Spokane County Library District
Spokane County Library District is a library district based in Spokane, Washington, serving a legal service area of 312,530 residents through 10 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks second for the electronic share of checkouts, but records the second-steepest decline in physical checkouts since FY 2019.
Among the 57 profiled systems in Washington, it ranks sixth for population served, seventh for operating spending and eighth for total visits. Against the median system of its size class, it records 57% more operating spending per resident and 39% more paid staff per resident.
Spokane County against the 122 systems of its size class
Spokane County since FY 2019
Visits were 38% below the FY 2019 count of 1.2 million (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 60% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Spokane County programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 70% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 17 people each.
Spokane County in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 739,521
- Physical checkouts
- 1,066,522
- …of children's materials
- 816,884
- Electronic checkouts
- 1,788,264
- …of e-books
- 1,137,544
- …of e-audio
- 626,222
- Registered users
- 143,001
- Program sessions
- 4,913
- Program attendance
- 84,423
- Print volumes
- 305,275
- Audio items (physical)
- 25,057
- Video items (physical)
- 44,981
- Public computers
- 147
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 136.4
- Operating spending
- $17.6 million
- …on books and other materials
- $2.4 million
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Spokane County gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $18.4 million, or $58.87 per resident. The local-government share is close to the combined share for the 56 profiled systems in Washington.
- Local government
- State
- Federal
- Other (fines, fees, gifts, grants)
Spokane County, building by building
The 10 buildings cover 104,015 square feet in total, 0.33 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Spokane Valley Library at 27,800 square feet; the smallest is Fairfield Library at 2,700. The longest hours, 63.7 a week, are shared by two buildings.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airway Heights Library | Branch | Airway Heights | 35.3 | 4,200 |
| Argonne Library | Branch | Spokane | 52 | 18,365 |
| Cheney Library | Branch | Cheney | 56 | 6,600 |
| Deer Park Library | Branch | Deer Park | 56 | 7,200 |
| Fairfield Library | Branch | Fairfield | 25.7 | 2,700 |
| Medical Lake Library | Branch | Medical Lake | 34.7 | 4,100 |
| Moran Prairie Library | Branch | Spokane | 56 | 8,400 |
| North Spokane Library | Branch | Spokane | 63.7 | 18,850 |
| Otis Orchards Library | Branch | Otis Orchards | 35.3 | 5,800 |
| Spokane Valley Library | Branch | Spokane Valley | 63.7 | 27,800 |
| Linc Mobile Library | Bookmobile | Spokane Valley | – |
A dash marks a value not reported for FY 2024.
Library districts of similar size in other states
Of these six systems, four record more visits per resident than this one. The highest checkout rate in the group belongs to Poudre River Public Library District in Colorado.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson County Library Services | Medford, OR | 222,762 | 3.24 | 5.67 | $70.86 |
| Yuma County Library District | Yuma, AZ | 217,978 | 2.03 | 1.08 | $44.37 |
| Deschutes Public Library District | Bend, OR | 212,141 | 2.56 | 5.42 | $72.99 |
| Poudre River Public Library District | Fort Collins, CO | 211,387 | 3.57 | 9.43 | $62.08 |
| Clinton-Macomb Public Library | Clinton Township, MI | 184,879 | 2.32 | 6.89 | $39.68 |
| Hamilton East Public Library | Noblesville, IN | 180,617 | 2.90 | 9.20 | $58.97 |
Nearest in size within Washington
- Kitsap Regional Library · Bremerton · 286,100 residents
- North Central Regional Library · Wenatchee · 280,865 residents
- Mid-Columbia Libraries · Kennewick · 272,954 residents
- Yakima Valley Regional Library · Yakima · 251,520 residents