Multnomah County Library – Central

This place is awesome.
Quite a popular hangout for others who may not have elsewhere to go, but it’s obvious that library workers are well-​trained in keeping the peace and dealing with disturbances/​outbursts. I also read in the paper there’s even a outreach worker (crisis coordinator?) on staff who helps people with their social dilemmas. I have never felt uncomfortable and nobody (unlike in that Portlandia episode) inside has ever approached me for money.
You can reserve books online thru your Multnomah Library Account, but I think it’s a lot of fun to peruse the shelves. Huge fiction and mystery sections on the first floor. And I just discovered today a large selection of travel guides (in the 900s, on the 3^rd floor).
Plenty of big reading tables in rooms with large windows. Free wifi!
SO convenient by streetcar or MAX.
Free books! 3 weeks at a time.

Living in downtown is certainly a community experience; OUR is a dedicated modifier that predicates
every possible subject, topic & experience.
It is OUR streetcar, OUR max & OUR buses, all of which takes us to OUR LIBRARY!
This is a utopia place of the minds, a public variant of OUR Powell’s Bookstore. For a library, it’s a real meet & greet place. The OUR Jane & OUR Joe rely on services, like free internet access which they otherwise wouldn’t.
For me, it’s part of MY part of OUR park blocks park (phew!!)
Strolling the middle of the park blocks on OUR right is OUR Historical Society with the greatest trompe l’oeil. To OUR left is OUR Art Museum (ok it’s Portlands!) and then you cross the street AND THERE IT IS…
Those welcoming steps, a classical entry to very classy halls… with classy & so helpful librarians; YES LIBRARIANS the place is chock-​full-​of-​help.
If you want to have a full experience, get some info from that dying breed! Or, go to the card index and wallow in the Dewey Decimal System, a dinosaur full of nostalgia.
I helped a young-​in the other day, he was making NO headway with a net search and saw me quick-​flip through the cards. He was standing by the card racks, looking inquisitive & perplexed; I just knew he wanted a «try, «like a kid waiting for his turn at a video game!
So, I offered my help, it’s that kind of place and by the end he was mesmerized that one could look up a book by title, subject and/​or author, manually! This is a library where you can use and stimulate your brain!
I have even caught myself taking like forever (subconsciously?) to return my books; a charitable way to donate some $$ to the place. A «fin» for fun AND IT’S WORTH every 500 pennies!

Great library. Rich selection of books. Nice collection of dvd and audio cd. Difficult to find parking.

This is the only place in Portland that creeps me out.
The front stairs are a great place to score drugs and since this is Portland they can openly do deals with zero concern for nearby children. Or cops.
The homeless take up most of the library. You will smell them before you see them. Like a block away in the winter. On a hot day the urine smell will let you know long before that.
Added to the actual homeless are the faux homeless teenagers who beg out front then hang out in the bathroom shooting heroin. Between them and the people who use the bathrooms to change and take sink baths you can almost never get a stall. And when you do you realize the risk of a UTI might be better than what you risk by using the restrooms there. Or you could just piss your pants and fit right in.
Bonus: since Portland has decided they will prove they are progressive by reinforcing the homeless’ right to sexually and verbally harass women, this is prime spot to be accosted.
While the building is nice it is poor in handicapped accessibility. And the book organization is odd. Also, there are not good detailed maps of the library to help you locate materials.
So if you are looking for a the creepiest place in Portland or if you are just wondering if you can find somewhere with more homeless that they Greyhound Station, this is your place. Enjoy!

we absolutely love this library. The kids area is like a world of its own. We went to story time today and it was so much fun. The staff and the selection of books that this library carries is amazing. It is out of the way but we’ve been here a couple times already. My son really loves coming here.

I really hate to do this because I love libraries.
From what I experienced the Multnomah library system feels like a half-​way house for the crazy and homeless.
I come to the library to study, relax, write, and read. To be comfortable.
Instead at the Central Library in downtown Portland be prepared for many homeless to seek refuge in this Library. The smell and obnoxiousness of some of the patrons is annoying and dissapointing.
The book selection is great. Most tables to study are community tables, but expect loud music and in my case a person with a blanket to be your neighbor.
The inside is grand and has a wonderful staircase and great architecture is the positive.
Sigh. I’ll head to the Powell’s Book Store.

This place is gorgeous, and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Portland is lucky to have the Central Library. While it is not anything like a university or government library, it is still very good for an institution frequented by the poor. The entrance has lots of loiterers, but nevertheless there is a gift shop and plenty of flyers. You can look things up in the catalog. Several floors are there with children’s books, newspapers, government documents, humanities books and more. On the third floor, they sometimes have exhibits and the library is the old, elegant kind throughout.
I was visiting to look for some books on coding. Their catalog was rather nice. I easily found all sorts of things including a Cascade Style Sheets book in the Easy Steps series. They could have specified the floor in the catalog, but the Dewey Decimal System helped me within a room that I found. The coding books were endless, almost like a Barnes & Noble, but free!
The library could make a few modest improvements. It could have a café like Hollywood’s library does. It could reduce the trashy look in some sectors. This is great, but the exceptional is verging.
This Central Library is central in the hearts of Portland’s residents.

While you may have do deal with some weirdos at times (they seem to congregate here), overall, worth the trip. Definitely the best library in the metro area. Great old beautiful building and friendly/​helpful staff. Recently stopped by the teeny tiny Holgate branch and it just made me appreciate the Central branch that much more!

While some cities, like for instance Seattle, have cool and slick modern buildings for their central library. Portland wows with this historic building. It is, like Unilocal’s 5-​star description, as good as it gets. I have always loved coming here, but somehow they made it even better when they remolded (check out the etched granite on the stairs! or the tree in the kids section.
The library is a great space to spend time, Free computers are all around you can either search the collections or place holds on the computers. It also hosts a store of the Friends of the Library. Staff is easy to find either walking around and staffing desks if you need assistance.
Check out is easy on their Computerized self checkout counters. If you need help, there are always staff there to assist.
My best tip: use the computers here or at home to reserve books, movies and music for pickup. You get a notice when it is ready then come in to pick it up. The system is super easy and lets you get inline for super popular items also they will transfer stuff from other branches and file them alphabetically.
My second best tip: use the restroom before you come, the ones here can be an… experience.
On June 11, 1979 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

How can you not love the library? It is literally a huge building full of free books (well, free for a while). The main library is a beautiful, historic building. They have almost every book that I have ever wanted to read, and the holds system is great. I can browse titles online in my pajamas, put them on hold, and then they email me when they’re ready to be picked up. And they’re all ready for me on the hold shelf and easy to find!
The people who work here have always been pretty friendly and helpful when I needed directions to certain sections of the library. I wish that they had maps, though, because it is rather large (three stories of books). I also wish that they would turn the heat down, because it is always far too hot when I go in.
The little used book store in the front lobby is great, too. It supports the library and they have super deals. I got two barely-​used books there a few weeks ago for about 10% of what they would have cost new ($ 4 versus $ 40). That’s pretty great.

I’ve always loved it and always will — whenever I am in town, I always go there. I used to go there a lot, in the 90s, when I still lived in Portland. The interior of the building has been changed a bit over the years — it was closed for a year or two for a remodel around 1995 – 96. But, the exterior of the building looks the same now as it did 100 years ago — I’ve seen photos! I mainly went there for the classical sheet music. Some of the copies are pushing a century old, but no matter, they’re still intact. Anyhow — this is probably the finest public library in Oregon and it’s a historical landmark, no doubt about it. Go check it out, even if you don’t check out any books.

Came here to do some studying. Huge mistake. There is not one table or section of the library that is not entirely over run by Portland’s homeless population. And this was on a sunny day. I stayed at a hotel across the street and could see them lining up outside — 30 to 40 of them. They won’t stop coughing, smell bad, never stop talking, and even after being asked to be quiet keep having loud arguments amongst each other. When does being compassionate outweigh civility? Better yet, why should a facility be provided for Portland’s families and students just to have it become a daycare facility for grown men? I am never coming back to this library… if I wanted to hang out with homeless dudes all day I would go back to volunteering at a shelter.
Note: watch out for your stuff. I went to the bathroom and came back and a guy was looking through my bag. Also, they bring in all of their humanly belongings in huge bags and carts. I almost tripped several times trying to get from my table to the bathroom.

I have to say that I have a super soft place for this library. I have had access to books here that blow my mind. The fact that you can also check out cool ebooks, get books mailed to your house, or request books for them to buy is such an amazing opportunity. This library makes me happy to be living in Portland.
As usual, the librarians are super happy to help you. And it is amazing that you can check out a Lonely Planet guidebook for a trip that you are going to take and ask them to extend the return date so you can have it for your whole trip.
Those who are DIYers can find awesome ceramic books. Their Buddhist section is also really expansive.

A city that is artsy and eclectic as Portland requires such a great library. I would recommend a visit for locals or visitors alike. The building has great architecture on the inside, which is worth a look even if you are not looking to check out any books. In regards to the books, there is a huge selection. I often forget that this resource exists and encourage my fellow Unilocalers to utilize it!

really like this library in the heart of SW Portland. its a slice of history standing tall amongst the changing city. very nice stately buiding, and a lot of grandeur even inside. a great resource for the city, please go and take advantage of it if you live in the county!

This library is really nice. So well maintained for such an old building. Every time I go here I notice something I never saw before. I could wander around all day and just admire the architecture.
I really like that they have a little gift shop. There are always lots of colorful people outside, and they weren’t very bothersome this day. They used to be really aggressive and demanding to the point of being frightening.
It would be nice if their withdrawn books were sold at a discount. Beaverton library sells their withdraws at 50 cents a piece, but multco charges market rate, so you could get them cheaper at goodwill.

I love this place. The building itself is beautiful. I would have given it 5 stars but I’m not fond of the homeless folks that are laying all over the benches inside the library. The staff though is very helpful. I went looking for an address of an old building before they did the address changes in the 30’s. The man I talked to was very helpful. The lady that have me my new library card was also very nice.

«Words are as strong and powerful as bombs, as napalm,» Dorothy Day.
There are a whole bunch of them at the library. Read a book – light a candle against ignorance.

How can you not love a four story labyrinth of books? The only draw back is that there are a lot of trashy people hanging out in front who sometimes will say vulgar things to passers by… the city as a whole needs to do something about the vagrant problem, but the library especially should discourage this behavior on their front steps.

Beautiful building in Downtown… the engraving on the stairs inside is very impressive. Being in this library gives you that old building, mysterious-​yet-​fun feel that I always have experienced in old libraries on the East Coast. I have only visited this place once, but I will say that the staff was very friendly and helpful, there are computer sections and empty tables in every separate area, and the building is very clean and tidy. Sometimes the people on the computers can be a bit loud, depending on what video game they’ve decided to all collaborate on and scream across the section to each other about; but I would say that this library has something that the other branches of MCL do not and it is worth visiting.

1913 architectural gem. Cannot tell you how many times I have been… Beverly clearly children’s library… there used to be a quaint, basic café downstairs. Alas, gone…
And now, soon to stay downtown, gonna avail myself of the streetcar stop here that takes me to Lloyd!!! (Upscale Goodwill across street fun quicky shopping too). Woohooo to PDX for addition of the CL streetcar line.
Libraries make me happy… and this coming from a Mult. Co. erstwhile library volunteer who clocked in a lottttta hours!

This is a huge library!
If it wasn’t for the homeless people overload in Portland then I would have rated it higher.
Other then that if you want to sit down somewhere quiet this is the place.

I’ve been visiting the Multnomah County Library since I got my first library card back in the olden days. My first branch was Mid-​County and today I use the Central branch. It has and always been a treasure trove — yes, I’m one of those kids who read under the blankets with flashlight in hand. The choices nowadays with computers and all in the library would have blown my mind as a child.
I do love the Central branch building in all its old-​fashioned beauty. However, while it has an old-​fashioned outer structure, it’s heart is new and modern and ready to change with all the new resources it has to offer. It still establishes a sense of anticipation in me when I’m in or out. How can you not be awed by the beauty of the stairway and rotunda-​like ceiling, amongst so many other things in the library? I always have to be sure I have a sturdy bag with me to carry home all the things I check out.
Here’s to you, Central Branch (and all of Multnomah County Library system). You’ve had a profound influence on my life, and thanks for letting me check out as many books as I wanted to (my parents sometimes thought I was going to devour the library). I’m going to be a little corny, but having lots of books has always been a source of riches to me, and I always walk out the door feeling book-​rich and happy.