North Portland Library reopening as larger library, with culture at its core

Published 10:31 am Tuesday, January 7, 2025

North Portland Library will opens its doors to an expanded, modern space on Saturday, Feb. 8, as one of many Multnomah County Library transformations.

The historic Carnegie building will have an added 1,500 square feet — making the space a total of 10,200 square feet — including new amenities such as the Black Cultural Center.

Costing approximately $13 million, the project aims to reflect the community that has housed the library for a long time.

To celebrate, the library will host two days of activities on Feb. 8 and 9, featuring a performance by the Jefferson Dancers, food from local Black-owned businesses and opportunities to explore the new features of the space.

Here’s a list of key features:

• A Black Cultural Center for connection and celebration.
• An early learning and play space from children and their families.
• A large community room for meetings and library programs.
• Updated wi-fi and technology, including more laptops, iPads and creative software for patrons to use.
• A new automated materials handling system to get patrons materials in a timely manner.
• New self-checkout systems.
• An outdoor deck for community members to relax and hangout.
• New art that represents the community.

Community at the core

The historic North Portland Library serves as a cornerstone to the community, specifically the Black community, for years.

In an effort to amplify locals and their ideas, a design team hosted focus groups, online public meetings, one-on-one meetings and public surveys to hear what they wanted to see.

More than 3,500 people were engaged over the course of at least 65 activities, and more than 1,200 people cast votes for the interior color scheme. The winning color scheme are deep blues inspired by Afrofuturism.

For the teens, a paid community program, Youth Opportunity Design Approach, engaged 27 teenagers to hear what would make them feel welcome and engaged at the library.

A new Black Cultural Center

Not only is it guided by community input, but the space is the first of its kind in the whole Multnomah County Library system.

The Black Cultural Center provides 900 square feet of space for events and community connection. It features interior furniture created by Black designers Ini Archibong and Mac Collins, and new art from local Black artists in collaboration with the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

Learning and playing in the kids space

Furniture in this section of the library was crafted specially with children in mind. Geometric shapes that reach toward the ceiling with a number of interactive pieces can encourage reading, talking, writing, playing, singing and more.

Places to connect

More spaces, the Black Cultural Center and large community room, are now equipped with audio/visual equipment. With this, the building can accommodate advanced technology needs and foster more collaboration.

Both rooms will also feature assistive listening systems which amplify sounds from lectures, presentations, storytimes and events, allowing hard-of-hearing patrons to better fully engage.

These ALS systems are provide in two ways: a hearing loop built into the flooring of the large community room and a portable option which includes a microphone for the speaker and a listening device for the audience.

Artwork for all

During this series of renovations for the Multnomah County Library system, each major locations receives new artwork.

Artist Sadé DuBoise created a site-specific, artist-designed glass wall which creates the backdrop of the Black Cultural Center.

Towering at 12 feet high, it’s based on an original painting DuBoise created which is grounded in her upbringing in North Portland and influence of the library’s community engagement events.

DuBoise hosted two visioning sessions to welcome to community into her creative process. This resulted in the inclusion of Adinkra symbols which are Ghanaian symbols representing concepts, proverbs and aphorisms.

Artist Melanie Stevens created a site-specific wooden relief sculpture surrounding the interior of the Black Cultural Center, which builds on Stevens’ practice of printmaking and graphic novel works that explore the legacy of Black narrative and cultural reclamation.

The library hosts four portraits of Afrofuturism’s forebears: Octavia E. Butler, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston and Sun Ra.

Artist Kayin Talton Davis worked with the design time to develop a stairwell mural, which is titled “There is Joy,” and highlights Black community in North Portland through archival images.

Returning to the North Portland Library is Charlotte Lewis’ “Isis,” a fabric mural formally featured in the Portland Art Museum’s showcase of Black artists in Oregon while the library was under construction.