Working Library was established in 2016 in Portland, Oregon. In its first iteration, it was a keeper of books and collections, and a platform for exchange. The library was built around an in-house press and bindery which gave us a way to offer classes, produce publications, and provide resources to our resident artists.

Working Library was activated by conversations with the surrounding communities and visiting artists. The books the library housed and the activities we ran were self-referential–always examining what a library might be. Because of that, Working Library became a discursive space where its very definition was fluid, ever-becoming in response to those who accessed it. The objects it housed became catalysts for conversation and meaning-making. The labor that went into it became acts of community building, and a sense of repeated use reflected the identity of these folks as active co-creators of our space.

The Working Library’s St. Johns, Portland branch closed its doors in October, 2018, and its ownership was transferred to c3:initiative in April, 2018.
 
Anyone can ‘check out’ Working Library to reactivate it in a new form. It can see many iterations now, and will be re-envisioned by a multiplicity of voices.
 
To check out Working Library, please contact c3:initiative at info@c3initiative.org

> Read more about Working Library’s public programs