F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library

The F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library opened on September 19, 2006.

Mission and Core Values of the Cook Memorial Library

Mission Statement

The mission of the Cook Memorial Library is to provide the resources and services needed to open doors to life-long learning, to serve as a literacy center for both adults and children, to fulfill citizens' information needs, and to offer and support cultural and recreational activities.

Core Values

• We will act with integrity, adhering to the basic values of honesty and fairness in serving our customers and our co-workers.
• We will treat our customers and co-workers with dignity and respect. We believe people are important.
• We will listen to our customers, tailoring and continuously improving our products and services to meet their needs.
• We will encourage employee innovation and creativity. Team work and superior performance will be recognized.
• We will protect each customer's right to privacy with respect to information sought and materials consulted or borrowed.
• We will resist censorship of information or ideas.
• We will consider it our duty to educate and inform our community of the roles and responsibilities of the library.
• We will do our job right the first time, recognizing that individual effort is an integral part of overall effort. We pledge both timeliness and accuracy in serving our customers and our co-workers.
• We will act in a professional manner, always mindful of the impression we make on our customers and co-workers.

Library Facilities

• The Library has 56,000 printed volumes. There are also books on tape and CD; movies on DVDs and VHS that can be checked out for a week at a time; and, downloadable audio books, movies and e-books.
• The Literacy Center is available to all ages, offering opportunities to improve reading and comprehension, math and other basic skills through written material, games and computers. For hours, please call 541-962-1339.
• The Archives room has many well-preserved photos and documents of La Grande's early development and is available to the public on Tuesdays, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• There are two Computer Centers: one for children in the Children's section and one for adults. You must sign in at the Circulation Desk for your half-hour use of a computer.
• The Community Room is available for the public to use , with some fees applying to certain groups. See the community room policy on our homepage.

History

In November of 1911, a petition with 160 signatures attached was presented to the LaGrande City Council requesting the establishment of a city library. A resolution was passed, and in December of 1911 the council set aside and dedicated Lot 1, Block 66, Chaplin's Addition, where the present library now stands, for future use as the Public Library.

Correspondence with the Carnegie Corporation revealed that a library must be in existence before funds for a Carnegie building could be secured. To that end, a library was established in the basement of Honan Hall on March 27, 1912, for a rent of $25.00 a month. The initial collection consisted of approximately 1000 books.

On February 10th, 1913, the Carnegie Corporation informed the library board it would make a donation of $12,500. for the construction of a library building. An ordinance was then passed accepting the gift from the Carnegie Corporation, with the agreement that the city give not less that $2500. annually for the support of the library.

On July 25, 1913, the contract for the construction of the new building was given to G.H. Rush for $7777. The heating and plumbing contract was given to Hume and Spaeth for $1269. The architects for the building were Messrs. Block & Bunting. The building was duly completed and the books were installed on December 31, 1913. The formal opening was held March 16, 1914. Miss Mabel Doty, the first professional librarian to work for the LaGrande Public Library, later wrote that "A large number of citizens were present at the formal opening and the LaGrande Public Library began serving its community."

On September 19, 2006, the La Grande Public Library moved from its old quarters in the Old Historic Carnegie building to a new building, christened the F. Maxine and Thomas W. Cook Memorial Library, at 2006 Fourth Street, La Grande, OR 97850.

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