I work in the Clackamas County library system, right outside of Multnomah. I don't know too much about SPL or KCLS, but I expect that the job application process is every bit as lengthy and difficult at MCL as it is for either Seattle-area library. I lived in Portland for 5 years before and during the time I attended UW library school, and there simply are not that many jobs that come open at MCL. I'm pretty sure they do a lot of positions open only to internal cadidates. Probably in the past 8 or so years that I've been more or less keeping an eye on job opening from MCL, there might have been two or three regular, entry-level librarian positions advertised. It's much more common for them to advertise for bi-lingual circ clerks, or upper management types (branch managers or higher). I always thought that the Seattle-area libraries, with their open applicant pools, at least held out a glimmer of hope for employment, even if most people probably languish in that pool for quite some time. MCL doesn't offer that same glimmer of hope. However, MCL is not the only game in town. Washington County (WCCLS) and Clackamas (LINCC) each have more independent member libraries (rather than a unified system like MCL or SPL), and it is quite common for library worker to piece together part-time and on-call work across the metro area. I was living in Olympia and working at Timberland when I finished library school, and applied for and got a 15-hour/week reference job at at WCCLS library. I worked there for two days before I realized that starting over trying to cobble together various part time jobs (which is basically what I was doing at Timberland) was not really the way I wanted to start my professional career. So I moved far, far away to a rural area where I got a few years experience so I could land the good job I have now.

Clackamas voters passed a permanent funding district in the fall, meaning that most libraries will have increased funding beginning July 1. Four of our 11 libraries will be hiring new library directors this year, and some will be hiring a new reference or children's librarian in the coming months. However, the first library director position advertised had 33 applicants from across the country, so it's pretty clear that any other public service positions will likely be flooded with applicants.

I'm not sure if this has been helpful or not, but this is my perspective on the situation in the Portland area. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you subscribe to Libs-OR (http://listsmart.osl.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/libs-or/) and check http://www.pnla.org/jobs/ frequently (though it's on hiatus until May). Good luck. If you have any more specific questions, let me know.