The branch offers the Multnomah County Library catalog of two million books, periodicals and other materials.[1] Opening on May 19, 1971, it replaced the Arleta and Lents branch libraries, though the area had been served as early as 1904 with a deposit station in a drug store in Lents.[2] Renovated in 2000, it has 6,060 square feet (563 m2) of floor space and can hold up to 30,000 volumes.[2][3] The renovations included seismic upgrades, a new roof, new windows, and a solar-powered electricity back-up system, among other items.[2][4] In February 2008, the branch added the county's only teen and children's librarians.[5]
Holgate was cited, along with the Midland and Belmont branches, as one of several branches serving the Montavilla neighborhood, when that neighborhood's branch was sold by the county in 2005.[6][7]