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Mayor’s $410 million library levy would sustain hours and expand e‑materials, staffing and maintenance
Summary
Mayor Wilson’s proposed seven‑year, $410 million Seattle Public Library levy would sustain baseline services, add $70 million in new investments for programming and collections, and designate $10 million in new funding for deferred maintenance and one seismic retrofit; library staff said e‑materials are the largest unmet demand.
Mayor Wilson’s administration proposed a seven‑year, $410 million property‑tax levy renewal to sustain Seattle Public Library hours, collections, technology and programming and to fund maintenance and one seismic retrofit, Deputy Mayor Brad Suratt and library officials told the council’s select committee on March 25.
The administration described the package as a combination of sustained spending and targeted new investments. Rob Gannon, director of administrative services for the library, said the levy’s baseline sustains the prior levy’s essential operations and absorbs some general‑fund offsets; the package also includes roughly $70 million in new investments to expand hours, programming and collections.
Category breakdowns presented to the committee include about $218.4 million for hours and access (27 branches and ongoing programs such as Kaleidoscope Play & Learn), $58.5 million for collections (physical and digital), $85.9 million for building maintenance (with an additional $10 million proposed for priority and deferred maintenance and one seismic retrofit at the Columbia branch), $38.2 million for technology and online services (including hot spots and cybersecurity), and about $9 million for administration and levy overhead.
Chief Librarian Tom Fay told the committee demand for e‑materials — e‑books and e‑audiobooks — has increased substantially and is the library’s largest unmet need; he said the system has seen rising wait times because e‑content is subscription‑based and expensive. The library reported roughly 1.8 million physical items, about 1 million digital items, 12.8 million total checkouts of physical and digital items in 2025, and that collections currently represent about 55% of the library’s book funding.
On building projects, the presenters described a prioritized list of seismic and historic‑building retrofits; typical seismic retrofit projects for oldest Carnegie buildings were estimated at roughly $13–$18 million per branch. Library staff said the levy would fund one seismic retrofit (Columbia branch) and would continue investments that previously were deferred due to budget constraints.
The mayor’s team and library staff said they engaged thousands of residents through surveys, workshops and listening sessions and emphasized equity, multilingual programming and partnerships; foundation and private fundraising continue to supplement the library’s collections and programs.
What’s next: Council members will consider possible amendments March 31 and a public hearing is scheduled April 2 before the council considers ballot placement.
Sources: presentations to the March 25 Select Committee on the Library Levy and public testimony from library advocates and the Library Foundation.
