The building which houses Garden Home Community Library was once the Garden Home School. Due to declining enrollment the school closed in 1982, and the building was acquired by Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District (THPRD). In 1983, local volunteers (some of whom are still regular patrons) began the library with books leftover from the school. In partnership with the community, THPRD made an old classroom available and generously contributed funds and resources in the library’s early years. The Garden Home Community Library Association was formed in 1994, making the library an official non-profit organization.

In July of 1996 Garden Home became the twelfth member in the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS), a partnership of 16 public libraries throughout the county. Member libraries share their books and other library materials, so regardless of where you live in the county, you have access to about 1.7 million items.

A 2004 expansion doubled Garden Home Community Library’s space to 1,860 square feet. In the spring of 2019, the library added another room of the Garden Home Recreation Center for a total of 3,449 square feet.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, GHCL ended the lease of the “Annex,” a retail space in the shopping center across the street that had been used for library programs from 2015-2020, and instead acquired GHRC’s Room 7.

For more information (and great old photos!), head over to the Garden Home History Project, as local historians have documented the many permutations of the library over the years.