Fort Vancouver Regional Library District

The building at this address is no longer a public library. It is the headquarters for the library district and the library foundation.
To check out the new main library you should head to 901 C Street about 3 blocks away in the downtown area.

I like to meet the idiot who designed the new library. A parking lot in the back and the front door half a mile away… wtf? With small children and a very rainy day, makes for a awful long walk to the front door. And there is like 20 parking spaces for this huge building. Not everyone walks to the librabry like in Portland. Plus get rid of the bums. I get asked for money everytime I walk to the front door.

Love the new location! Just wish was open longer on Saturday and opened Sundays!

This library is truly an amazing environment. With beautiful glass work throughout every floor (separate by section) the rooms are filled with light. There are plentiful chairs and desks of varying types — so you can move around to read and work as necessary. The top floor includes a large landscaped patio area which is the perfect area to jump out for a quick phone call (if its not raining). Also, this is the only branch that has FAST wifi (faster than starbucks and fast enough to stream video). As a work space this library better than most offices I’ve worked in.

I’m pretty biased, but this library is spectacular. And the new location is gorgeous and bright and really great for local patrons.
DVDs are limited to non-​fiction, so don’t go in expecting to find the newest Matt Damon flick. However, the audio collection is fantastic, as is the amount of books.

I believe that a library is one of the most under-​appreciated offerings that any city offers its residents. As my life has trundled on through space and time the library has come in and out of my life like the tide or the surf. Yet it stands by, always there if I need it. Now, with a nearly five year old Tax Deduction, The Wife and I find the library coming back into our lives.
About two years ago there was a hard fought election where one of the ballot measures was the building of a new library along with one in our neighborhood. I felt bad, but I voted against it. It made no financial sense, there is a branch library not that far away and I made a special trip to the main library to see if a new building was needed. Unfortunately many more voters thought different and we have a new branch library and a new monstrosity of a library going in downtown.
I enjoy this library a lot. Centrally located. Easy access. A nice setting with Officers Row nearby. The Tax Deduction loves this place to. However not for only the books he makes me read to him over and over again (which I do gladly). It has a toy section in it.
Yeah. You heard me. A toy section.
What the heck are you people thinking?
I thought that libraries were for reading?! How are you supposed to keep there mind on the reading and learning with blocks and puppet theaters and toy animals and cars right there distracting them? I have never heard of anything so contrary to the purpose of a building than this. I hope and pray that the new library will avoid this pitfall and if they have to have toys there, maybe they can make a playroom separate from the books so as not to disturb the reading children.

While many things have come and gone in my life, one thing I have managed to hold onto is my old library card. With my childhood signature still preserved by a piece of scotch tape, this flimsy piece of plastic has been my token to literacy for many… MANY years.
Back in the day (which was a Wednesday by the way) the FVRL use to be my home away from home. I loved nothing more than spending my day hunting around for an abnormally large stack of books. From «Chicka Chicka Boom Boom» to the Bibliography of Margaret Tudor, you bet yours sweet tuchus I could find a hidden treasure to complete my random assortment.
Unfortunately, the older I get, the more I question why I loved this place so much. Over the years, this library has morphed into a dreary and tiny bit scary place. Now, if I need to make an outing to the library I go online first to scope out what I am looking for so I can have the quickest possible trip in and out. While there is friendly staff willing to offer up suggestions or help you track down a missing book; regrettably, that is about the most inviting thing the library offers anymore.
Fortunately, a new regional library is in the making. I can only hope once the move is made, new life will be restored to my once beloved library. Until then, the online data base will continue to be my friend.

I appreciate the large selection of newspapers. There are a dozen internet terminals, which require a library card and password, with a constant line of people waiting to use them. FREE Wi-​Fi, that I was able to use as a «guest» without entering my card number. Mon-​Thu 10 – 9; Fri-​Sat 10 – 6, Sun 12 – 8 (per the web site on May-​2008).