Multnomah County Library Will Reopen a New Branch Each Week

All branches will reopen by the end of August.

Reading-Room_Roger-Bong The reading room of the Multnomah County Central Library. (Roger Bong) (Roger Bong)
By Shannon Gormley

Book-loving Portlanders, rejoice—Multnomah County Library is now moving toward a full reopening.

Starting tomorrow, the library will open a new branch each week until it’s fully reopened.

The Hillsdale Library is first on the schedule. Some weeks, multiple branches will reopen so that by Aug. 24 all libraries will be fully operational.

“I’m proud of the new and innovative ways the library served this community during the pandemic,” director of libraries Vailey Oehlke said in a press release. “But there’s nothing we have looked forward to more than opening those doors to serve people in person at every library.”

Though they will no longer be required, masks are still recommended. Time limits for browsing and using computers will be lifted. Appointments will no longer be required for holds pickup, and all branches, except Central Library, will return to pre-pandemic hours.

Eight library branches are already open. Here’s the reopening schedule for the remaining branches:

July 13: Hillsdale Library

July 20: Fairview-Columbia Library, Troutdale Library

July 27: Hollywood Library, North Portland Library, Northwest Library, St. Johns Library

Aug. 3: Belmont Library, Sellwood-Moreland Library

Aug. 10: Central Library

Aug. 24: Albina Library

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