branch, and 2.5 million people have visited and checked out over 8.5 million items.
BCL has been offering free trainings for early childhood educators since 2015. Teachers and child care providers can participate to receive much needed continuing education on topics including early literacy, music and song, creativity, play, STEM topics, health and safety, and more. This year, BCL partnered with WCCLS, Cedar Mill Community Library, Cornelius Public Library, and CCR&R of Washington County to provide English and Spanish language trainings online free of charge for providers. Learn more.
Our Bookmobile, affectionately named Evie, is a mobile branch with regular stops around Beaverton where you can get a library card and check out and return library materials. Now on its summer route, Evie's stops include La Raíz Park, Wonderland Park, Tualatin Hills Nature Center, Eichler Park, five housing complexes, and a pop-up on Saturday mornings, with locations announced on our website. Evie turns two on June 24! In the two years since the Bookmobile opened, 8,414 people have visited, checking out 14,085 items. Bookmobile staff have created 106 new library card accounts and answered 1,298 reference questions. Learn more and view the Bookmobile summer route.
From July 2024 through June 2025, we hosted 2,242 free events for all ages, attended by a total of 51,477 people! In addition to programming like book groups, technology classes, crafting sessions, and aging and wellness events, the library provides regular storytimes for babies, one-year-olds, toddlers, preschoolers, and the whole family. View our event calendar to learn all that we are offering.
DAM - Design And Make - the makerspace at the main library, is a space for community members of all ages to learn, practice skills, collaborate, prototype, and problem-solve. Since opening in 2022, more than 30,000 people have visited DAM to use 3D printers, Cricut machines, sewing machines, visual art supplies, and more during Open Lab hours or special programs. Learn more.
Our Library on Wheels (LOW) program helps get books in the hands of kids in child cares who may have trouble regularly visiting the library. Each month, library staff bring a bag of paperback picture books to child care facilities, rotating the books between 45 child care centers in the Beaverton area. Library staff also provide storytimes when visiting some child care centers. In 2024, LOW served more than 15,000 children! Learn more.
Our outreach team is out and about with visits to local schools, parks, and events with community partners. In the past year, we’ve reached more than 16,000 community members at over 500 local events! We provide monthly storytimes and book rotations to local child cares and preschools, and our Bookmobile visits low-income apartment complexes after school and on weekends. During the summer, you can find us at local THPRD parks with activities, crafts, and storytimes. Learn more.