Yakima Valley Regional Library
Yakima Valley Regional Library is a library district based in Yakima, Washington, serving a legal service area of 251,520 residents through 16 library buildings and one bookmobile. Among the 57 profiled systems in Washington, it ranks sixth for number of library buildings and tenth for population served, but ranks last for print volumes per resident and third-lowest for library floor space per resident.
Among the 115 profiled systems serving 250,000 to 499,999 residents, it ranks fourth-lowest for weekly open hours per outlet. Against the median system of its size class, it records 41% fewer physical checkouts per resident and 26% fewer visits per resident.
Yakima Valley Regional against the 122 systems of its size class
Yakima Valley Regional, building by building
The 16 buildings cover 71,218 square feet in total, 0.28 square feet per resident against a median of 0.46 for the size class. The largest building is Yakima Central Library at 29,068 square feet; the smallest is Harrah Library at 398. The longest hours are at West Valley Library, 58 a week.
| Building | Type | Town | Hours a week | Floor area, sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima Central Library | Central library | Yakima | 52 | 29,068 |
| Buena Library | Branch | Buena | 25 | 1,598 |
| Granger Library | Branch | Granger | 25 | 1,337 |
| Harrah Library | Branch | Harrah | 25 | 398 |
| Mabton Library | Branch | Mabton | 25 | 1,261 |
| Moxee Library | Branch | Moxee | 25 | 1,521 |
| Naches Library | Branch | Naches | 25 | 918 |
| Selah Library | Branch | Selah | 50 | 4,064 |
| Sunnyside Public Library | Branch | Sunnyside | 45 | 7,451 |
| Terrace Heights Library | Branch | Yakima | 28 | 876 |
| Tieton Library | Branch | Tieton | 15 | 432 |
| Toppenish (Mary Goodrich Memorial) Library | Branch | Toppenish | 35 | 2,438 |
| Union Gap Library | Branch | Union Gap | 37 | 6,439 |
| Wapato Library | Branch | Wapato | 39 | 2,560 |
| West Valley Library | Branch | Yakima | 58 | 9,960 |
| Zillah Library | Branch | Zillah | 25 | 897 |
| Bookmobile | Bookmobile | Yakima | 40 |
Yakima Valley Regional in numbers, FY 2024
- Visits
- 410,367
- Physical checkouts
- 525,359
- …of children's materials
- 264,214
- Electronic checkouts
- 333,993
- …of e-books
- 129,726
- …of e-audio
- 173,388
- Registered users
- 42,482
- Program sessions
- 4,113
- Program attendance
- 65,072
- Print volumes
- 162,148
- Audio items (physical)
- 8,233
- Video items (physical)
- 29,039
- Public computers
- 123
- Public service hours, all outlets
- 28,368
- Paid staff (full-time equivalent)
- 78.2
- Operating spending
- $8.1 million
- …on books and other materials
- $859,030
- Overdue fines on print items
- not charged
Where Yakima Valley Regional gets its operating money
Operating revenue came to $9.4 million, or $37.31 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)
Yakima Valley Regional since FY 2019
Visits were 34% below the FY 2019 count of 618,751 (size-class median: −30%). Physical checkouts moved 37% down over the same span.
- Visits
- Physical checkouts
Who comes to Yakima Valley Regional programs
Programs for children up to age 11 drew 71% of all program attendance, and sessions averaged 16 people each.
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 Schaumburg Township District Library in Illinois.
| System | Based in | Residents | Visits per resident | Checkouts per resident | Spending per resident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boulder Public Library District | Boulder, CO | 133,697 | 4.68 | 7.70 | $212.57 |
| Schaumburg Township District Library | Schaumburg, IL | 130,345 | 4.16 | 12.89 | $115.96 |
| Cochise County Library District | Bisbee, AZ | 128,253 | 0.11 | 0.33 | $10.34 |
| Kalamazoo Public Library | Kalamazoo, MI | 127,924 | 2.81 | 9.11 | $112.56 |
| Johnson County Public Library | Franklin, IN | 124,056 | 3.30 | 7.77 | $61.01 |
| Willard Library of Evansville | Evansville, IN | 117,298 | 0.53 | 1.47 | $12.12 |
Nearest in size within Washington
- Spokane Public Library · Spokane · 233,000 residents
- Mid-Columbia Libraries · Kennewick · 272,954 residents
- North Central Regional Library · Wenatchee · 280,865 residents
- Tacoma Public Library · Tacoma · 225,100 residents