Library Impact
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24 Checkouts a Minute: The Library’s 2025 Impact Report
How did our community use the Library in 2025? Hot off the digital presses, our 2025 Impact Report paints a picture of The Seattle Public Library’s impact in numbers and stories. While the Impact Report shows a record number of active patrons and growing participation in programs, as Chief Librarian Tom Fay noted, “it is… Continue reading
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Find Your Library Joy – Evening Magazine Reports from the Central Library
Tuesday, April 21 was an especially fun day at the Central Library. King 5’s Evening Magazine spent a few hours at the Library filming a story in honor of National Library Week. Host (and Almost Live alum) Chris Cashman interviewed our head of Library Experience and Engagement Kai Tang, visited the art gallery and music… Continue reading
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‘Shining a Light on our Common Humanity’: Living with Conviction Exhibit
An exhibit showcasing photographic portraits and stories of formerly incarcerated individuals struggling to rebuild their lives under the burden of court-ordered debt is now on display at the Central Library’s Level 8 Gallery. A satellite exhibit opens at the Green Lake Branch gallery on April 26. “Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State” displays around… Continue reading
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Three Thousand Cheers for Reading: Global Reading Challenge 2026 in the Books
On Tuesday, March 31, with an electric crowd cheering at every opportunity, a team of fourth graders from John Stanford International School became the 31st Global Reading Challenge city champions. With a sweet team name — the Global Bananana Pancake Group — the Stanford students scored a whopping 115 out of 120 points. They were… Continue reading
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University Branch Project Reaches Major Milestone
In our October 2025 University Branch update, we highlighted the significant progress made on the seismic retrofit of the branch, including the installation of reinforced shear walls at critical support points, which extend from the ceiling through the basement. Seismic Retrofit Complete! In this update, we are excited to announce that the seismic retrofit of… Continue reading
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Mayor Wilson Announces 2026 Library Levy Proposal
You may have seen The Seattle Public Library in the news today. At 12:30 p.m., Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson spoke from the Central Library’s Level 10 Betty Jane Narver Reading Room to announce a proposal for a $410 million Library Levy that would provide funding for The Seattle Public Library over seven years, from 2027… Continue reading
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Read George Takei’s Graphic Memoir with the West Coast’s Biggest Book Club
We have good news for Seattle readers! This spring, The Seattle Public Library invites you to take part in One Book, One Coast, a shared reading initiative connecting more than 140 library systems across California, Oregon, and Washington, including more than a dozen in Washington State alone. Organized by LA County Library, One Book, One… Continue reading
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Cooking Up a Roti-Related Business, With Help from the Library
In late 2024, when Komal Kashiramka decided to “take the plunge” to leave a corporate job and start a business in the food industry, she sought out helpful (and low cost) resources for entrepreneurs. The Seattle Public Library was not one of the places she originally thought to look. But the business research tools she… Continue reading
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Impact Story: When a Children’s Author Comes to Town
The benefits of reading for kids are well-known: literacy, language skills, empathy. But on a winter morning at Seattle’s John Rogers Elementary, a group of 40 fourth and fifth grade readers are showing something else: pure, unadulterated excitement. The students are crowded on the floor of the school library for a talk from Ernesto Cisneros,… Continue reading
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Explore Your Family’s History with Expanded Library Genealogy Programs
Before Sonia’s grandmother passed away, she passed along a host of family stories that Sonia has spent years researching. She has found marriage records, newspaper articles, and other documents that provide conflicting information — and has run into repeated brick walls, especially regarding her ancestors who were enslaved. Sonia knew she needed some assistance with… Continue reading
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Never Underestimate the Power of a Read-In: The Broadview Branch at 50
In late May of 1972, a small ad appeared in the classifieds section of the University District-Herald, a community newspaper in Northeast Seattle: “Broadview & Haller Lake: Want a library at 130th & Greenwood? Join us for a “READ IN” on Thursday, June 1, 3 p.m. Bring Friends!” The ad was just four lines, but… Continue reading
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How the Library Preserves and Promotes Seattle’s History
There are more than 100,000 items in The Seattle Public Library’s Special Collections. The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room, on Level 10 of the Central Library, houses extensive collections of photographs, postcards, city documents, news articles, and maps. There are oral histories from Seattle residents, menus from notable restaurants, yearbooks from Seattle schools, works by… Continue reading
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Photo Album: Celebrating 50 Years of Community at Douglass-Truth
On Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, the Douglass-Truth Branch was jamming. Neighbors, families, community leaders, elders, and library staff filled every corner of the branch at 2300 E. Yesler Way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its community-chosen name. Almost exactly a half-century earlier, on Dec. 5, 1975, the branch was renamed in honor of abolitionists… Continue reading
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‘Leveling the Playing Field’: How the Library Supports Nonprofits
As the year winds down, many of us will support nonprofits that make a difference in our communities. The Library is proud that we also support these community organizations by offering a range of free tools and resources to help nonprofits launch and grow. “We are seeing more nonprofits use our services,” says Jay Lyman,… Continue reading
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“The Librarians” Takes You to the Front Lines of Democracy
“I never imagined that what’s happening right now could ever happen. It didn’t dawn on us that we would come under attack.” In the opening scene in the documentary “The Librarians,” a woman sits, her face obscured for anonymity. She is a school librarian, telling the story of what happened in Texas in 2021, after… Continue reading
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Power of Community: Celebrating 50 Years of “Douglass-Truth”
A half-century ago, the Central District came together to rename its library to reflect its community. On Saturday, Dec. 13, from noon to 5 p.m., all of Seattle is invited to celebrate this milestone at the Douglass-Truth Branch, and honor its rich community histories. The branch library opened in 1914, but it didn’t become the… Continue reading
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‘The Secret Lives of Library Books’ — Seattle Times Follows the Journey of a Hold
Every wonder how your library holds “magically” appear at your branch? Seattle Times reporter Sara Jean Green and photographer Karen Ducey explored this question by diving into a behind-the-scenes story of how millions of books travel around our region each year to serve the needs of our region’s Library users. Sara and Karen joined SPL… Continue reading
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LEAP Interns 2025: What We Learned at the Library
This summer, The Seattle Public Library was thrilled to have Jesse and Gideon join us as part of a multi-week summer paid program focused on career preparation for Washington’s blind and visually impaired young people. They helped out in the Library Equal Access Program (LEAP), made zines that are being added to the ZAPP collection,… Continue reading