ST. HELENS, The St. Helens Public Library will open on Thursdays again starting Nov. 5, seven months after budget cuts closed its doors that day each week.
Thursday hours will run 2 to 7 p.m., the city said in an Oct. 16 news release. The Columbia Center lobby will open at 9:30 a.m. on Thursdays, but the library itself stays closed until 2 p.m.
The library has been closed on Thursdays since April 9. The city announced the closure on March 20, saying it had to balance the general fund and would leave a vacant part-time library assistant job unfilled, with furloughs for full-time staff to follow in May. A week later, the City Council referred Measure 5-311 to the May ballot, a $24 monthly fee on each home and business for 10 years. The city said it faced a $2.2 million shortfall for 2026-27 without it. Voters rejected the fee, 3,455 to 569, according to Columbia County’s certified results.
The adopted 2026-27 budget included staff reductions and furlough days that took effect June 21, the city said. Full-time library staff were furloughed 10%, and three part-time library assistants left. The library later closed on Wednesdays as well.
Since then the library has hired and trained three new part-time assistants. That allowed it to reopen Wednesdays on Sept. 30 and now to add back part of Thursday. The 2 to 7 p.m. window covers the library’s busiest hours while leaving room to schedule around the furloughs, which continue, the release said.
“We know the changing hours have been frustrating for our Library patrons,” Library Director Suzanne Bishop said in the release. “We are very grateful for your support and understanding during this transition. We look forward to seeing you at the Library soon.”
Beginning Nov. 5, the library’s hours are:
- Monday through Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Thursday: 2 to 7 p.m.
- Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sunday: closed
Through the cuts, the library kept its children’s programs running. Toddler, PreK and Wee Wigglers story times moved to Tuesdays at 11 a.m. when Thursdays closed, and baby lapsit stayed on Wednesdays at 11 a.m., according to the city’s March release. The library also ran its summer reading challenge, “Plant a Seed, Read,” from June 15 to Aug. 9, with programs for children, teens and adults, Family Storytimes on Mondays and special events on Tuesdays. The new Thursday hours restore an after-school window on Thursdays for the first time since April.
As hours expand, the release says, the library plans new programs, including basic computer skills classes and crochet lessons, and will soon accept submissions for its Columbia County Authors special collection.
The library is in the Columbia Center, 375 S. 18th St. Questions go to Bishop at sbishop@sthelensoregon.gov.