Pdxguide

Portland has a great library system (which is run by the county, by the way.) The “granddaddy” of the libraries is Central Library downtown, located 801 SW 10th Ave. (503.988.5123) First opened in September 1913, and extensively renovated in 1996–97, Central Library houses over 875 tons of books (!)and other library materials. Central has three floors; checkout, Fiction, and the Beverly Cleary Children’s Room (she’s from here, y’know!) on the ground; Periodicals, Science, Business, Rare Books, and Government Documents on the second; Art, Music, and Humanities on the third. Central has 130 computer search stations, some with Internet that you can use for one hour (and despite the vast number of computers, they are ALWAYS BUSY!)