The Spokane Public Library is a
public library
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
system serving the city of
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
, US. It has six branches and a central library in downtown Spokane, along with a
bookmobile
A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...
and online services. The library system was acquired by the municipal government in 1894 and is funded by the city budget and a separate
property tax
A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...
.
History
The Spokane Public Library was established in 1894, after two unsuccessful attempts at creating a library system in the city. The system was acquired by the city from the Union Library Association, a partnership between the
Sorosis Club and Carpenters Union, who had started the private library in 1891.
The library rented space inside the
city hall's basement, with a permanent location sought with funding from philanthropist
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
.
The three-story
Carnegie Library opened in 1904 at the western edge of downtown.
The library system established three branches, also built with funds from Carnegie, in the early 1910s. The downtown library was replaced in 1963 with a branch in the
Comstock Building, a former
Sears Roebuck department store.
A bond issue passed by voters in 1990 enabled the library system to replace all four of its locations, including the Comstock branch. The current five-branch system and downtown library were all completed by 1998.
In 2013, voters approved a property tax to partially fund library services, alongside allocated funds from the city budget. It was renewed by a referendum in 2017. All library branches were renovated or rebuilt as a part of a 2018 property tax bond worth and estimated $77 million and completed work in 2023.
The $33 million renovation to the main branch in downtown sought to make the library more useful as a creative center as well as an information center and features study and co-working spaces, lecture, conference, and event spaces, play spaces for children, and a café in the atrium.
Audio and video studio production facilities are housed on the third floor, where local community low-power radio station,
KVFS-LP broadcasts live from the library.
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]
Branches
The Spokane Public Library system has six total locations, including branches established in the early 20th century. All of the branches were replaced with new libraries in the 1990s and all were renovated or replaced in between 2018 and 2023.
Former libraries
* Main (Carnegie Library) - 10 South Cedar
* North Monroe Branch - 925 West Montgomery Street
* Heath Branch - 525 Mission Street
* East Side Branch - 25 Altamont Street
* Hillyard Library - 2936 E Olympic Ave
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Public libraries in Washington (state)
Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington
1894 establishments in Washington (state)