About Us
Serving more than 274,000 Kitsap residents, Kitsap Regional Library is foundational in our community.
Visit any of our nine locations, opens a new window, access digital library materials and services, or utilize mobile services, opens a new window for individuals with significant barriers to using their Library location. The Library has more than 400,000 physical items in its collection and over 63,000 downloadable ebooks, audiobooks, and digital magazines available online, along with 50+ free digital research tools.
Each of our libraries was born from a passion for creating opportunities for individuals to grow and thrive. Every day, we look for new ways to pursue our mission, inspiring curiosity and connection.
Library Mission
Inspiring curiosity and connection.
Library Values
A collaborative community inspired by curiosity and connection, so that all people have the opportunity to grow, belong, and thrive.
Charting our course for the next five years, Kitsap Regional Library is excited to unveil our 2024-2029 Strategic Direction. This strategic framework serves as our compass, guiding every decision we make as we embark on our refreshed mission of inspiring curiosity and connection. Together, we're committed to ensuring that the Library is a place where everyone can belong, thrive, and flourish for generations to come.
Funding Source
As a junior taxing district, the Library relies on community support. In 2023, the Library received approximately $17 million in annual property tax revenue, accounting for over 94% of the operating budget.
Since 2018, the Library's revenue growth has averaged 2.4% annually. While demand for library service in Kitsap County remains strong, the Library's revenue growth is falling behind. Soon, funding will not be enough to maintain the Library's present level of services and collections. This decline was anticipated when the Library sought a levy increase in 2017, asking for funding to sustain a five-year spending plan.
Looking ahead, the Library is currently assessing the needs of our community and the Library's facilities, collections, and services—five to 20 years into the future—to inform a new levy spending plan and ensure the Library continues to provide the services expected by our Kitsap community. Regularly levying for new dollars is an essential part of planning. This practice creates sustainable funding, allowing the Library to consistently support the level of service offered and expected by our Kitsap communities.
Budget Process
The Library budget is presented annually in two parts. The Operating Budget is adopted in December and represents the following year’s projected revenue. It is a balance sheet of incoming revenue and the ongoing costs of running the Library.
The Capital Budget, adopted in January, identifies significant needs that have a one-time cost. Projects in the Capital Budget are often anticipated and planned several years ahead, allowing the Library time to consider funding carefully. Capital projects address critical maintenance of buildings and regular updates to spaces, furnishing, and technology, ensuring responsible stewardship of the spaces the Library has been entrusted with.
Additionally, the Library maintains two reserve funds. By policy, the Operating Reserve Fund is maintained at 10-15% of the Operating Budget and provides a source of emergency funding. The Capital Reserve Fund allows the Library to plan and fund capital projects.
Review the 2024 Operating and Capital Budgets.
Levy History
In 2017, the Library communicated a need for increased funding to maintain current service levels, provide critical updates to facilities, improve collections and staff wages, and restore Sunday hours and staffing levels lost in previous years due to budget constraints. The passage of this levy authorized a one-time raise of the Library’s regular property tax levy by $0.08 per thousand dollars of assessed value, adding approximately $3.43 million to the Library’s 2018 Operating Budget.
In 2018, this additional funding allowed for increased hours for part-time staff-, needed to support hour increases; hiring additional staff in critical positions; increased investment in collections and youth programs and materials, and a 2% cost-of-living increase for all staff.
The Library also partnered with Cabot Dow Associates to conduct a compensation study to ensure wages were equitably and responsibly addressed. This study used neighboring library systems similar in population and budget sizes, such as Tacoma Public Library and Whatcom County Library, along with other local public organizations, such as Kitsap County and the Central Kitsap School District, to determine a fair pay structure for Library staff.
On January 1, 2019, implementation of the study findings increased all staff wages by an average of 6.47%, while also raising annual salary step increases from 2% to 3%. Beyond the implementation, cost-of-living increases and salary step increases have been provided annually. Staffing costs currently account for 80% of the Operating Budget.
Annual Revenue
The Kitsap Regional Library Board of Trustees is comprised of five members appointed by the Kitsap County Commissioners to represent the five geographic regions of Kitsap County. The Board of Trustees selects a Library Director to whom the Board delegates the authority and responsibility for the administration of the Library. This includes the development of the Library’s annual operating and capital budgets, authorization and oversight of all major expenditures and policies relating to staff and public services. The Board of Trustees reviews, provides recommendations and is responsible for the final approval of all policies and budgets. Learn more about the Board and View Board Meetings.
Write your story with us! Our staff are the heart of Kitsap Regional Library. We welcome people of all ages and backgrounds with a passion for making a difference in the lives of others. Together, we are inspiring curiosity and connection so that all people have the opportunity to grow, belong, and thrive. Join us!
Kitsap Regional Library is committed to meeting the letter and the spirit of Washington State laws regarding open public meetings and access to public records. Learn more...
The Kitsap Regional Library Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, enhances the services and programs of Kitsap Regional Library by securing funding for initiatives that go beyond what tax dollars provide. While property taxes primarily fund the Library's core operations, the Foundation plays a crucial role in expanding opportunities for learning, engagement, and innovation through private donations and philanthropic support.
Friends of the Library groups are organized at most Kitsap Regional Library locations. Through fundraising events such as book sales, Friends groups raise money for items not in the Library's budget. Joining a Friends of the Library group is a wonderful way to support your Library location. Are you looking for a way to get involved? If so, your Friends group needs you!
You can help us by:
- Donating your skills and time to help strengthen your Library location.
- Serving as a volunteer at special Library events.
- Promoting the resources our Library brings to the community.
- Volunteering at Friends of the Library book sales, which raise funds for equipment, materials and other library projects.
Projects sponsored by Friends of the Library include:
- Children's reading awards
- Entertaining and educational programs
- Library equipment and fixtures
- Grounds beautification
- Concert series
How do I join?
Most Friends groups ask that members pay nominal annual dues, around $5.00 per year, and volunteer limited amounts of time to fundraising projects, community events and meeting attendance.
If you are interested in joining a local Friends group, you are encouraged to come to a meeting or your Library location, opens a new window.
Meeting Times
To see the activities of our Friends groups, check our online calendar, opens a new window of events.
List of Friends Groups
Volunteers are an important part of strengthening the Library’s relationship with the community along with sharing valuable knowledge and skills. Learn more..., opens a new window
Kitsap Regional Library Board of Trustees, opens a new window sets library policies governing activities such as access to Library materials, rights and responsibilities of Library users and use of Library-owned facilities. All of our current policies are incorporated into the Policy Handbook.
Aligned with our values of equity, service, and curiosity, Kitsap Regional Library proudly celebrates a range of heritage months throughout the year. Our goal is to honor and reflect the unique makeup of our community—with a focus on recognizing historically marginalized communities—and demonstrate that we are open to all. Read more here.
Kitsap Regional Library humbly acknowledges the people of the Coast Salish Tribes, both past and present, who have been the guardians, cultivators, and stewards of the lands and waters where we live, work, and gather.
With gratitude, we seek to honor the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe—nəxʷqiyt nəxʷsƛ̓̀̀áy’əm'— and the Suquamish Tribe—dxʷsəqʷəb—on whose homelands the Library's nine branches are now located on and with whom we hope to work alongside by understanding their histories and cultures, respectfully stewarding resources, and fostering authentic relationships.
We acknowledge that the ancestral lands where we are situated continue to be sites of trade, gathering, celebration, and tribal sovereignty despite a history of displacement, erasure, and unjust treatment.
In recognition of this, we commit to the following actions:
- Strengthen our relationship with the Suquamish and Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribal governments.
- Continue our education about the histories, cultures, and current issues faced by the Suquamish and Port Gamble S'Klallam tribes and Indigenous peoples as a whole.
- Actively seek to partner and collaborate to ensure their voices are included, heard, and respected.
