The Ledding Library of Milwaukie (also known as the Milwaukie Library) is the city-operated
public library
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
of
Milwaukie, Oregon
Milwaukie is a city mostly in Clackamas County, Oregon, Clackamas County, Oregon, United States; a very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County, Oregon, Multnomah County. The population was 21,119 at the 2020 United States Census, ...
. The library offers the public with over three million books, periodicals, and other materials. It is a member of the county-wide
Library Information Network of Clackamas County (LINCC) system. As of 2023, the library was the third busiest in the county in terms of material circulations.
It is located adjacent to the
Vietnam War Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, commonly called the Vietnam Memorial, is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite ...
and Scott Park.
History
Early libraries
In 1889, Alfred Lewelling, a relative of
Seth Lewelling
Seth Lewelling (1820 – February 21, 1896), alternatively spelled Luelling (including by Lewelling himself), was a pioneer orchardist from the U.S. state of Oregon, best known for developing the Bing cherry. Born in 1820 in North Carolina as ...
, started a small library located inside the office of the
Justice of the Peace, Thomas Lakin. The building burned down just a few months after the library was founded.
In 1910, the City Council appointed a committee to establish a library in the old City Hall. The books from this library were donated to the new grammar school in 1916 upon its completion. The
State Library of Oregon provided materials for various pop-up libraries in local homes until 1926, when an official library was opened inside the local Perry Pharmacy, also circulating books from the State Library. In 1934, Wilbur D. Rowe created a plan to move the library into City Hall, and Dorothy M. Winters was appointed to be the first official librarian. A Library Board was created in 1936.
First Ledding Library
In 1961, local attorney Florence Olsen Ledding indicated in her will that her property was to be permanently used as a free public library, to be named the Ledding Library after herself and her husband Herman. This gift along with a $150,000 bond measure allowed the city to start and maintain the library. Ledding was known for being one of the first female attorneys in Oregon.
In 1964, a newer 11,800 square foot library was built on her property. This library had 2 levels: the main floor, and the basement, called "Wilbur D. Rowe Children's Library". The building was dedicated on Dec. 16, 1964, and had 11,800 square feet of floor space total. The building was expanded in 1987.
New Ledding Library
In May 2016, Milwaukie residents passed a bond that would improve and expand the Ledding Library.
In 2018, a rebuilding project broke ground which called for the demolition of the old library and a new 18,000 square-foot building to replace it. The new library opened on January 7, 2020 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on January 11. The new library contains a community room, conference room, and 2 study rooms, all available for free to the public.
During the reconstruction, the library operated out a temporary location set up in a
TriMet
The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...
park-and-ride.
See also
*
List of libraries in Oregon
*
Vietnam War Memorial (Milwaukie, Oregon)
References
{{Authority control
1964 establishments in Oregon
Libraries established in 1964
Libraries in Oregon
Milwaukie, Oregon