References: Washington Public Library Statistical Report, 2023[2]
The King County Library System (KCLS) is a public library system serving most residents of King County, Washington, United States. It has 49 locations in the areas of the county around Seattle, which has a separate city library system. KCLS is headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, and was the busiest library system in the United States in 2010 with a circulation of 22.4 million items.[3]As of 2023[update], the library system serves a population of 1.6million residents and has 3.7 million items in its collection,[2] which includes books, periodicals, audio and videotapes, films, disc media, and online resources.
The library system began in 1942 when voters in King County established the King County Rural Library District in order to provide library services to people in rural areas with no easy access to city libraries. Funding for the library system is provided from property taxes. Funding measures for the system passed in 1966, 1977, 1980, 1988, 2002, 2004, and 2010.[4] Property taxes account for 94% of revenue today. The name of the organization was changed from the King County Rural Library District to the present-day King County Library System in 1978, although the previous name of "Rural Library District" is still part of the organization's legal name.[5] The system received a $172 million capital bond in 2004 to rebuild, renovate, and expand most of its existing libraries, as well as building new libraries.
KCLS extends access privileges to residents of its service area, which includes all unincorporated areas of King County as well as residents of every city in the county except Hunts Point and Yarrow Point,[6] which do not offer any library service at all.[7] Residents of Seattle – which maintains its own library system – are allowed access to KCLS collections under reciprocal borrowing agreements between KCLS and Seattle's libraries.[8] KCLS also extends reciprocal borrowing privileges to residents of many other library systems in Western and North Central Washington. KCLS annexed Renton's public library system in 2010 following a vote by the city's residents.[9]
In 2011, KCLS won the Gale/Library Journal "Library of the Year" award.[3] The library eliminated its late fines in 2023 after finding it discouraged borrowing and cost more to collect and process. Replacement fees were instead levied for lost items.[10]
Facilities
KCLS consists of 49 branches,[2] one standalone book locker,[11] the Traveling Library Center, ABC Express Vans, a mobile TechLab, and 11 bookmobiles.[2] A service center located in Issaquah also houses the library's administrative offices. A program to build 17 new libraries and renovate or expand 26 other libraries was completed in 2019 with the opening of the Panther Lake Library in Kent.[12][13]
In 2016, KCLS circulated 20.8million items, the third-most in the United States.[14] The KCLS budget for 2025 is $164.4 million.[1]
KCLS is subscribed to OverDrive, an online service that offers digital e-book, audiobook, and magazine checkouts for library patrons. In 2023, the library system had 8.8million digital checkouts—the third most of any system in OverDrive worldwide.[15]
1 2 Berry, John, III (June 15, 2011). "Library of the Year 2011: King County Library System, WA". Library Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2011. Among the benchmarks was circulating 22.4 million items—more than any other library system in the United States—to the 1,318,745 people who live in King County.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ "History". King County Library System. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
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