Annie Lewis has officially been appointed as the new director of libraries for Multnomah County Library. The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, which presides as the Library District Board, approved her confirmation on October 17, 2024.
At the appointment, Lewis stated “Thinking back in my career, it wasn’t very long into my journey in libraries that I held a goal that I wanted to become the director for Multnomah County Library. I’m sitting here today reflecting on that dream, and I’m thrilled and a little bit in disbelief that it’s actually happening.”
Lewis has served as interim director of libraries since June 2024. Prior to this role, she served as Multnomah County Library deputy director beginning in 2022.
In this competitive recruitment process, Lewis’s strategic vision for the library, along with her vast experience in a variety of roles at Multnomah County Library, made her the ideal candidate.
As the Director of Libraries, she will oversee all library locations, programs and services, the budget and employees.
Born in Portland, and raised in Canby and Beavercreek, Annie earned degrees in Spanish and history at Pacific University. She was conducting research for her senior thesis when she discovered an illuminating collection of material in the Astoria Public Library.
“It was eye-opening,’’ Lewis said. “There was information in file cabinets that had not been viewed in a long time, files that held information that community members had taken the time to contribute for historical preservation.’’
Lewis also worked for an immigration law firm, helping clients manage immigration proceedings. “I got a deep education on the complexities, flaws and challenges in the United States immigration system,’’ she said. “But I also saw first-hand why people immigrate, saw what a democracy represents and what it can be.”
Those two experiences shifted her focus from history to library science, and sent her to the University of Washington, where she earned a Master of Library and Information Science.
Lewis joined Multnomah County Library in 2014 as the bilingual Spanish youth librarian at Fairview-Columbia Library. She later served as Gresham Library supervisor, early childhood services manager, interim neighborhood libraries director, director of community services and deputy director.
Lewis was the executive sponsor for the We Speak Your Language teams at the library, which provide services to the community in Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.
As the Director of Libraries Lewis pledged to uphold “Multnomah County Library’s values around intellectual freedom, privacy, and equity and inclusion to ensure all residents are able to access library services freely and equitably.”