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Portland Public Library Facts

Founded:
The Portland Public Library was originally founded in 1867. The first of its locations was the downtown Portland library on Monument Square. Since then three other branches have been added to the system, opening in 1940, 1977 and 1978.

Mission:
The library mission is to serve the Greater Portland Community by providing a diverse collection of books and other resources, with access to information resources worldwide. The library's services support the educational, informational, and recreational interests of all community members.

Facilities:
The Portland Public Library system's main library is in downtown Portland on Monument Square. This location houses the largest collection and also maintains the Portland Room, which is the Portland Public Library system's Special Collections. The Burbank Branch was originally founded in 1940 and opened in its current form in 1995. The Riverton Branch opened in 1977, and the Peaks Island Branch was founded in 1978 and opened in 1979.

Collections:
The Portland Room is home to the Portland Public Library's special collections. The collections and their focuses, topics and compositions are diverse.

The collections include the Maine Collection, the Children's Special Collection, the William Willis Collection, the Thomas Bird Mosher Collection, the Anthoesen Collection, and the James P. Baxter Collection.