Exciting news: Multnomah County Library is receiving a special gift! In early 2026, we will receive a $40,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The gift recognizes the library’s long-standing stewardship of its historic Carnegie library buildings.
This award is part of Carnegie Libraries 250, which celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Carnegie Corporation of New York is sending $10,000 gifts to Carnegie libraries that are still in operation today. We’ll receive a $40,000 gift through The Library Foundation, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting our library’s leadership, innovation and reach through private support.
A brief overview of Carnegie libraries
Andrew Carnegie gave around $56 million to build 2,509 public libraries around the world. Between 1886 and 1917, he funded the construction of 1,681 libraries nationwide. Today about 1,280 of those libraries still serve their communities. Around 750 are still in their original buildings.
As part of the initial gift, Carnegie required that the libraries he funded must be maintained by the communities they served. He wrote that a free library is the best gift that can be given “provided the community will accept and maintain it as a public institution, as much a part of the city property as its public schools."
In Oregon, he founded the construction of seven new libraries around the Portland area. This work happened under the leadership of Mary Frances Isom, who helped shape Multnomah County Library into what it is today. Isom led the library system through a radical transformation. During her tenure from 1902 to 1920, the library shifted from a private space that people had to pay to access into a free public institution that anyone could use. She described libraries as “the great social center of the community.”
Local Carnegie sites
Three of the buildings Carnegie helped fund in Portland are used as libraries today: Albina Library, North Portland Library and St. Johns Library. The original building for Gresham Library, also funded by Carnegie, is now used for the Gresham Historical Society.
Albina Library
Albina Library is one of Portland's three original Carnegie buildings that serves library patrons today. The funds to build the library came from Carnegie’s first gift of $105,000 in 1911, which funded this and two other spaces, including North Portland Library. Albina Library was built with stucco in a Spanish Renaissance design. For a time, this building was the home of the The Title Wave Used Bookstore before transforming back into a library. Recent upgrades made possible by the Multnomah County Library Capital Bond preserved many historic features while adding more space and improving accessibility.
North Portland Library
Another functioning Carnegie building, North Portland Library was built in a Jacobethan style in 1913. Over the course of the century, this library became home to the Black Resources Collection, a systemwide collection of materials by and about Black people. In 2025 when the library reopened after bond improvements, updates included more space and a new Black Cultural Center for connection and a celebration of Blackness.
St. Johns Library
An additional $60,000 in Carnegie funds given in 1912 made the building of St. Johns and Gresham libraries possible. While Carnegie funded the building for the St. Johns library, the land itself was given by Mr. M. L. Holbrook. This library is currently undergoing a major renovation that will maintain its historic features while adding much more space and addressing modern needs. It’s expected to reopen in summer 2026.
Gresham Library
Gresham Library opened its original Tudor-style Carnegie building in 1913. In 1990, the library moved to a new, larger location. Today, the original building is owned by the Gresham Historical Society. And thrillingly, the all-new East County Library, full of amazing new features and spaces, opens soon! This library started at 3,032 square feet in 1913, and will open as a 95,000 square foot building in spring 2026.
A library legacy
“Multnomah County Library became what it is today in part because of the investment of Andrew Carnegie and our local community more than 100 years ago,” shares Director of Libraries Annie Lewis. “That tradition of community stewardship in our libraries continues now as we modernize and expand library spaces for future generations.”
Carnegie’s vision shaped more than library buildings. It changed communities. His support helped create spaces across the world where people gather, learn, and connect to this day. This new recognition serves as a valuable reminder: while libraries can be historic, their purpose is evergreen. Libraries serve the community, support knowledge, and create opportunities for all, no matter who they are. We aim to keep holding “an essential part in the life of the community” — like Isom herself wished.