Beaverton is exploring whether to take over a small nonprofit library that has served the Garden Home neighborhood for more than four decades.
City officials are studying whether Beaverton could absorb the Garden Home Community Library into municipal operations after realizing the branch falls within city limits, The Oregonian first reported on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The city is researching whether it could run the library in a way that would be "equal or better" to the current nonprofit model, according to city spokesperson Nicole Sherbert.
No decision has been made.
"The study is intended to gather information and assess options only," Sherbert wrote in an email to The Oregonian.
The library's leadership is pushing back. Board president Sharon Selberg said she is not convinced a management shift would better serve patrons.
Library leaders told The Oregonian the organization is running strong.
The library serves about 5,500 patrons a year on an annual budget of more than $715,000.
Garden Home Community Library launched as a volunteer-led effort in 1983 and became a nonprofit in 1994.
It is located inside the Garden Home Recreation Center, surrounded by unincorporated neighborhoods. Last year, the nonprofit also took over operations of the West Slope Community Library near Raleigh Park.
The potential takeover raises questions about Beaverton's finances. The city has faced budget shortfalls for several years because of constrained tax revenue and rising service costs, according to The Oregonian's reporting.
Beaverton already operates the Beaverton City Library and a second branch in Murray Scholls.
Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) connects 16 libraries across the county. Under that system, cities run libraries in urban areas while nonprofits operate branches in unincorporated zones, according to Sherbert.
A Beaverton takeover of Garden Home would scramble that arrangement.
Adding to the uncertainty, WCCLS is reworking how it distributes funds from the library levy that Washington County voters renewed in November 2025, The Oregonian reported.
The county is also centralizing the system its libraries use to manage materials.
Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty has previously criticized the proposed funding changes. She told The Oregonian ahead of the November 2025 levy vote that the new formula would disproportionately fund smaller branches. Beaverton would see only a 9% increase in library funding even as the levy tax rate rose 68%, Beaty said.
Whether the funding formula change has been finalized is unclear from available records. The proposed shift from checkout-based to population-based distribution required approval from the Washington County Board of Commissioners as of November 2025.
Sherbert said any future decisions would be based on the study's findings and informed by discussions with stakeholders, library partners and the community.
