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 busiest library in the United States, circulating 22.4 million items in 2010. It consists of 48 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, 2004, and 2010. Property taxes account for 94% of revenue today. The KCLS budget for 2012 is $84.8 million.
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, Hunts Point, and Yarrow Point. Residents of Seattle 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.
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. Currently, Newcastle has a branch planned, with construction slated for completion in October 2012.
KCLS has annexed the city of Renton's public library system, the result of a vote by the city's residents in February 2010. This library system includes a 22,500-square-foot (2,090 m2) library branch built completely over the Cedar River.
In 2011, KCLS won the Gale/Library Journal "Library of the Year" award.
Read more about King County Library System: Facilities
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