King County Library System
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| KCLS branch in Burien | |
| Established | 1942 |
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| Location | King County, Washington |
| Branches | 44 + 1 Traveling Library |
| Collection | |
| Size | 19,100,000 items |
| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Residence in King County except within the towns of Hunts Point and Yarrow Point |
| Population served | 1,835,300 (Metropolitian King County) |
| Other information | |
| Budget | $86,500,000 |
| Director | Bill Ptacek |
| Staff | 1,127 |
| Website | http://www.kcls.org/ |
The King County Library System (KCLS) is a library system serving the residents of King County, Washington, United States. Headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, KCLS is currently the second busiest library in the United States, circulating over 19 million items in 2007.[1] It consists of 44 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.
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 was provided from the property tax base of unincorporated areas, and from contracts with cities and towns for the provision of library services. Funding measures for the system passed in 1966, 1977, 1980, 1988, 2002 and 2004.[2] Property taxes account for 94% of revenue today. The KCLS revenue budget for 2008 is $85 million.[3]
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 Seattle, Renton, Enumclaw, Hunts Point, and Yarrow Point.[4] Residents of Seattle, Renton, and Enumclaw – which each maintain their own library systems – are allowed access to KCLS collections under reciprocal borrowing agreements between KCLS and the cities' respective libraries. KCLS also extends reciprocal borrowing privileges to residents of many other library systems in Western and North Central Washington. The cities of Hunts Point and Yarrow Point do not have library service at all.[5]
Under a $172 million capital bond passed in 2004, the King County Library system is rebuilding, renovating, and expanding most of its existing libraries, as well as building new libraries.
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[edit] Facilities
KCLS consists of 44 branches, Traveling Library Center, ABC Express Vans, mobile TechLab, and a service center located in Issaquah that houses the library's administrative offices.
[edit] Branches
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[edit] Mobile services
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ King County Library System. "King County Library System 2007 Year in Review". http://www.kcls.org/about/annualreport/archives/032008%202007%20YIR%20Final.pdf.
- ^ King County Library System. "History of Your King County Library System". http://www.kcls.org/about/history/index.cfm.
- ^ King County Library System. "King County Library System 2008 Annual Budget". http://www.kcls.org/about/budget/archives/2008Budget.pdf.
- ^ King County Library System. "Areas Served by KCLS". http://www.kcls.org/usingthelibrary/librarycards/service_areas.cfm.
- ^ King County Library System. "Borrowing Outside of KCLS Service Areas". http://www.kcls.org/usingthelibrary/librarycards/borrowing_areas.cfm.
- ^ http://www.kcls.org/kirkland/#closure
- ^ http://www.kcls.org/bond/sammamish/
[edit] External links
- King County Library System
- King County Library System Catalog
- ABC Express Service (King County Library System)
- Traveling Library Center (King County Library System)
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