Main Branch

Hours & Information

Main Library is closed for facility upgrades and will reopen in late summer 2024. Please visit one of our seven other libraries during the closure.

Closed

Monday 
Closed

Tuesday 
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Wednesday 
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Thursday 
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Friday 
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Saturday 
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Sunday 
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1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Tacoma, WA 98402
Main Library is closed for facility upgrades and will reopen in late summer 2024. Please visit one of our seven other libraries during the closure. Northwest Room are open for visits by appointment.…

Main Library Construction FAQs

    • The Main Library in downtown Tacoma is being upgraded to improve safety, accessibility, and efficiency, creating an overall better visitor experience.
    • Upgrades will be made primarily to the modern addition (that is, the building attached to the Carnegie building, last remodeled in 1990); the Olympic and other meeting rooms, as well as the Handforth Gallery in the original 1903 Carnegie Library will also be refreshed.
  • The Main Library will be closed for construction starting September 1, 2023, and fully reopen in late summer 2024.

    • The “modern addition” has not been improved in more than 30 years and is not equipped for today’s needs.
    • The goal of this project is to make the library a more efficient, safe, and welcoming environment. With 95,000 square feet, there is so much potential for this facility to serve the community in myriad ways. One example is transforming the second floor of the library into operational and programming space for nonprofit partners such as the Tacoma Tool Library.
    • In 2020, the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Library were hit with a budget shortfall due to the pandemic.
    • Usage at the Main library had been in decline over that past two decades. Most people report that lack of parking, unwelcoming/uninspiring spaces, and safety concerns caused them to discontinue visiting Main.
    • While libraries were closed and our library director navigated budget challenges, the constraints of operations spurred creative and imaginative problem solving in how to better utilize the space, resources, and number of staff of Main Library to benefit the entire library system. 
  • A combination of City of Tacoma, state, and federal sources are funding this project.

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