Hours:
Call the Library with questions or requests for materials!
Monday & Thursday 10-6
Tuesday & Wednesday 10-8
Friday 10-5
The Portland Library is currently closed to the public due to reconstruction and the Covid-19 virus.
Staff in the Library are available by email and phone contact 860-342-6770 *
Please check our Portland Town website for UPDATED information.
All items checked out from the library now have an extended due date of June 24, 2020.
Upcoming
Events
E-Books & E-audio
e-magazines for adults and kids
K-6 children's ebook database
K-6 math ebook database
gr 7-12 ebook database
all ages audio book database
romance ebooks for adults
Check out the Early Learning, Kids, and Activity Corner tabs for printable activities for children including coloring sheets, tracing activities, games, recipes, arts and crafts
and more!
Our book drop will be open beginning on Tuesday, May 19. Please only return items that have been checked out in Portland. The book drop will be closed weekends and on Memorial Day (May 25).
No Donations in the Book Drop please!
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Curbside pickup Library Services for Portland Library card holders starts Tuesday May 26th!
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To place holds on items to be picked up
choose Library Catalog. -
Search for items that you are interested in and click on “Request it”
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If you are already logged in to your account click “Submit”. If not, you will be prompted to enter your library card number and your PIN after you sign in click “Submit”
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The library will contact you to arrange a date and time for Curbside Delivery pick up.
Access the May 2020 edition of the Portland on the Move Newsletter HERE!
Thank you to the Takeout & Delivery Restaurants & Eateries in Portland working for us during the pandemic click here (updated April 27)
To access the April 2020 Portland retail guide with updated hours and services due to COVID-19,
click here (updated April 20)
Portland Library Celebrates 125th Anniversary
The Portland Library was established on May 4, 1895. Its initial collection included around 800 books that were housed in a room in the Town Hall. 77 subscribers (14 years old and older) could borrow one book at a time.
Shortly after its opening, Horace B. Buck, a Portland native who later moved out of state, donated $2,000 for the establishment of a library building. The building became known as the Buck-Foreman building and was built with brownstone from local quarries Shaler & Hall and Brainerd Quarries. The library moved to its current location on Freestone Avenue in 1981.
For a look at other significant events that occured in May 1895, visit HERE.
Virtual Garden Chat: Wednesdays at 2:00 pm
May 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th
Are you looking forward to weekend gardening? Let's chat about what we've been planting and share tips about gardening. Open to all levels of expertise. Garden Chats will take place every Wednesday at 2pm during the month of May. Join us when you can!
Conversations over Coffee (or Tea): Mondays at 10:00 a.m. May 4th, 11th & 18th
Let's get together & talk about what we are reading, watching, series we are binging and books we are looking forward to reading! All are welcome!
To join these virtual meetings, go to the Portland Town Hall website
https://www.portlandct.org/ and click on "Join remote meeting access though Zoom", scroll down to the bottom of the Town's home page.
Come in and get a Library Card...
Library cards are free to all residents of Portland. All you need is a picture ID with your Portland address or a picture ID and a piece of mail with proof of your Portland address. Portland residents of all ages may obtain cards; if you are under 18, your parent or guardian must sign the library card application.
**While the library is closed for construction, you can also apply for a temporary library card to access our ebooks and online materials. For more details about library cards, visit our My Account page.**
The Library will be closed for renovations starting March 9th!
The Portland Library Improvement Project has started. Your library will be taking on a fresh new appearance! With a grant from the Connecticut State Library and matching funds from the Portland Library Endowment Fund, your library will soon be updated to provide improved ambiance, accessibility, and connectivity.
portlandlibraryct
Fun, Virtual Activities From Home
Borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. You must have a valid Portland Library card to set up an account on Hoopla and you may now borrow up to 5 items a month.
Read ebooks! Listen to audio books! Watch videos! With your Portland Library card and an OverDrive app or the Libby App (both of which are available for free in your App store). , you can borrow/place holds on 10 titles. Enjoy!
Virtual Museum Tours:
tour a bunch of famous museums from around the world from the comfort of your couch
How to Stay Busy at Home!
Want to learn a new language? Look no further. Transparent Language Online is a great place to start your language journey. With over 100 languages to learn and many other resources, Transparent Language Online is the way to go.
Take almost any class online. Universal class provides accounting, social work, history and so much more!
Questions for the Information Staff
Do you have a question?
This service is meant for brief factual questions
(a definition, a date, a phone number, what library in
the area has the item you are looking for, etc.)
If you need an immediate answer, please call the
Library at 1-860-342-6770.
NEW: Automatic Renewals!
Beginning January 1st, any item checked out at the
Portland Library and eligible for renewal will be automatically renewed. Renewals won’t happen for Zoom books, items with holds for another patron, or if the user's library card is expired or blocked. Please note, our renewal policies have not changed,
everything has stayed the same with the exception that your renewals will happen automatically.
If you have an email associated with your account. You will receive an email listing the items that have been renewed. You will also continue to receive a courtesy email alerting you that your items will be coming due. We hope this service will
assist you in managing your account with ease. As always, if you have any questions, please call the library at 860-342-6770.
Dinosaur Footprints
When dinosaurs roamed the Connecticut Valley some of them came to Portland!
There are still footprints to be found in Portland including a few mounted on walls at the Portland Library. Inside the library there are 2 brownstone slabs, one containing several good quality, medium-size theropod footprints labeled as Anchisauripus and the other containing two remarkable specimens of Otozoum.
Treasures of Connecticut Libraries
Treasures of Connecticut Libraries; Portland archives and photographs. Search here!
