Take Another Look

The Trinity County Free Library was established November 9, 1916 and has served the residents of the County first from a brick building purchased by the county from 1917-1992, and later from a newly-constructed library building paid for through a state grant and matching county library funding. The move to the new library took place on December 19, 1992 and and open house was held on January 21, 1992 where staff and volunteers greeted almost 800 visitors. The foraml dedication of the new library took place on September 25, 1992. The current library system currently consists of the Main Library in Weaverville and branches in Hayfork and Trinity Center. The Trinity County Library continues to maintain its membership in the North State Cooperative Library System serving Butte, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity Counties. Membership in the North State Cooerative allows this library to benefit in many ways incluidng delivery of materials, resource sharing, reference service, workshops and the purchase of databases.

Governance

The Trinity County Library, one of 22 county general fund libraries in California, was organized under the County Free Library Law, and is governed by the county supervisors.

Funding

The Trinity County Library relies primarily on allocations from the county General Fund. Other sources of funding include federal and state grants that meet specified program criteria, and on the state level, the Public Library Fund that provides per capita allocations set annually by the legislature and reimbursements for resource sharing amongst public libraries in California. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has also been instrumental in bridging the technological needs of libraries particularly those in rural areas. In its recent publication “Keeping you community connected : why our public libraries need technology”, The U.S. Libraries Initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation breaks down library funding as follows: federal funding - less than 1%; fees, donations and fines – 8%; state funding – 10%; and local funding – 81%.

Mission Statement

The Trinity County Library seeks to make a positive impact on all county residents by offering quality resources, programs and exhibits in a variety of formats and by providing services that fill the informational, educational and recreational needs of its residents. To fulfill its mission, the Library employs a knowledgeable, well-trained staff committed to excellent service.