OUR LIBRARY’S HISTORY
With the assistance of volunteers, Myrtle Kraft founded our current library in 1978 on the site of the old school house owned by San Simon School District #18.
When Mrs. Kraft retired in 1995, the community decided to honor her by naming the library after her. Dedicated volunteers, many of them members of Friends of the Myrtle Kraft-Portal Library, continue to staff the desk and do most of the behind the-scenes work.
The library has been a community gathering place, the staging area for parades and celebrations, and the site of hundreds of meetings, classes, discussion groups, and award-winning summer series called "Library for Kids”.
The library became a branch of Cochise County Library District in 1980. Our Branch Coordinator, under the direction of the Cochise County Library District, provides training and support for the volunteers. The district provides books and other library materials, supplies, equipment and interlibrary loan services.