Library service in the area around Lake Quinault dates back to 1940 when the Grays Harbor Rural Library District began bookmobile service to the community of Quinault. Within a short time bookmobile visits were paused due to gas rationing during World War II, but local residents soon established the Neilton Literary Club to provide reading material to the surrounding communities. Operating out of spare space in the Neilton Store and Post Office, the club maintained a lending library, often sourcing books from the county library branch in Montesano. The Neilton library would later move into a local church and, eventually, into its own building - a house remodeled and donated by local residents. It continued to operate through the volunteer support of Literary Club members into the 1970s, even as bookmobile service to the area resumed. [source: History of the Timberland Amanda Park Library by Elizabeth Carlyle]
Timberland Regional Library was established in 1968, continuing bookmobile service to northwest Grays Harbor County. In 1977, TRL and the Quinault School District agreed to the placement of a stationary bookmobile on the K-12 Quinault Schools grounds for the purpose of providing library service to the surrounding area on a permanent basis. The decommissioned bookmobile was replaced in 1991 in favor of a new library located on Quinault Tribal property adjacent to the Quinault School grounds. While no longer in use, the bookmobile itself did not travel far, and currently sits on private property just south of Neilton.
The Amanda Park Timberland Library was officially opened on November 2, 1991. The library building, inspired by the Quinault Indian culture, has earned an honor award from the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the 1995 Award of Excellence for Library Architecture co-sponsored by the American Library Association and the AIA. "Architect Clint Pherson designed the library after studying the gable roofed long houses and fishing wires constructed by the Quinault Indians. Both structures used a frame of bare poles lashed together with soft strips of cedar...The landscaping plan was designed to have minimal impact on the site." [source: Quinault Rain Barrel Vol. 9 No. 10 10/25/1991]
The cost of the new library, $262,872, was supported by timber revenue - at the time a more significant portion of TRL's budget (approximately 19% in 1991 vs. 5% in 2026). Upgrades made as part of the Accessibility Improvements Project in 2016 were co-funded by TRL and Grays Harbor County and brought the library into compliance with modern ADA standards. Later, a refresh in 2021 addressed numerous structural deficiencies caused by years of exposure to the challenging weather of the Quinault Rain Forest. In the fall of 2023, the Amanda Park library was added to a growing list of branches featuring Expanded Access Hours (EAH) providing keycard access to the patrons beyond staffed hours and greatly expanded the library's availability.
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