PORTLAND, Ore. — The St. Johns Library will close Oct. 11 as part of Multnomah County Library's renovation project. It's scheduled to reopen in spring 2026.
Voters approved a library building bond in 2020 to renovate and expand five existing libraries, refresh 11 others and build three new ones.
The St. Johns Library, housed in a historic Carnegie building on North Charleston Avenue, will grow from about 5,600 square feet to 8,500 square feet. New features of the library will include a large play and learning space, meeting areas and a space for teens to use technology and do homework. The historic Carnegie building will be maintained and added onto, the Multnomah County Library said.
While the library is closed, patrons are encouraged to visit the Kenton Library at 8226 North Denver Avenue or the Northwest Library at 2300 Northwest Thurman Street.
The St. Johns Library opened on November 22, 1913. It's one of more than 1,600 public libraries in the U.S. that were funded to be built by Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie between 1883 and 1929, according to the Oregon Historical Society. Including the St. Johns Library, 31 Carnegie libraries were built in Oregon, but only 11 are still being used for their original purpose.
Other library renovation and expansions
Midland Library
Location: 805 Southeast 122nd Avenue
Construction timeline: Closed on December, 23, 2022 and scheduled to reopen fall 2024
Renovation details: An additional 6,000 square feet of space will be added on the existing site. There will be an outdoor interactive children's garden, a large play and learning space for families, a teen room for using technology and doing homework, and an outdoor plaza.
North Portland Library
Location: 512 North Killingsworth Street
Construction timeline: Closed on April 5, 2023 and scheduled to be complete winter 2024/2025
Renovation details: An additional 1,500 square feet will be added to the existing site. There will be a Black Cultural Center and an outdoor space, aside from updated technology and new art.
Albina Library
Location: 216 Northeast Knott Street
Construction timeline: Closed on March 18, 2023 and scheduled to be complete spring 2025
Renovation details: An additional 30,000 square feet will be added on the existing site, increasing it to nearly four times its current size. There will be an outdoor courtyard, large community and meeting rooms, expanded study spaces, and a teen room for doing homework and using technology.
Belmont Library
Location: 1038 Southeast César E. Chávez Boulevard
Construction timeline: Closed on September 7, 2024 and scheduled to be complete spring 2026
Renovation details: An additional 15,000 square feet will be added to the existing site including parking. There will be a large play and learning space for children, meeting spaces, and a teen area for technology and doing homework.
New library buildings
Location: 7905 Southeast Holgate Boulevard
Construction timeline: Reopened on July 13, 2024
Building details: A new, two-story, 21,000-square foot building is now open on the existing site. It includes a teen room, multiple community rooms, a large learning and play space for children, book lockers, modernized self-checkout stations, and an outdoor plaza.
Northwest Library
Location: Moving from a leased space to 2030 Northwest Pettygrove Street
Construction timeline: Scheduled to be complete in spring 2025
Building details: The new location will be about 11,000 square feet, or more than twice the size of the old building. There will be a large play and learning space for children, meeting spaces, and a teen area with technology and room to do homework.
East County Library
Location: 1297 Northwest Eastman Pkwy, Gresham
Construction timeline: Scheduled to be complete spring 2026
Building details: A new library of roughly 95,000 square feet will be built on a new site in East County. Building features will include a large auditorium for celebrations, lectures and performances. There will also be a makerspace for classes, an audio visual studio with technology, a teen room, a family space with indoor and outdoor children's play and learning areas, and an outdoor space with a theater and plaza.
