The King County Library System (KCLS) is a library system serving most residents of King County, Washington, United States. Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, KCLS was the busiest library system in the United States as of 2010, circulating 22.4 million items.[3] It consists of 50 libraries, a Traveling Library Center, a mobile TechLab, and the ABC Express children’s library van. KCLS offers a collection of more than 4.1 million items, including books, periodicals, newspapers, audio and videotapes, films, CDs, DVDs and extensive online resources. All KCLS libraries offer free Wi-Fi connections. Patrons can check out 100 items at once and hold up to 50 items.
| King County Library System | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Bellevue Regional Library, the largest library in the system | |
| Location | King County, Washington, US |
| Type | Public library |
| Established | 1942 |
| Branches | 50 |
| Collection | |
| Size | 3.4 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 | 20.8 million |
| Population served | 1.4 million |
| Members | 703,987 |
| Other information | |
| Budget | $120 million (2017)[1] |
| Director | Heidi Daniel |
| Employees | 901 |
| Website | kcls |
| References: Washington Public Library Statistical Report, 2016[2] | |
History
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 KCLS budget for 2017 was $120 million.[1] 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 50 branches, the Traveling Library Center, ABC Express Vans, a mobile TechLab, and a service center located in Issaquah that 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.[11][12]
Branches
- Algona-Pacific Library
- Auburn Library
- Bellevue Regional Library (largest)
- Black Diamond Library
- Bothell Regional Library
- Boulevard Park Library
- Burien Library
- Carnation Library
- Covington Library
- Des Moines Library
- Duvall Library
- Fairwood Library
- Enumclaw Library
- Fall City Library
- Federal Way Regional Library
- Federal Way 320th Library
- Greenbridge Library (White Center)
- Issaquah Library
- Kenmore Library
- Kent Regional Library
- Kent Panther Lake Library
- Kingsgate Library (Kirkland)
- Kirkland Library
- Lake Forest Park Library
- Lake Hills Library (Bellevue)
- Library Connection at Crossroads (Bellevue)
- Library Connection at Southcenter (Tukwila)
- Library Express at Redmond Ridge (Redmond)
- Maple Valley Library
- Mercer Island Library
- Muckleshoot Library (Auburn)
- Newcastle Library
- Newport Way Library (Bellevue)
- North Bend Library
- Redmond Regional Library
- Renton Library
- Renton Highlands Library
- Richmond Beach Library (Shoreline)
- Sammamish Library
- Shoreline Library
- Skykomish Library
- Skyway Library
- Snoqualmie Library
- Tukwila Library
- Valley View Library (SeaTac)
- Vashon Library
- White Center Library
- Woodinville Library
- Woodmont Library (Des Moines)
Mobile services
|
|
|
|
Services
In 2016, KCLS circulated 20.8 million items, the third-most in the United States.[13]
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.[14]