The way we use libraries changes throughout our lives but whether we are learning to read, trying to build community, needing space to work, or seeking quiet respite, libraries remain critical spaces. When customers walk through the front doors of the Eastside Branch, they come to access a multitude of experiences. Situated by the entrance to the Eastside branch library, Portals represents a gateway — indicating what is happening inside, enticing curiosity, and marking this branch as an important space.

Each of the sculptural panels appears as a doorway, or portal to what the library holds inside. The library itself is also a portal, giving people access to the services they are seeking and transporting them through the discovery of new and unexpected experiences. Portals portrays the library as a space where the future is written, through the education of our youth, building of community, free exchange of ideas, access to knowledge, and space to create and imagine.