St. Johns temporary holds pickup closing June 11 to begin move out
PORTLAND, Ore.--May 21, 2026
Multnomah County Library is excited to announce the grand opening of St. Johns Library on June 27, 2026. St. Johns Library is now a larger, modern space, built to reflect its diverse neighboring communities.
What’s inside:
- St. Johns holds location closing June 11, 2026
- Advance press tour June 25, 2026
- Ribbon cutting ceremony June 27, 2026
- Public celebration June 27-28, 2026
- New features and spaces: kids, teens, community rooms
- Community-driven art
Multnomah County Library is modernizing library spaces as part of a November 2020 capital bond. With the opening of the expanded St. Johns Library, the library has opened 19 building projects (11 Refreshes, seven renovated, expanded or new libraries and one Operations Center) and will complete the final location, Belmont Library, in summer 2026. The Library Capital Bond has responsibly used the community’s investments to deliver beautiful, modern and transformed libraries.
St. Johns Library is a perfect representation of these modern transformations. The building was renovated and expanded, updating the historic Carnegie building and adding 2,900 square feet for a total of 8,500 square feet of space on the existing site. Gifts to The Library Foundation supported the creation of an interactive early learning space featuring artwork by Carson Ellis, a teen room for students to gather and study, and mobile creative learning lab at St. Johns Library.
St. Johns holds location closing June 11, 2026
During construction at St. Johns Library, a temporary holds location was set up at 8191 N. Lombard Street in unit 110 to provide patrons with a space for holds pickups, wi-fi, printing, scanning and more.
The temporary holds location is closing to the public on June 11, 2026 in order to move books, furniture and other materials out of the space and help staff prepare the updated St. Johns Library for patrons. The last day the temporary holds location will be open to the public will be June 10.
The community is invited to use alternate locations while the St. Johns hold pickup is closed and before St. Johns Library reopens:
Kenton Library: 8226 N Denver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217
North Portland Library: 512 N Killingsworth Street, Portland, OR 97217
Northwest Library: 2030 NW Pettygrove Street, Portland, OR 97209
Celebrating St. Johns with the community
St. Johns Library has long been a cornerstone of the community in the St. Johns neighborhood. To recognize its role as a diverse, beloved location, all of the updates are the result of extensive community and staff engagement with features for the community to enjoy.
To celebrate the opening of the new, expanded St. Johns, the library is hosting two, fun-filled days of activities for the community on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28. Beginning with a ribbon cutting at 9:30 am on Saturday, June 27 followed by music, dancing and more, there will be plenty to do while exploring the new features of St. Johns Library. Patrons can stay up-to-date on the library website.
Advance press tour of St. Johns Library
**Due to the level of activity expected for the opening events, members of the media are invited to tour the new library early on Thursday, June 25 from 1-2 pm. The press tour will meet outside the library. At this time, the media can get photos of the completed building, comments about the new features and learn about the expansive space, public art and more at St. Johns. **
Exterior rendering of the new addition at St. Johns Library attached to the historic Carnegie building; rendering courtesy of Bora Architecture & Interiors
New features include:
- An early learning and play space for children and their families.
- One large and two small community rooms for meetings and library programs.
- A teen room for enjoying technology, connection and creativity.
- Updated wi-fi and technology, including more laptops, iPads and creative software for patron use.
- New Automated Materials Handling system, ensuring materials get to patrons much faster.
- Modern self-checkout stations to provide a better patron experience.
- Thousands of books, DVDs and CDs with representation of the cultural and language diversity of the neighborhood.
- New art that represents the community in partnership with the Regional Arts & Culture Council, including:
- An outdoor sculpture series by artist Victor Trejo
- A new mural in the kids area by artist Carson Ellis
- A new painting on wood panels in the teen room by Portland Street Art Alliance artist David Rice, guided by a teen art workshop at Roosevelt High School.
Centering the community
To amplify the community’s ideas, the library worked with the design team to host focus groups, public meetings, tabling at local schools and events, and public surveys. We engaged over 2,500 people during more than 50 activities. Community members cast 766 votes for St. Johns’ interior color, with the winning theme being cool greens and blues inspired by views of Forest Park.
Additionally, five Community Design Advocates were part of a paid program to connect with their communities about how St. Johns Library can represent them. This group met with the library’s designers and worked together to plan their outreach, then gave feedback to the architects based on what they learned from their communities.
A new place to read and relax
St. Johns Library now comes with more seating and space to enjoy the diverse collection of books, CDs and DVDs available to patrons. Find a spot under the new ceiling acoustic panels, each of which features patterns inspired by a community art workshop held at the St. Johns Art Walk. Not only are these panels beautiful, but they also help to reduce noise in the library!
Interior rendering of the collections and seating area with acoustic ceiling panels featuring patterns from a community art workshop; rendering courtesy of Bora Architecture & Interiors
Learning and playing in the kids area
St. Johns Library is continuing the commitment to early learning and development with a kids area for learning and play. This area has unique furniture developed by the Burgeon Group, the premier firm designing, building and installing creative early learning spaces in public libraries. Engaging nature scenes with mushrooms and forest plants are highlighted throughout the interactive pieces to encourage reading, talking, writing, playing and singing. All of these pieces are surrounded by a whimsical, forest-themed mural by renowned artist and author Carson Ellis.
Places for accessible connection
With multiple community rooms patrons can use, it’s easy to connect at St. Johns Library. Whether you’re attending a community meeting, going to a library event, or just need a quiet room for a one-on-one conversation, these spaces are for the community. There’s one large and two small community rooms the public can use.
The community rooms are also equipped with audiovisual equipment. Need to connect remotely for a job interview or host a presentation? St. Johns Library has you covered! All of the meeting rooms support state-of-the-art presentation and video conferencing when connected to a library-supplied laptop.
The large community room is even more accessible thanks to assistive listening systems that amplify sounds from lectures, presentations, storytimes and events. This way, hard of hearing patrons can fully engage with library programs and resources. In the large community room at St. Johns, the library offers assistive listening systems through a wireless system that allows patrons to use library-provided receivers or their own smartphones.
Interior rendering of the new kids area and community room (please note that the artwork was a placeholder and may not reflect the actual mural); rendering courtesy of Bora Architecture & Interiors
Artwork for all
As part of these building projects, each major location gains engaging new artwork thanks to the Multnomah County Percent for Art Program, which is led by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC). RACC advocates for equity, inclusion and access within the arts. They also connect artists and creatives to opportunities throughout the region.
As patrons, staff and visitors approach the new building, they will be greeted by local artist Victor Trejo’s site-specific exterior sculptures. These pieces are inspired by traditional Mexican folk art and Victor’s Aztec ancestry. Known as Alebrijes, there are three vibrant and fantastical creatures in the series:
- Sollín, a combination of fox, rabbit and dog.
- Maxy, a combination of elk and bear.
- Metzli, a salmon.
Incorporating patterns and symbols created by the community, the sculptures are adorned with intricate markings and vivid colors that combine the features of a variety of animals. The blending of these elements come together to create something unique and beautiful. It’s similar to how many people from different cultures come together to create strong and vibrant communities. Traditionally, Alebrijes symbolize spiritual guides, the intersection of life and death, cultural fusion and Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, traditions. Together, these three Alebrijes have many rich stories to share about friendship, endurance, hope, kindness, ancestral wisdom and respect for the land. Victor hopes people will be inspired to be curious about the world around them. He hopes the artworks will infuse a greater sense of kindness, love and unity into the world. As a sculptor, Victor comes from a long line of creative people and is originally from Mexico City.
The teen room features artist David Rice’s mural A Picnic With Friends. This artwork was inspired by a workshop with Roosevelt High School art students and their connection with the natural world. A common theme with the students' connection to nature was through picnics. Growing up in a city, many of the students spend time outside in city parks. Here, they can share and commune in nature, away from the technologies that are so prevalent in today's world, and enjoy time with friends and a few of the inhabitants of our wildlife community.
Moving to the kids area, local author and illustrator Carson Ellis has created a larger-than-life, site-specific digital mural of a magical world of Forest Park-inspired critters and creatures. For five years, Carson and her family lived in the woods of Forest Park above the St. Johns Bridge. During that time, St. Johns Library was their local library. As a family, they spent a lot of rainy winter days there figuring out how to keep two kids busy. Carson subsequently knows how invaluable a cozy library reading room is. She feels incredibly honored to have not only been able to create art for a library, but also to decorate a room that children will grow up in.The new children’s area is adorned with flora and fauna of Forest Park including maidenhair fern, yarrow, a rough-skinned newt, an American goldfinch and much more. As someone who loves the forests that surround Portland, Carson wanted to celebrate them and to remind St. Johns’ families that the woods are always there to visit right across the bridge. You can even go in the rain.
A resilient building
Bora Architecture & Interiors and Convergence Architecture, a local St. Johns architecture firm, led the design for St. Johns Library. Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty company, is the General Contractor. St. Johns Library is on track to be LEED Gold certified, one of the highest levels of energy efficiency awarded to buildings and a county standard. St. Johns reduced its impact on the environment by reusing the existing Carnegie building structure and facades. The building also boasts a seismic upgrade, highly efficient new mechanical and plumbing systems, as well as low-emitting materials which contribute to improved indoor air quality.
Multnomah County Library is excited to present this transformed St. Johns Library to the community.
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About Multnomah County Library
A treasured community institution since 1864, Multnomah County Library is one of the nation’s busiest public library systems, providing social, educational and cultural programs, resources and services, online and through its 19 public locations. With an eye toward the future of community-centered spaces, the library is working to build, rebuild or expand nine libraries through a voter approved capital bond. In addition to being Oregon’s largest provider of free internet access, the library offers millions of print and digital resources, in multiple languages for people of all ages. From early learning to job training, computer-assisted design and 3D printing, the library supports all people in their pursuits to connect, learn and create. Learn more at multcolib.org