The Library Foundation

05/29/2026

For those of you who haven't heard. 🗣️📣
“Despite my hardcore gatekeeping tendencies, there is one thing that I want to just put in the air … go to your local libraries.”
— Brianna Wheeler, Willamette Week Reporter on City Cast Portland
ep: “Your Guide to May 2026 in Portland”
Aired 4/30/2026

05/28/2026

It’s berry season at your East County Library🫐

In the interactive early learning space, laughter and joyful shouts fill the air as young children explore, learn, and grow in an environment designed to support their development.

Inspired by her love of berry picking, Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade wrote her first self-authored picture book, Berry Song. The book pays homage to her indigenous Tlingit roots in Alaska, and her art is incorporated into the design of the indoor and outdoor play spaces.

Research shows that playing and learning in rich and stimulating environments are crucial for a young child's cognitive development. Through interactive play, children develop language skills, problem-solving, creativity, and empathy.

These spaces draw children to the library and help them feel welcome from their first visit. They also give parents, caregivers, and families chances to connect with each other, the library, its books, programs, storytimes, and other learning support tools they can bring home.

East County Library’s interactive early learning space is part of 8 new and expanded library locations across the county, made possible through community support to The Library Foundation.

Curiosity, play, and learning thrive at the new East County Library, where all children and families are welcomed and supported.🍓

05/27/2026

Curious what happens inside the Creative Learning Room at East County Library?
⚙️✨

Join a free tour every Saturday to explore the tools, technology, and hands-on creative spaces designed for learning, experimentation, and discovery.

Tours are 20 minutes with time for questions afterward. No registration required. Equipment will be unavailable for use during this tour.

Because libraries can be places to make things, too. 📚

See the full details here: https://multcolib.org/events-classes

05/26/2026

Ron came to Portland from the Philippines at sixteen, leaving her family behind to live with her aunt and attend Parkrose High. At first, she struggled to fit in—few classmates spoke her first language. But she found a home at Midland Library, where the Tagalog books on the shelves became a quiet kind of comfort. “Whenever I pass by that section, I’m transported back to the Philippines,” she says.

When she was in high school, her teacher introduced her to that year’s Multnomah County Library’s Everybody Reads selection, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. The book’s protagonist—a sixteen-year-old girl moving between California and Japan—mirrored Ron’s own feelings of being caught between two worlds. The book helped her pull the disconnected parts of her life together. “I should take my own time and just live in the present. You can do it, just do it at your own pace.”

Following our conversation with her, Ron went on to study psychology at Reed College, with plans to become a clinical psychiatrist.

Gifts to The Library Foundation support transformational experiences like Ron’s and opportunities for teens to enter into a community dialogue on topics that matter.

05/22/2026

The African and African American experience comes alive for children from birth to age 6 (with their favorite adult or family members) at Black Family Storytime. Have fun with books and stories, songs, and movement activities in a positive and affirming environment that builds the language and literacy skills your child needs to be ready for kindergarten.

BLACK FAMILY STORYTIMES:
Saturday, May 30, 11:30am-12:15pm at Albina Library, 205 NE Russell St, Portland
Tuesday, June 2, 11-11:30am ONLINE

Plus additional in-person and online sessions through July. Attendance at in-person sessions is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. See the full schedule of Black Family Storytime sessions here: https://multcolib.org/events-classes?search=%22Black%20Family%20Storytime%22

Multnomah County Library Storytimes are supported by gifts made to The Library Foundation.

05/21/2026

A library card can now get you behind the sound booth, in front of a green screen, or into a podcast studio.

The new Audiovisual Studio at your new East County Library is filled with music, creativity, and opportunities for teens and tweens to discover storytelling through sound and video.

DJ Skills for Beginners is among the first free programs in the space, and more creative opportunities are on the way. Though classes fill up fast, join the waitlist to secure your spot. More sessions are coming soon.

Libraries can be more than places to check out books, films, or music. They can create it.

The audio-visual studio and other vital learning spaces for children and teens were made possible by generous gifts from our supporters at East County Library and at seven additional new and expanded library locations across the county. These spaces include interactive early childhood spaces, teen spaces, creative learning/STEAM labs, and children’s outdoor areas.

See the full schedule of classes using the East County Library AV studio here: https://multcolib.org/events-classes

05/18/2026

“These facilities are not only about books, but so much more,” - Director of Libraries Annie Lewis, Multnomah County Library.

Read the full OPB story here:
🔗

The East County Library is one of the most ambitious projects for Multnomah County, which has spent the past six years renovating and rebuilding its library locations.

05/18/2026

It’s National Bike Month! Join a special storytime full of bike-themed books, songs, and activities. Kids attending will receive a free bike light while supplies last — a sweet little something to take home.

FAMILY BIKE STORYTIME
Saturday, May 23, 10:30-11:30am
Northwest Library, 2030 NW Pettygrove St, Portland

Attendance is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. More details here: https://multcolib.org/events-classes/family-bike-storytime

Multnomah County Library Storytimes are supported by gifts made to The Library Foundation.

05/17/2026

Opening weekend continues at East County Library; don't miss the celebration.❤️

So far this weekend, we've seen mariachi performances, Indigenous hoop dancing, STEAM activities, DJ sets, architecture talks, art studios, and the A/V recording space in action. A celebration of what libraries can become when they're shaped by us.

A place for many, many books but also a safe place to gather, create, and belong.📚✨

05/16/2026

Welcome to your East County Library. 📚✨

Today, East County Library officially opens its doors. We invite you to experience a reimagining of what a public library can be.

Yes, there are books. Thousands of them. Cozy corners to read, study, and slow down, and…

⚙️ A creative learning lab for STEAM exploration
👾 Space designed just for teens
🫐 Indoor and outdoor early learning areas for young children
🎸 State-of-the-art AV studio
🛋️ Gathering spaces and community rooms
⛰️Rooftop lounge area with views of Mt.Hood

Shaped by the input of more than 5,000 community members, every detail celebrates the neighborhoods, cultures, and people that make Gresham what it is.

For the past four years, generous gifts to The Library Foundation have enabled the creation of vital interactive learning spaces for children and teens across eight new and renovated library locations throughout the county.

Together, we're transforming libraries into places for creativity, connection, and belonging.

📸Photos by Bitna Chung.