New Program Gives Portland Public Schools Students Instant Access To Multnomah County Library Services

Press release from Portland Public Schools:

May 21, 2021

Students in Portland Public Schools will be able to use their student IDs to access services from Multnomah County Library under a new program that started this week.

Called Library Connect, the program gives PPS students automatic accounts that lets them:

• Instantly get digital books, magazines, newspapers, music, movies and more
• Get help from an online tutor
• Borrow materials from any Multnomah County Library location
• Use computers with Internet access at any Multnomah County Library location

"Providing student access to resources is a tenet for teaching and learning," said Luis Valentino, Chief Academic Officer of Portland Public Schools. "Our students and teachers already tap into many of Multnomah County Library offerings and Library Connect will make this even easier by increasing access."

Multnomah County Library has 11 locations. Check the locations and hours webpage for evolving information on when in-person browsing is allowed at each site. Families should note that since July of 2020, Multnomah County Library has eliminated fines, and all previously existing late fees and fines have been forgiven (read more about this here).

“The public library is all about removing barriers to help people learn, grow and use public resources,” said Kirby McCurtis, Multnomah County Library Director of Programming and Outreach. “Library Connect is a perfect illustration of how libraries can work with natural partners like school districts to create better outcomes for the communities we serve together.”

PPS is one of five school districts in the Portland area participating in Library Connect (along with Gresham-Barlow, David Douglas, Centennial and Parkrose), which gives access to about 80,000 students, including about 45,000 who have not previously had a library card.

The Library Connect program joins the county’s School Corps program that helps student improve their reading skills through services for students, teachers, student teachers and school library staff.

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This press release was produced by Portland Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.