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 1.6 million residents and has 3.7 million items in its collection,[2] which includes books, periodicals, audio and videotapes, films, disc media, and online resources.
| King County Library System | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Bellevue Regional Library, the largest library in the system | |
| Location | King County, Washington, U.S. |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1942 |
| Branches | 49 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 3.7 million items |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Residence in King County except the city of Seattle and the towns of Hunts Point and Yarrow Point |
| Circulation | 21.5 million |
| Population served | 1.6 million |
| Members | 630,566 |
| Other information | |
| Budget | $164.6 million (2025)[1] |
| Director | Heidi Daniel |
| Employees | 842[1] |
| Website | kcls |
| References: Washington Public Library Statistical Report, 2023[2] | |
History
editThe 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
editKCLS 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]
Branches
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| Image | Branch Name | Square Footage |
|---|---|---|
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Algona-Pacific Library | 5,250 |
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Auburn Library | 20,000 |
| More images |
Bellevue Regional Library (largest) | 80,000 |
| Black Diamond Library | 5,000 | |
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Bothell Regional Library | 22,500 |
| Boulevard Park Library | 6,536 | |
|
Burien Library | 32,000 |
| Carnation Library | 5,000 | |
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|
Covington Library | 23,000 |
| Des Moines Library | 10,320 | |
|
Duvall Library | 8,000 |
|
Fairwood Library | 10,541 |
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Enumclaw Library | 20,000 |
|
Fall City Library | 5,000 |
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Federal Way Regional Library | 34,500 |
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Federal Way 320th Library | 15,000 |
| Greenbridge Library (White Center) | 2,300 | |
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Issaquah Library | 15,000 |
|
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Kenmore Library | 10,000 |
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Kent Regional Library | 22,600 |
| Kent Panther Lake Library | 5,000 | |
| Kingsgate Library (Kirkland) | 10,235 | |
| Kirkland Library | 19,500 | |
| Lake Forest Park Library | 5,840 | |
| Lake Hills Library (Bellevue) | 10,000 | |
| Library Connection at Crossroads (Bellevue) | 3,740 | |
| Library Connection at Southcenter (Tukwila) | 5,085 | |
| Library Express at Redmond Ridge (Redmond) | 300 | |
|
Maple Valley Library | 10,000 |
| Mercer Island Library | 14,886 | |
| Muckleshoot Library | 6,000 | |
| Newcastle Library | 11,000 | |
| Newport Way Library (Bellevue) | 8,690 | |
|
North Bend Library | 9,600 |
| Redmond Regional Library | 30,000 | |
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Renton Public Library | 19,500 |
| Renton Highlands Library | 15,000 | |
| Richmond Beach Library (Shoreline) | 5,250 | |
| Sammamish Library | 19,500 | |
|
Shoreline Library | 20,954 |
|
Skykomish Library | 1,042 |
| Skyway Library | 8,000 | |
| Snoqualmie Library | 6,000 | |
|
Tukwila Library | 10,000 |
| Valley View Library (SeaTac) | 6,558 | |
| Vashon Library | 10,000 | |
| White Center Library | 10,000 | |
| Woodinville Library | 15,000 | |
| Woodmont Library (Des Moines) | 9,850 |
Mobile services
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Services
editIn 2016, KCLS circulated 20.8 million 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 8.8 million digital checkouts—the third most of any system in OverDrive worldwide.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c "KCLS Budget, Fiscal Year 2025" (PDF). King County Library System. December 18, 2024. p. 16. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "2023 Washington Public Library Statistical Report" (PDF). Washington State Library. October 2024. pp. 2–6, 46–48, 54–58. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Becker, Paula (June 6, 2011). "King County Library System, Part 1". HistoryLink. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Areas Served by KCLS". King County Library System. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Borrowing Outside of KCLS Service Areas". King County Library System. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "KCLS-SPL Reciprocal Use Borrowing Agreement". King County Library System. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ Krishnan, Sonia (February 28, 2010). "Group tries to reverse Renton library vote". The Seattle Times. Retrieved March 1, 2010.
- ^ Zavala Maga?a, Daisy (April 28, 2023). "King County libraries become latest to slash late fees". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ "Locations". King County Library System. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
- ^ "KCLS Opens its 50th Library at the Kent Panther Lake Library Grand Opening Celebration" (Press release). King County Library System. March 13, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ Klaas, Mark (March 24, 2019). "Golden milestone: KCLS opens 50th library". Kent Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
- ^ "Library Statistics and Figures: The Nation's Largest Public Libraries". American Library Association. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Blatchford, Taylor (January 19, 2024). "King County Library ranks third in the world for digital checkouts". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 21, 2024.