Publications

Directory of Washington Libraries

The Directory of Washington Libraries provides information on all types of libraries within the state, including names, addresses, and phone numbers. The Directory of Washington Libraries' last print edition was 2007 and has been since replaced with an online searchable database at libraries.wa.gov.

Library Fact Sheets

Touched by LSTA

Each year the Washington State Library compiles data on the expenditure of LSTA funding for use in both Legislative District and Congressional District Factsheets. The data can also be used to create an Excel Pivot Table representation of this information without reference to a specific district. The table, Touched by LSTA, is organized by library, branch, the type of activity, i.e., whether it is a training, grant or a subsidy, and finally the name of the grant cycle or training. LSTA subsidies were given to libraries to support two major projects: 1) the Statewide Database Licensing project (SDL); and 2) the AskWA QuestionPoint virtual reference service. In total 761 training seats were occupied during federal fiscal year 2017 and over $472,000 in grants and subsidies were awarded. The remainder of the LSTA award supported statewide projects.

Touched by LSTA FFY2017 Report

Legislative District Fact Sheets

Legislative District Fact Sheets can now be found on the Legislative Fact Sheets page.

Congressional District Fact Sheets

The fact sheets illustrate funding and support from the Washington State Library to libraries across the state. Fact sheets are organized by congressional district below as well as Statewide.

Washington Public Library Statistics

Public library statistics including budget, collections, and usage data, are collected and compiled on an annual basis by Library Development staff. More statistics are available from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Washington Map of Public Library Service

2023 CSV file of Library Administrative Data
2023 CSV file of Branch Library Data

Note: the two csv (comma separated values) files contain the same data as presented in the Excel Spreadsheet below, but in a more open, non-proprietary format.

2023 Excel Spreadsheet - Note: there are multiple tabs

2023 Full Report (1.5 MB)

2023 Report Categories

Previous Statistics (1999 - 2022)

Public Libraries in Washington State with Externally Available Wi-Fi (2020)

This map displays public library locations providing Wi-Fi internet access available to the public outside of closed library buildings. Note that Wi-Fi ranges and limits will vary by location. Demand for such Wi-Fi access rose with the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Each location includes information about Wi-Fi availability and whether a library card and password are needed to access the network. The data is based on a variety of sources, including websites, surveys and correspondence. Contact Evelyn Lindberg at evelyn.lindberg@sos.wa.gov, with questions or comments.

See the downloadable full dataset of locations on data.wa.gov:
https://data.wa.gov/Culture-and-Community/Washington-State-Public-Libraries-Wifi-Locations/kt76-825t

Washington Public Library Internet Access Maps (2017 data)

These are the maps that were presented at the Broadband Symposium (held September 23-24, 2019 in Wenatchee) with the addition of an ISP map that wasn't ready at the time of the conference. A new questionnaire is expected to be released by the end of 2019 and new maps, with more current data, published sometime during the first quarter of 2020. Please contact Evelyn Lindberg, by email: evelyn.lindberg@sos.wa.gov or by phone: 360.704.5206, if you have any questions or comments.

Map of Public Library Service Areas

Map of Library Buildings

Map of Internet Access Technologies

Map of Download Speeds

Map of Library ISPs

Map of Maximum Advertised Speeds (Providers)

Map of Map of Maximum Advertised Speeds (Providers) compared to Library Download Speeds

Trustee Support Resources LibGuide

The Trustee Support Resources Libguide replaces the Public Library Trustee Manual and provides information on the governing powers and duties of public library trustees. They highlight information about library issues that all trustees must address.

Shared Vision for Education: Connecting Educators, Families and Libraries

A resource guide for educators, families, and libraries which highlights the educational values of libraries.

A Shared Vision for Education (pdf)

Legislative Updates

Updates are available via Between the Lines, the Washington State Library blog.

A historical listing of legislative reports in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.