Patron Coalition for Local Libraries Community Meetings — August 2026
Come talk libraries with us: five community meetings, one in every county of the district.
Free and open to everyone, at your local Timberland library.
The Patron Coalition for Local Libraries will be hosting five community listening sessions, one in each county, throughout the month of August. We invite all interested members of the public—including library patrons and staff, city and county officials, and Friends of the Library—to attend these sessions and share input regarding their vision for restoring a thriving five-county library system.
While we anticipate that members of the TRL Board of Trustees and TRL administrators will be in attendance, these listening sessions will not be Q&As. Instead, the purpose of these listening sessions is to facilitate community conversation regarding a potential upcoming proposal for a library levy lid lift.
Five counties · 29 branches · one public trust
Save Timberland Regional Library
The Timberland Regional Library (TRL) system is the backbone of communities across Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston counties. Earlier this year, patrons came together to restore threatened jobs and keep every library open — and with a levy lid lift on the November ballot, we have another opportunity to bring back jobs, expand library hours, and continue building a thriving, sustainable library system.
Why It Matters
We believe in our five-county library system, and we believe all five counties deserve an equitable, fair library where every community has equal access to services. For much of this region — especially its rural communities — the library is the hub: free books and internet, a warm place to be, programs for kids and seniors, services people can't get anywhere else nearby. A staffless branch is not a substitute for a staffed one.
What we're asking for
Our Support for the Levy
Without a levy lift, the library will likely have to lay off more employees and close more branches than it nearly did in early 2026. For better and worse, our library system hasn't asked for a tax increase in 25 years. This November, we finally have the chance to show our support at the ballot box: a 13-cent property tax increase would raise taxes by an average of $3.42 per month in Pacific County to $5.75 per month in Thurston County.
Voting for a levy lift is voting for the library's continued future. We see it as a bridge solution to keep the lights on, and we will keep supporting it for as long as the Board and TRL continue to demonstrate commitment to the conditions below. From there, we're confident we can keep working with library administrators and staff to ensure our libraries support the communities that fund them.
Our goal
A library that is a safe, welcoming, open resource for every resident of all five counties — open doors, real staff, full shelves, in every community, not just the easy-to-reach ones.
Three things have to be true
A transparent budget
We should see where every dollar goes — verified by an independent, third-party financial review, with a public spending plan that puts money into books, open hours, and frontline staff.
Qualified and effective staff
A permanent, experienced executive director chosen through a full, open search, plus the financial and technical expertise the system has lacked.
An accountable, open board
Every board seat filled with genuine stewards, a union voice at the table, and real community oversight built into how the library is run.
With sustainable funding in place, here is what that commitment looks like in practice. We continue to urge our county commissioners, board members, and public officials to:
- Require complete budget transparency, with clear, accurate information on administrative salaries.
- Support budgets that prioritize frontline staff, programs, and materials.
- Call an immediate halt to all non-essential building updates.
- Prioritize staffed branches over automation, rather than relying on staffless and single-staffed models built around software and surveillance.
- Make Friends of the Library members and former staff eligible to serve on the TRL Board of Trustees, by revising the policy that currently prevents it.
- Restore public trust with directors and administrative staff committed to rebuilding the system.
- Ask the Board of Trustees to publicly recommit to representing the best interests of the communities and library staff they serve.
These aren't promises to collect after the vote — they're the conditions of our support. See the full conditions and the evidence behind them →
Where things stand now
How the Library Is Building Back Stronger
In response to this year's public outcry, the new library administration has taken real steps to increase transparency and better support the communities it committed to serving. None of it is finished, but it shows what patrons can do when they show up.
- Library trustees have committed to a full search for a permanent executive director, with the goal of filling the role within six months to a year.
- The administration is working with patrons and the public to right past wrongs. Books, shelves, and large-print titles have returned to the Montesano branch — clear proof that when patrons speak up, wrongs can be righted, something we couldn't have said six months ago.
- TRL has implemented an administrative furlough that is saving the library roughly a quarter of a million taxpayer dollars between now and October.
- Interviews are underway for a qualified finance administrator, and the Board of Trustees has created a scope of work for a forensic audit to explain what went wrong and chart a path forward, so communities get the library service they deserve.
- A trustee-backed levy-lift campaign can put the system's funding on stable ground for the long term, moving us from a library that is simply surviving to one that can thrive.
The takeaway
Books, shelves, local art, and furniture can be restored where patrons ask for them, branch by branch. The Take Action section has the specific ways to help make that happen.
⟨ The situation is always progressing. The Patron Coalition will provide updates as we have them. ⟩
What's Happening
Earlier this year, a leadership and budget crisis put a five-county public institution at risk — and organized patrons pulled much of it back:
- TRL issued layoff notices to 61 frontline workers in March 2026. After organizing and union negotiation, the Board rescinded more than 80% of the involuntary layoffs and kept all branches open, though on reduced hours and under a hiring freeze.
- Three branches — Hoodsport, McCleary, and Amanda Park — were slated to lose their staff and shift to self-service, trading trained people for automation and surveillance. Community pushback paused that plan; their future remains under review.
- On May 21, the Board appointed an administrator who had helped develop the layoff plan as interim executive director — a reminder that, even as services are restored, rebuilding public trust is still the work ahead.
The Money & the Public Record
Reserves have fallen sharply, and by the district's own April 2026 projection the General Fund goes negative by 2030. We keep the receipts — the full financial picture and the underlying documents each live on their own page.
Take Action
A few minutes from you adds up. Start here, in order of impact:
Email the Board of Trustees
The trustees set TRL’s direction. Tell them you back the coalition’s three conditions and what would make your branch whole. One address reaches the whole board — and please cc the director’s office.
- The whole board at once: TRLBoardoftrustees@trl.org
- Dustin Loup — dloup@trl.org
- Brian Mittge — bmittge@trl.org
- Mary Beth Harrington — mharrington@trl.org
- Hal Blanton — hblanton@trl.org
- cc Andrea Heisel (interim director) — aheisel@trl.org · and the director’s office — Librarydirector@trl.org
Ask commissioners to fill the trustee seats
Mason County has no trustee at all right now. Four people are currently governing a five-county, 29-branch system. County commissioners are the ones who appoint trustees, and a short, respectful note from a constituent in their own county carries the most weight — especially in Mason. Find yours below.
- Grays Harbor: georgia.miller@graysharbor.us · rick.hole@graysharbor.us
- Lewis: bocc@lewiscountywa.gov (reaches the full board)
- Mason: MSmith@masoncountywa.gov
- Pacific: jdoyle@co.pacific.wa.us · lolsen@co.pacific.wa.us · dtobin@co.pacific.wa.us
- Thurston: carolina.mejia@co.thurston.wa.us · rachel.grant@co.thurston.wa.us · tye.menser@co.thurston.wa.us · wayne.fournier@co.thurston.wa.us · emily.clouse@co.thurston.wa.us
Fund the laid-off workers
A community fund is live to support the TRL workers who lost their jobs in the cuts. Every dollar helps a real person through a hard stretch.
And spread the word — share this page with neighbors who love their branch, and ask your county commissioners what they’re doing to support the library.
Stay connected
Lend a hand
Libraries are not just a place for books. They are where neighbors pay bills, print homework, find community, and exist without the expectation of payment.
A committed group of engaged, passionate people can change the world, starting with the library branches in our own communities. Together, residents of all five counties have the power to keep this essential service open. If you’ve ever used a library, this is the moment to get involved.
Have a question, or something to tell us about the district? Write to us at welovelibraries@proton.me, or follow @trlpatrons on Instagram.
Sources & Documents
Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary public document or credible local reporting. The financial projections are TRL's own.
The deep analysis behind these figures — Anatomy of a Financial Crisis, 13 exhibits built from audited budgets and 280 transcribed board meetings — was researched and written by Eric Wilson, a Thurston County resident and Patron Coalition volunteer, and is published and maintained on his own site.
Primary documents
- Timberland Regional Library — General Fund Fiscal Projections, April 2026 (the source of the projection chart): view the PDF.
- WA State Auditor — Financial Statements Audit Report, TRL, FY2024 (No. 1039929, pub. June 11, 2026) — audited cash & the 2024 deficit: view the PDF.
- WA State Auditor — Financial Statements Audit Report, TRL, FY2022 (No. 1034185, pub. Feb 5, 2024) — the audited baseline: view the PDF.
- WA State Auditor — Accountability Audit Report, TRL, FY2023 (No. 1036255, pub. Dec 19, 2024): portal.sao.wa.gov.
- WA State Auditor — Financial Statements Audit Report, TRL, FY2023 (No. 1036267, pub. Dec 19, 2024) — levy rate, assessed value, revenues/expenditures: portal.sao.wa.gov.
- Timberland Regional Library — Funding & Budget (reserve policy, fund-balance trend, funding mix): trl.org/budget.
- TRL — 2026 Budget Message (Jan 29, 2026): trl.org.
- TRL — Agreement to Limit Immediate Layoffs (Apr 2026): trl.org.
Local reporting
- The Daily World — TRL to lay off 61 frontline employees (Mar 17, 2026): thedailyworld.com.
- The Daily World — TRL rescinds 80% of planned involuntary layoffs (Apr 16, 2026): thedailyworld.com.
- ThurstonTalk — Andrea Heisel named Interim Executive Director (May 21, 2026): thurstontalk.com.
- The Daily World — Trustees take public questions on the budget crisis (Apr 14, 2026): thedailyworld.com.