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Grand Opening Celebration will be held July 24

PORTLAND, Ore. – Troutdale Library opens to the public on Monday, July 12. Located in the Cherry Park Market Center at 2451 S.W. Cherry Park Road in Troutdale, the 6,000-square-foot library offers a community meeting room with a 32-person capacity, 16 public computers, spaces for kids and teens, and access to Multnomah County Library’s two million books and other materials.

PORTLAND, OR – Next Friday, June 18, Multnomah County Library launches the largest-ever Summer Reading program for Multnomah County. In total, over 60,000 students will sign up for Summer Reading through school promotion in 2010 — twice as many school sign-ups as 2009. The program runs until August 31.

PORTLAND, OR – Representatives from Multnomah County Library are in Washington, D.C., today to receive the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The annual award, given by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), is the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries that make extraordinary civic, educational, economic, environmental, and social contributions.

PORTLAND, OR – Effective Jan. 1, Becky Cobb will be the deputy director of Multnomah County Library. Selected after a national search, Cobb will oversee daily operations of the 17-library system with direct management authority for the library’s support services, including budget and finance, human resources, technical services and collection development, facilities and security, and marketing and communications. Cobb has been with Multnomah County Library for 20 years and was most recently the library’s budget and finance manager.

PORTLAND, OR – In its second annual assessment, the national library publication Library Journal has again awarded Multnomah County Library a five star rating — the highest ranking possible.

The LJ Index of Public Library Services ranks libraries based on four per capita output measures: visits, circulation, program attendance and public Internet computer use. When compared with other large urban library systems in the U.S., Multnomah County Library was ranked #1 in circulation per capita once again, based on data compiled by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

PORTLAND, OR – Multnomah County Library has been named one of 10 recipients of the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation's highest honor for museums and libraries. The annual award, made by the Institute of Museum and Library Services since 1994, recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental or economic contributions to their communities. Multnomah County Library will receive the National Medal at a ceremony held later in Washington, D.C., and a $10,000 award in recognition of its extraordinary contributions.

PORTLAND, OR – Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler announced today that Vailey Oehlke, currently deputy director of Multnomah County Library, has been selected as the agency's next director of libraries.

The public is invited to a forum April 14 to meet candidates and ask questions

PORTLAND, OR – The Office of Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler has named three finalist candidates for the position of Multnomah County library director. In alphabetical order, the finalists are:

Holly Carroll, currently deputy director, Cleveland Public Library, Ohio
Christian Kruse, currently director, Live Oak Public Libraries, Savannah, Georgia
Vailey Oehlke, currently deputy director, Multnomah County Library

PORTLAND, OR – Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel announced her recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for the site of the new Troutdale Library: the Cherry Park Market site (242nd St. and S.W. Cherry Park Rd.). The siting decision will be made by the Board at the regular Board meeting on April 2.

PORTLAND, OR – Recently, the national library publication Library Journal unveiled the results of a new assessment tool for public libraries — and Multnomah County Library was the only library in the Pacific Northwest (and one of only a handful of U.S. libraries of its size) to receive five stars — the highest ranking possible.

PORTLAND, OR – Commissioner Lonnie Roberts announced that the Board of County Commissioners voted today to direct County staff to begin lease negotiations with four developers/property owners of potential sites for the new Troutdale Library. They are:

Five Multnomah County libraries will host new series of book discussions

PORTLAND, OR – Ever wished you could get to all those literary masterpieces you never read in school — but still want to explore? This fall, Multnomah County Library invites you to participate in a new series of free book discussion groups called Read the Classics.

Multnomah County Library hosts Summer Teen Writing Contest

PORTLAND, OR – Beginning June 13, all Multnomah County teens aged 12–18 are invited to participate in a writing contest made possible by The Library Foundation, with gift cards from Powell's Books as prizes.

PORTLAND, OR – Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen and Director of Libraries Molly Raphael will host a community meeting on Thursday, May 29 at 7 p.m. at the Kenton Masonic Temple (8130 N. Denver Avenue) to discuss two sites under consideration for the planned new library in the Kenton neighborhood.

The two sites are at 8226 N. Denver St. and 2133 N. Argyle St. (the TriMet site). Both sites:

Multnomah County Library director lauded for increasing diversity

PORTLAND, OR – Molly Raphael, the Director of Libraries for Multnomah County, has been awarded the Arthur Flemming Civil Rights Award for her efforts to increase diversity in library employment, collections and programming. This award is given by the Managers of Color affinity group of Multnomah County.

Multnomah County Library's annual lecture lets kids and others hear first-hand from noted writers

PORTLAND, OR – Though her writing has encompassed topics as diverse as the Holocaust and the Triangle Fire, dystopian societies, Maine in the 1970s and second grade classrooms, author Lois Lowry's books have consistently dealt with a central theme: the importance of human connections.

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