Hundreds of people came to the Brookwood Library on February 7, 2026 for the First Annual Living Library, created and organized by the Library Foundation. The theme centered on Hillsboro’s history and evolution, and over 30 people participated as “living books.” These participants hailed from different historically relevant businesses, cultural organizations, community organizations, and the surrounding farming community, and they shared their stories and insights with an interested and interesting public.
Gauri Joshi, who shared about local and historic Indian and Hindu culture wrote, “The Living Library experience is a profound one, bringing back lived human experiences and memories in an age where digital information is abundant.”
The event was a chance to help build community bonds intergenerationally and amongst people who may not know one another or normally have access to each other’s stories. Amongst the participants there were Tom Hughes and Steve Callaway, two former mayors of the City of Hillsboro, Tim Erwert, long time City Manager, Nikol Roubidoux, the Advisor for the Indigenous Student Alliance at Pacific University, Ron and Kira Iwasaki, two members of a long-time farming family whose relatives had been confined in the internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II, Doug Johnson, the owner of the legendary Hillsboro Pharmacy, and many others.
Bob Herb, former President of the Chamber of Commerce brought Hillsboro-opoly, a professionally made game that some local businesses had created some years back, with Hillsboro businesses representing each space of the board.
Participant Titonian Wallace, who founded the Black Advisory Business Council Scholarship Fund, expressed hope that the Living Library would become an annual event and said, “The room held a lot of history, containing stories the general public may not know.”
The event, scheduled from 10 am to 2 pm, was full of continuous conversation and great energy. Participants and the public alike all expressed gratitude for this curated space to come together to share stories, memories, and hopes for the City’s future.
Attendee Kanishkan Tamilarasan went out of his way to write to the organizers: “While I was able to attend only for a short time, the experience truly meant a lot to me. As someone who has lived in Hillsboro for just two years, it was incredibly special to learn about the community’s history directly from the people who lived and built it for decades. The atmosphere you and your team created, welcoming, diverse, and full of stories, made the event feel meaningful and memorable.”
