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The East County Library, formerly the Gresham Library or Gresham Regional Library, is a branch of the Multnomah County Library in Gresham in the U.S. state of Oregon.[1] The branch offers the Multnomah County Library catalog of two million books, periodicals and other materials.[1] The branch opened in a new building in May 2026.[2]

History

Gresham’s first library was a Carnegie library, located in 1913 Tudor style building at 410 N. Main Street. After it was replaced as a library, the building was purchased by the Gresham Historical Society, which turned it into a museum as well as housing its main headquarters there.[3]

Gresham Library’s former building in 2012

In 1989, construction was started on a new building that would replace the Carnegie library. The new Gresham Library opened in January 1990[4], paid for by a $2.1 million fund-raising campaign designed in part by then-Governor Neil Goldschmidt.[4][5] Following the levy, three attempts to buy suitable property that could be developed within the $1.7 million approved had failed by mid-1988, leading to the consideration of several more expensive options.[6]

The new building was 13 times the size of the original library,[4] and was designed as a “superbranch” to “usher in a new era in library services in both Gresham and the entire county system.”[5] With space for 75,000 volumes, the 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) library building was designed as the Multnomah County system’s second-largest, behind Portland’s Central Library.[5] New amenities in this library included a computer lab/media center, a community room, a teen study area, a children’s room, a conference room, skylights, and a tower to help it blend in with the surrounding shopping center.[5]

In 2020, voters passed a bond of $387 million to “expand and modernize” Multnomah County libraries.[7] Around $126 million was directed to the construction of a large, central library to serve Gresham and the surrounding areas. It would be around 95,000 square feet, similar in size to Portland’s Central Library. The land was purchased by TriMet and was chosen for its proximity to the Gresham Central Transit Center. Ground was broken on July 12, 2023. Gresham Library closed on March 27, 2026 to move materials to the new library,[8] which opened on May 16, 2026.[2]

Details and amenities

References

  1. ^ a b “Gresham Library”. Multnomah County Library. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  2. ^ a b McCurdy, Christen (May 19, 2026). “Gresham’s New East County Library Branch Opens to Massive Crowds”. Willamette Week. Retrieved May 22, 2026.
  3. ^ Pickett, Nelson (June 6, 1989). “Historical Society Makes Offer on Gresham Library”. The Oregonian.
  4. ^ a b c Ruble, Web (January 8, 1990). “Boy, 8, Earns Spotlight at Library Dedication”. The Oregonian.
  5. ^ a b c d Ruble, Web (September 28, 1989). “Gresham Library Will Be a ‘Superbranch’“. The Oregonian.
  6. ^ Pickett, Nelson (June 30, 1988). “Five Locations Considered for New Gresham Library”. Oregonian.
  7. ^ “Library Bond Oversight Committee | Multnomah County Library”. multcolib.org. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
  8. ^ “Gresham Library closing March 27 to begin move out process | Multnomah County Library”. multcolib.org. Retrieved April 12, 2026.