As natural light pours down through the airy lobby of the Deschutes Public Library’s new Central Library, off SE 27th Street, newcomers’ first reactions will likely just be: Wow.
Passing through the front entrance, one gazes upward toward a gymnasium-tall ceiling from which a large-scale art installation, titled “Juniper,” is suspended by 1,440 cables. Weighing about the same as a compact SUV, the Alaskan yellow cedar sculpture evokes, say, the rib cage of a humpback whale. Yet looking closer, especially while climbing the nearby central stairway, “Juniper,” created by John Grade, reveals its inspiration: the undulations of an alpine landscape. Those “ribs” create a topographical effect while evoking the concentric rings of the titular, native conifer. The sculpture is made with nearly 9,000 wood pieces, joined with pegs. A closer look rewards with glaciers, made of glass, resting on the piece’s upper boughs, refracting sunlight.
Opened to the public on May 11 at 9 am, the 100,000-square-foot Bend Central Library is situated on Bend’s east side, near the intersection of SE Reed Market and 27th Street. A $195 million bond made the new building a reality, with construction costs ringing in at $135 million. Construction began May 2024. The rest of the bond helped remodel the La Pine, Sisters, Sunriver and Downtown Bend libraries, and to build a new library in Redmond.
Viewable from the lobby through floor-to-ceiling windows, library employees mill about the Automated Materials Handling machine while it sorts returned and transferred books along a conveyor system. The first floor features blond wood shelves filled with new and popular titles, illuminated by track lighting and punctuated by monitors teasing upcoming library events. There’s also a Thump Coffee Cafe. Flanking the lobby is a partitioned event space area. There are self-check-out kiosks, like those at grocery stores, a printer/copier and a holds/pick-up station near the main entrance.
Upper levels are accessible via the central stairway or elevators. The children, youth and teen collections are found on the second floor, along with an all-ages Spanish-language collection. Story times and other events are homed in a youth programing room. A dedicated children’s discovery area in the west side of the second floor help kiddos develop fine motor skills, letter and word recognition and imagination skills — all important for budding, soon-to-be readers. A creative room is where hands-on craft projects and other classes will happen. Teens get their own space on the southeast side to collaborate, study and hang out. There are also computer stations.
The third floor houses the adult fiction and nonfiction collections, along with, temporarily, the Law Library collection, which will move back to the Downtown Bend Library after its remodel is finished next year.
A 21st Century feature of the Central Library is its status as a net-zero emissions structure. Solar panels top the building and the parking lot’s massive carports. Gold-certified Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design, the Central Library earned the accolade by its dedication to reduced water use and building materials, such as the Dowel-Laminated Timber that lines the ceiling and columns. It’s a mix of oak, pine and fir, sourced from sustainable Canadian forests within 500 miles of Central Oregon.
The Deschutes Public Library’s Central Library
61956 SE Santorini Street, Bend
Main hours:
9am—8pm, Mon-Thurs
9am—6pm, Fri-Sun
Drive-through hours:
10am—6pm, Mon-Sun for holds, pick ups
24/7 returns for book, DVD and magazine returns
Thump Coffee Cafe hours:
9am—5pm, Mon-Sun
This article appears in the Source May 14, 2026.
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Can’t wait to check it out! What a wonderful asset to the south end!
It’s Amazing! What a wonderful facility.
It’s Amazing! What a wonderful facility.