Mid Columbia Libraries tells West Richland council: branch visits, programs and digital use rose in 2025

Representatives of Mid Columbia Libraries briefed the West Richland City Council on June 2 about services, programs and recent usage data for the system’s West Richland branch. Sarah Schwann and Amy Schmidt highlighted rising program attendance, expanded “library of things” lending, and a strong customer-satisfaction result for the branch.

Schwann said the city’s annual contract with Mid Columbia Libraries is $604,000 and that annual branch expenditures allocate roughly $670,000 to maintain services and materials. She also said the digital and physical collection value checked out by West Richland residents last year was about $6.8 million; staff reported about 2,000 monthly active users and estimated that roughly 55% of West Richland households used library services at least once in the year.

Amy Schmidt described program growth and on-site use: baby story time grew from three to four children to regular groups of seven to 10, adult DIY and book-club programs are gaining traction, and the branch’s public computers and assistance requests have increased. Staff noted a new customer-satisfaction survey that shows a high approval rating (reported as 96% in past year, cited as 98% in recent data), but said they would provide the council with the survey’s sample-size and methodology upon request.

Schwann and Schmidt said the branch’s “library of things” — tools, games and small equipment that patrons can borrow — has proved popular, and staff highlighted upcoming programs including summer reading, a democracy TED event June 13, and a ticketed author visit in November.

What’s next: Library staff will supply more detailed survey methodology on request; the council thanked the presenters and acknowledged continuing partnership.