Kitsap Regional Library
Kitsap Regional Library is a library district based in Bremerton (Kitsap County), Washington, serving a legal service area of 286,100 residents through nine library buildings. Among the 57 profiled systems in Washington, it ranks sixth for physical checkouts, seventh for population served, seventh for total visits and eighth for operating spending, but ranks third-lowest for print volumes per resident.
Against the median system of its size class, it records 78% more paid staff per resident and 73% more physical checkouts per resident.
Kitsap Regional against the 122 systems of its size class
Kitsap Regional, building by building
The nine buildings cover 102,956 square feet in total, 0.36 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Sylvan Way Library at 35,500 square feet; the smallest is Little Boston Library at 2,735. The longest hours, 54 a week, are shared by three buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sylvan Way Library | Central library | Bremerton | 54 | 35,500 |
| Bainbridge Island Library | Branch | Bainbridge Island | 54 | 15,500 |
| Bremerton – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library | Branch | Bremerton | 43 | 5,514 |
| Kingston Library | Branch | Kingston | 46 | 5,200 |
| Little Boston Library | Branch | Kingston | 43 | 2,735 |
| Manchester Library | Branch | Manchester | 43 | 4,000 |
| Port Orchard Library | Branch | Port Orchard | 54 | 8,900 |
| Poulsbo Library | Branch | Poulsbo | 50 | 11,835 |
| Silverdale Library | Branch | Silverdale | 50 | 13,772 |
Kitsap Regional in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 832,296
- Physical checkouts
- 1,746,750
- …of children's materials
- 885,131
- Electronic checkouts
- 876,883
- …of e-books
- 396,464
- …of e-audio
- 350,575
- Registered users
- 90,588
- Program sessions
- 2,996
- Program attendance
- 86,052
- Print volumes
- 261,082
- Audio items (physical)
- 12,993
- Video items (physical)
- 19,738
- Public computers
- 136
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 22,724
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 159.9
- Operating spending
- $17.5 million
- …on books and other materials
- $1.7 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Kitsap Regional gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $18.8 million, or $65.55 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 56 profiled systems in Washington. No federal operating revenue was reported.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Kitsap Regional since FY 2019
Visits were 24% below the FY 2019 count of 1.1 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 5% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Kitsap Regional programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 70% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 29 people each.
Library districts of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, five record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Ann Arbor District Library in Michigan.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library | Evansville, IN | 180,136 | 3.82 | 4.96 | $85.94 |
| Ann Arbor District Library | Ann Arbor, MI | 177,696 | 8.13 | 26.35 | $106.38 |
| Kenton County Public Library | Erlanger, KY | 171,321 | 3.56 | 7.45 | $79.98 |
| St. Joseph County Public Library | South Bend, IN | 170,799 | 4.79 | 7.86 | $107.03 |
| Pueblo City-County Library District | Pueblo, CO | 169,427 | 3.62 | 5.04 | $78.38 |
| Jackson District Library | Jackson, MI | 160,366 | 2.44 | 7.95 | $57.34 |
Nearest in size within Washington
- North Central Regional Library · Wenatchee · 280,865 residents
- Mid-Columbia Libraries · Kennewick · 272,954 residents
- Spokane County Library District · Spokane · 312,530 residents
- Yakima Valley Regional Library · Yakima · 251,520 residents