Multnomah County Library has signed a lease to secure a temporary library site for the North Portland community. The St. Johns Neighborhood Association announced the news at its April meeting. The temporary site will offer patron services until the St. Johns Library is reopened in mid 2026.
The new site at 8191 N. Lombard, Suite 110, in the Union at St. Johns building next door to the St. Johns Library, is located adjacent to Pampered Orchid and Sparrow Bakery. The temporary location will function much like the Hawthorne Holds Pickup location in SE Portland offering holds pickup, returns, a Lucky Day collection, plus free printing, faxing, scanning and Wi-Fi. The library expects this location to open to the public sometime in May and will share more service details once they are finalized.
8191 N. Lombard, Suite 110.
“The process of exploring physical locations suitable for library services took longer than we wanted, but I hope that folks will welcome this news,” Multnomah County Library Director Annie Lewis noted in an email to SJNA chair RJ DeMello. “Thank you also to the SJNA and members of the community who shared feedback regarding the importance of library services in St. Johns during the building closure.”
The Mobile Library will continue making visits at the intersection of N. Central St. and N. Charleston Ave. to accept returns and provide a small browsing collection, Wi-Fi, computers, printing, copying and scanning.
The St. Johns Library renovation and expansion kicked off with a groundbreaking this past November. The project will add 2,900 square feet to the existing building, and new features will include a large play and learning space for children and families, a teen area, updated technology and internet, and new art that represents the community.
