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Fort Vancouver Regional Library branch manager outlines services, urges support for Aug. 5 levy
Summary
At a Sherwood Hills Neighborhood Association meeting, Elizabeth Mossen, branch manager at 3 Creeks Community Library, described library services and said the system is asking voters to restore a property-tax levy on the Aug. 5 ballot to increase funding from the current rate to 50¢ per $1,000 of assessed value.
Elizabeth Mossen, branch manager at the 3 Creeks Community Library, presented an overview of Fort Vancouver Regional Library services and urged neighborhood residents to review materials about a library levy on the Aug. 5 ballot. Mossen told the Sherwood Hills Neighborhood Association that the library system is funded primarily through property taxes and that the ballot measure would restore the levy to 50¢ per $1,000 of assessed value.
Mossen said the library offers a wide range of digital and in-person services that residents can use with a library card. "If you do it online, it gives you access to all of the electronic resources, and you can check out 3 books," she said, describing the online registration process at ferl.org. She walked through major offerings available at the 3 Creeks branch and systemwide, including ebooks via Libby, streaming via Hoopla and Kanopy, language lessons through Mango Languages, music via Freegal, newspaper and magazine access through Flipster and PressReader, Consumer Reports via the library website, live tutoring through Brainfuse, LinkedIn Learning courses, in-library Ancestry access for genealogy, museum passes and a Checkout Washington backpack with a Discover Pass.
Why it matters: Mossen said property taxes are the library’s primary revenue source and presented materials that compare current funding to the proposed levy restoration. Residents asked how the extra revenue would be used; Mossen declined to detail budget scenarios during the meeting, citing neutrality while on duty, and directed listeners to the library’s website for budget and outcome projections.
Mossen highlighted summer programs and services she said are popular locally: a summer reading program that includes prizes for adults and children, 1-on-1 tech help appointments, book discussion kits, meeting and study rooms, and free printing and faxing allowances. She also described family- and child-oriented programming at 3 Creeks, including Lego sessions and a Spanish conversation circle. "We have 2 movie streaming services," she said, adding that Kanopy focuses on independent and classic films while Hoopla offers popular titles.
Meeting participants asked practical questions about scanning and printing, getting streaming services onto televisions, and whether library cards can be obtained online; Mossen answered those procedural questions and offered to follow up. She also encouraged residents to look at the levy information available through the library web page and QR materials provided at the meeting.
The branch manager handed out a printed list of resources and encouraged people to sign up for more information. The presentation closed with Mossen inviting attendees to visit the branch in person for help installing apps or setting up accounts; she said online registration grants immediate access to electronic resources but visiting a branch increases physical checkout limits and access to in-library services.
Organizers provided a printed news-and-events brochure and a QR code to connect residents to the levy information and event listings.
Residents seeking more information were directed to ferl.org and to the printed handouts distributed at the meeting. Mossen said the library’s website has detailed budget scenarios showing how funding would change if the levy passes or fails.
