February 2025
Dear Multnomah County community,
In October 2024, I was appointed by the Multnomah County Board of County Commissioners to serve as your permanent library director. I have been deeply moved by the community support as well as the invaluable thoughts you’ve shared with me and I am continuously reflecting on your input and experiences.
As I look ahead, I am filled with excitement about the library of the future. Libraries are much more than buildings filled with books and quiet study spaces.
Today’s libraries are vibrant community hubs that connect people, knowledge and ideas, allowing the possibilities to unfold. Library spaces reflect and serve our increasingly diverse community and embrace new technologies while maintaining the timeless qualities that make libraries special. We work hard to make the library a place where everyone is welcome.
I plan to share regular updates with our community members on our website, with the goal of keeping you informed of new developments and important milestones. At this time, I have a few important updates to share with you about new library spaces and some changes we are making to prepare your library system for the future.
Bond update
I want to thank voters for your investment in libraries and prioritizing them in our community. We have great momentum around our capital bond work and there is so much to celebrate.
In 2024, we opened two new libraries, Holgate and Midland; renovated Central, Gregory Heights, Fairview-Columbia, Hillsdale, and Troutdale libraries; and fully moved into our new Operations Center, complete with automated materials handling. We held our last groundbreaking for projects in the 2020 bond program at St. Johns Library in November, and as construction continues in 2025, we will see the opening of the new North Portland and Albina libraries, along with more refresh projects. The library is delivering these projects as promised.
It has been wonderful to have community members participate in this project as paid design advisors to make sure these buildings, spaces and programs serve our community. Thank you to every community member involved in making these milestones possible.
Service priorities
To support our new spaces, it was necessary to be clear about the things we are responsible for as a library as well as the services we provide that fall outside of what we can provide as a public library. Our top priority is maintaining our library spaces with collections, technology and customer service, and keeping them open for patrons. The other services we prioritize are listed here:
- Library spaces with accompanying collections, technology and direct customer service.
- Information and referral services both in person and online
- A library website and public access catalog
- Programs and activities that foster literacy development and interest; create awareness of library services or information resources; or that provide opportunities for creativity and learning.
At the foundation of our priorities is our commitment to providing equitable library services to all community members in Multnomah County. To achieve this, the library will use principles that emphasize the need to develop strategies that cater to the diverse needs of the communities we serve.
We are also reviewing library programming in the context of new spaces and these priorities. In the future, the library will prioritize programs and services that take place in our libraries, which likely means fewer programs that happen in the community while still maintaining our commitment to outreach services for individuals who have no or limited access to library buildings. This is also an opportunity to partner with more community organizations to bring in outside expertise to meet the needs of our community.
Staffing plan
In the coming weeks we will introduce a new staffing plan to ensure that we have adequate staffing at all of our libraries, including new library spaces. This plan prioritizes safety and is designed to keep our libraries operating and open to patrons when you expect them to be.
Our planning teams have been working extraordinarily hard on determining how we will support our priorities and a successful future of Multnomah County Library. I am grateful for the thoughtfulness and care library staff have incorporated into this work. There will be more details about staffing and programming changes in the coming weeks and I will share that information with you.
Libraries have always been about more than books — they’re about access, opportunity and community. As we write this next chapter together, I remain committed to Multnomah County Library being a place where knowledge is free, curiosity is encouraged and everyone is welcome.
Warmly,
Annie Lewis
Library Director