Illinois Valley library branch

Visit the remodeled Illinois Valley Library!

209 West Palmer — Cave Junction, OR 97523 — 541-592-4778

The Illinois Valley library is open for regular hours after an eight-month closure for extensive renovations! Come check out the remodeled children’s area, new community room, and technology upgrades.

Library hours:

  • Wednesday: 11 am — 6 pm

  • Thursday through Saturday: 11 am — 5 pm

    Thank you to all the donors, grant funders, and supporters who helped us finish this project— you made this possible!

The renovated Illinois Valley branch includes:

  • A community room — This project added a community room with a capacity of 80 people and dedicated ADA restrooms, providing the Illinois Valley with a much-needed community space for meetings, programs, and other gatherings.

  • A teaching kitchen — Located in the community room, this is a space where programs can be held about everything from healthy meal planning strategies to hands-on culinary instruction and practice, bridging nutrition science, healthcare, and the culinary arts.

  • An early learning center — This area encourages the development of key early literacy skills in a fun, engaging way for our youngest community members. It offers the space and opportunity for children to play, learn, and grow.

  • A maker space — A collaborative workspace that emphasizes hands-on discovery in a world that has become increasingly automated, the maker space will continue to add different tools and components so people of all ages can enter with an idea and leave with a complete project.

  • A STEAM outdoor area — STEAM education is an approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. This area allows for more STEAM library programs with the added bonus of spending time outdoors in a safe environment.

The renovation also:

  • Expanded the library from 4,264 to 5,764 square feet.

  • Relocated the children’s library area and media center and added a dedicated restroom in the children’s library.

  • Enhanced technology, safety, and security, and include new furniture, shelving, and energy-efficient fixtures. 

  • Updated the existing library wing with additional natural lighting, seismic retrofit, new interior finishes, new ceilings, and new roof.

Planning and construction

On March 25, 2024, library leaders and partners broke ground, marking the start of construction for the Illinois Valley Library Renovation Project including representatives from Josephine Community Library Foundation, Josephine Community Library District, the City of Cave Junction, ZCS Engineering & Architecture, and Ausland Group.

Library and foundation leaders with members of city council and contractors.

Ribbon cutting for the renovated Illinois Valley library in November, 2024.

Project Partners and Funding

In partnership with the library district, the City of Cave Junction was awarded a $1.5 million Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to help fund the renovation of the Illinois Valley library. CDBG is a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and is administered by Business Oregon.

The Oregon State Legislature via Rep. Lily Morgan contributed $900,000 for this project as part of the Local Community Investments program using funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan.

Grant funds were also received from Oregon Community Foundation, the Carpenter Foundation, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, and the Reser Family Foundation. Additional funding partners were Barbara Beebe, Josephine County Solid Waste Agency, and Southern Oregon Sanitation.

In August of 2021, the foundation launched the New Chapters Crowdfund to raise additional funds needed to support the renovation. The community rallied behind this project and showed their support by donating and surpassing the goal of $110,000!

For a full list of supporters of this project, visit our supporters page.