librarysystems

Mid-Columbia Libraries

Kennewick, WashingtonBenton CountyLibrary districtSmall cityFiscal year January 2024 to December 2024

Mid-Columbia Libraries is a library district based in Kennewick (Benton County), Washington, serving a legal service area of 272,954 residents through 12 library buildings. Among the 57 profiled systems in Washington, it ranks seventh for physical checkouts, ninth for population served and ninth for number of library buildings.

Against the median system of its size class, it records 55% more physical checkouts per resident and 51% more program attendance per resident.

Compare with similar-size systemsSystems serving 250,000 to 499,999

Mid-Columbia against the 122 systems of its size class

size-class median (50th percentile) · spine height = percentile within the class1.86Visitsper resident39th percentile5.48Checkoutsper resident70th percentile$33.77Spendingper resident48th percentile1.11Print volumesper resident39th percentile301Program visitsper 1,000 people73rd percentile6.4Computersper 10,000 people51st percentile37.8Open hoursper outlet a week12th percentile2.7Staff (FTE)per 10,000 people32nd percentile
Gold tick: size-class medianVisits per resident1.8639th pct.Checkouts per resident5.4870th pct.Spending per resident$33.7748th pct.Print volumes per resident1.1139th pct.Program visits per 1,000 people30173rd pct.Computers per 10,000 people6.451st pct.Open hours per outlet a week37.812th pct.Staff (FTE) per 10,000 people2.732nd pct.

How the measures and percentiles are calculated

Mid-Columbia since FY 2019

Visits were 33% below the FY 2019 count of 762,449 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 33% down over the same span.

FY 2019 = 10060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
FY 2019 = 10060708090100110FY 2019FY 2023FY 2024
  • Visits
  • Physical checkouts

Who comes to Mid-Columbia programs

Programs for children up to age 11 drew 77% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 30 people each.

Children 0–1163,371Young adults 12–181,728Adults 19+4,092General interest12,918
Children 0–1163,371Young adults 12–181,728Adults 19+4,092General interest12,918

Mid-Columbia in numbers, FY 2024

Visits
508,860
Physical checkouts
1,496,065
…of children's materials
1,029,111
Electronic checkouts
924,003
…of e-books
417,023
…of e-audio
444,786
Registered users
210,276
Program sessions
2,741
Program attendance
82,109
Print volumes
303,459
Audio items (physical)
7,201
Video items (physical)
33,818
Public computers
176
Public service hours, all outlets
23,580
Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
72.8
Operating spending
$9.2 million
…on books and other materials
$1.4 million
Overdue fines on print items
not charged

Where Mid-Columbia gets its operating money

Operating revenue came to $10 million, or $36.46 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 56 profiled systems in Washington.

This system94%All profiled systems in Washington94%
This system94%All profiled systems in Washington94%
  • Local government
  • State
  • Federal
  • Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)

Mid-Columbia, building by building

The 12 buildings cover 97,643 square feet in total, 0.36 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Kennewick Branch Library at 32,500 square feet; the smallest is Kahlotus Branch Library at 360. The longest hours are at Kennewick Branch Library, 64.6 a week.

BuildingTypeTownHours a weekFloor area, sq ft
Basin City Branch LibraryBranchBasin City26.21,400
Benton City Branch LibraryBranchBenton City364,800
Connell Branch LibraryBranchConnell30.81,800
Kahlotus Branch LibraryBranchKahlotus11.4360
Keewaydin Park Branch LibraryBranchKennewick42.820,440
Kennewick Branch LibraryBranchKennewick64.632,500
Merrill's Corner Branch LibraryBranchEltopia13.8450
Othello Branch LibraryBranchOthello42.85,600
Pasco Branch LibraryBranchPasco47.412,000
Prosser Branch LibraryBranchProsser42.85,920
West Pasco Branch LibraryBranchPasco47.46,200
West Richland Branch LibraryBranchWest Richland47.46,173

Library districts of similar size in other states

Of these six systems, three record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Monroe County Public Library in Indiana.

SystemBased inResidentsVisits per residentCheckouts per residentSpending per resident
Tippecanoe County Public LibraryLafayette, IN141,3061.687.64$38.46
Boone County Public Library DistrictBurlington, KY140,4963.296.26$64.82
Monroe County Public LibraryBloomington, IN139,7184.099.57$80.95
Community Library NetworkPost Falls, ID136,1002.697.71$43.30
Finkelstein Memorial LibrarySpring Valley, NY135,4491.244.34$63.30
Jefferson County Library DistrictHigh Ridge, MO135,4091.732.61$33.88

Nearest in size within Washington

All profiled systems in Washington