Operating since 2011—with a two-year pause for Covid reasons—the public library housed inside the Gales Creek School (9125 NW Sargent Rd) is now open Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m. Previously, the library was open 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The library, the smallest in Washington County, is run by two Gales Creek volunteers, Joyce Sauber—also the community’s de facto historian—and Kate Grandusky, who is also the chair of the Forest Grove School Board.
Unaffiliated with the larger, more formal Washington County Cooperative Library Services, the library emerged from a disused collection following the closure of the Gales Creek Elementary School in 2011. Since then, titles have expanded to include adult books among the thousands of books that line the shelves in one room in the school building.
The Gales Creek School serves as one of two locations for the district’s Oak Grove Academy, a therapeutic educational program that serves students that qualify for special education from grades 6-12.
Sauber noted in a phone call with this newspaper that the library currently has a significant collection for early readers.
“We have a whole bunch of books that would be appropriate for toddlers,” Sauber said, noting that they are good for adults to read to and along with their toddlers.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
