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Library trustees and staff urge council to plan expansion as usage outgrows space
Summary
Library trustees and staff told council the building’s physical capacity limits collections, meeting space and computers; trustees, staff and two public commenters urged officials to prioritize planning and funding for expansion during the upcoming budget cycle.
Library trustees and staff delivered detailed usage data and asked the council to begin planning for expansion as Liberty Lake’s library approaches physical capacity limits.
Barb Richardson, a city‑appointed library trustee, reported about 7,500 active library cards in 2025 and nearly 70,000 annual visits. Meeting‑room reservations have climbed sharply (from under 200 users in 2022 to 812 reservations in 2025), she said, making the public library the city’s primary free meeting space.
Staff described collection and digital trends: the physical collection is roughly 24,000 items today (short of a staff rule‑of‑thumb target of two items per resident) and e‑book and audiobook usage reached roughly 36,000 checkouts in 2025. Librarians noted e‑books are expensive to license—publishers commonly price many e‑book licenses as time‑limited 'leases' requiring periodic replacement or renewal (staff described per‑title license costs in the order of $100–$150 that cover a limited number of checkouts).
Operational constraints were a central theme: the building’s limited shelf space restricts acquisitions, there are only four public computers (often three usable at any time), the meeting rooms are oversubscribed, and parking is limited. Staff said these facility constraints reduce the velocity of circulation and limit community programming. Operating expenditures for 2025 were reported at about $700,067 and staff credited the Friends of the Library and volunteers for supporting programs.
Trustees and users asked council to explore funding and planning options as part of the upcoming budget process. Two public speakers—Lynn Atkins (a resident and part‑time library clerk) and Brett Hamblin (a library trustee)—urged immediate attention: Atkins described specific impacts on circulation and programs, and Hamblin encouraged council to pursue potential grants and budgetary options to expand capacity.
Council members thanked staff for the presentation. Staff noted the matter of facility expansion will intersect with the 2027 budget development and encouraged council to prioritize candidate projects and funding sources during budget preparation.
