King County Library System Is Awesome! Let's See it All

 

Gotta Visit Them All

Algona-Pacific 

A small, cosy library with a convenient atrium, an enclosed children’s section, and compact nooks for Teens and computer users.

Auburn

The statue of a hungry crow outside the library is a great start, and the library inside is a winner. A safe children’s area, stacks and cosy nooks for YA and reading, and some lovely quilt like plaques over the wall with the holds. There’s a lot of grassy area around the park and a playground visible from the windows, so it’s a fun family destination.

Bellevue

Bellevue library is a masterpiece. It’s beautiful and peaceful and energizing. It has underground parking, a park outside, a busy make space, a children’s section on its own floor. There are meeting rooms in various sizes, study rooms, study corrals, reading nooks, life plants, comfy chairs with charging outlets in their arms, and both square work tables and bar stool work spaces overlooking greenery or sidewalks, depending on your preferences. Art work sneaks up on you in many places, from the stunning hut depicting Japanese American homes before their incarceration to 23 Windows with small sculptures nestled in window boxes. The librarians were friendly and proud of their bookish home.

Black Diamond

Bothell

A cosy library with a nice meeting room near the children’s section where I’ve seen performances, and a large nonfiction children’s section adjacent, although that does make it easier for kids to escape. I also liked the small enclosed patio if patrons want to read outside on nice days. There were several cool statues in various reading nooks. 

Boulevard Park (below)

This is a small, somewhat old fashioned library. The neighborhood seemed to know it well; they’ve been growing together for ages. It’s low on windows, but cosy with a small, contained children’s area and a teen section that gets all the light.

Burian

Carnation

Covington

Crossroads

This tiny library is tucked into a mall. It’s got a fun spiral ramp into the kids section, good lighting and lots of patron computers. It also is right by the delicious food court where I got some very good Indian food.

Des Moines

Duvall

Enumclaw

Fairwood

Fairwood was my first King County Library, before Renton joined the county system. When the kids were young we would have a library day to visit all three systems (Renton, King County, Seattle) and the playgrounds we associated with each. Visiting it without four small children is more peaceful; it has the most inviting reading space I’ve seen so far. Its tall windows and ceilings give a sense of space and limitless time. 

Fall City

Compact and cosy, Fall City is especially proud of the vibrant plants that bring the shelves to green life. There’s a nook for Teens, a meeting room and a study room, and a small but well stocked children’s area. The high ceilings mean lots of light even among the many shelves, and the plants are eating it up.

Federal Way 320th

Although this must be the worst name for a library, the building itself looks good. I liked the colors and dimensions of the outside. Inside there’s a feeling of space with some lovely art on the wall across from the entrance. People were studying or working at many of the tables behind the fiction and nonfiction shelves. The children’s area was nice but rather open — I watched a happy toddler sneak out and make a break for the Friends Book Sale. Luckily her giggling made her fail her stealth check.

Federal Way

Absolutely gorgeous. Amazing windows, with the teen section getting the sectioned one. There were many people enjoying the comfortable and functional seating by the back window, but it wasn’t crowded at all. I think that has a view of the rain garden but it was a beautiful day so I’m not sure. The maker’s space was big and inviting, and the expanded children’s area was bright but enclosed, with lots of places for shared reading.

Greenbridge

This was the first time I told an unknown librarian about my quest, and she was very enthusiastic. She also showed me around the small library and talked about how they had to curate the shelves and how quickly books turned over. I liked how kids came in to play and read and how welcoming it felt. My sister came along and took the picture with me and the librarian.

Issaquah

I thought I’d been here before but it seemed new to me. There’s a nice children’s section although containing a crowd would be a bit tricky. They cram a lot of study tables, corrals and desks in various nooks and I saw a lot of students and a few collaborations. The high ceilings and natural lighting keeps it warm and cosy. Another good library! 

Kennmore 

Kent 

 A big box of a room with a sense of abundance and space. There are desks and computers to the right and magazines and sitting areas on the left, including the teen corner. The children’s area is squared off by low shelving, which I would have appreciated when I showed up with four young kids. There are several nooks with chairs or tables for quiet work and a couple of meeting rooms for large and small gatherings. Not too bad.

Kent Panther Lake

This is an older building but manages to hit cosy. It’s small but carves out a nice children’s section and several good reading areas. I liked the art showing the lake the library is names after.

I arrived a little before it opened because I had scheduled extra time for proctoring a high school exam so I took advantage of its proximity to a small open shopping mall and walked over to a Vietnamese restaurant and had a delicious lunch before returning and exploring the library.

Kingsgate

Kirkland

Lake Forest Park

Lake Hills

I’ve driven by Lake Hills many times, but always on my way to appointments so I never stopped. They said they were particularly proud of their frog collection, so I took this photo and met some great crafters who rotate around local libraries for their meetings. So once again this quest gives me the excuse to stop and gather some roses.

Maple Valley

Mercer Island

Another lovely building, with a great children’s area, good places for reading or studying, and options for either study rooms or seats with pleasant views of trees and parks. There is both a small and large meeting space and a well stocked Friends of the Library section.

Muckleshoot

Newcastle

I was lucky enough to find an art display ongoing at Newcastle, so I examine the art from local students carefully and cast my ballot. Their children’s section is off to the side and almost contained, with a rich selection and some terminals available. Their comfy chairs scattered by the windows are indeed comfortable, and the blossoms on the tree out side were lovely.

 Newport Way 

Newport Way is a very cosy and comfortable library. It is fairly small but uses its space efficiently and there are many small details to delight in, from the enclosed children’s area to the windowed reading annex to the sculptures outside and the many small details on the brick walls inside. You can find small animals, letters, fossils, and even a would-be-visitor.

(Normandy Park Lockers?)

North Bend

North Bend is another gem. It’s halfway up the mountain (Snonomish, not THE mountain, which is Ranier), and there’s a feeling of green wilderness nearby. The tall ceiling gives the room a feeling of space, and the meeting room and study rooms add some interesting nooks. The square shape makes it hard to block off the kids area, but they use the shelves to make the picture book area a corral and bigger kids can handle themselves. The artwork is by local people and depicts characters from favorite books. 

Redmond

Redmond Ridge Library Express?

Renton

This is our local branch where the kids and I have been going since I moved to Washington. It is built over a river and has glass walls so you can look up or downstream to see the water flow, the birds fly and paddle about, and the salmon swim. It’s as cool as it sounds. It got a major renovation a few years ago and we almost had to move it (wet lands are hard to construct on, and rivers are by definition wet) but the community ponied up the extra money so it stayed. I liked the kids section better before the renovations but I don’t have kids any more so fine. There’s a nice big meeting room, several study rooms, lots of computers and nice librarians. I approve.

A couple of big trees blew over a few months ago and you can see them in the river behind the library. The window facing us has a lot of chairs set up so you can read and look out at the water flowing away and the birds and the fish (the salmon swim up this river in the fall). The children’s area is on the right so the kids get the view.

Renton Highlands

My other local library (we moved here before Renton libraries joined with KCLS) has a new building located what looks like an awesome park for kids. You can see the giant climbing structure in the right background. It also has quiet study rooms, good tables with chargers, a nice meeting room next to the children’s area which is open but has good sight lines. 

Richmond Beach

Sammamish

Service Center

I found the Service Center and they were very happy to be included in my count. Their lobby waiting chairs were clearly designed for readers so they definitely are eligible. It was fun learning about all the stuff they plan and work on here, and also appreciating the art and statues. 

All the art in the libraries is a definite bonus for me as I search out each building. I’m really glad the libraries work so hard to make the spaces welcoming along so many dimensions.

Shoreline

Skykomish

This far flung branch required some planning. My weekly walk buddy and I decided to make it an expedition as it required driving over an hour to get there. But it’s in a lovely town with great hikes, a free train ride, and some wonderful lunch options so we had a great time. The library is small but cleverly laid out with a children’s corner by the adult shelves so tiny kids and parents can both browse. And they are celebrating their 75 birthday so we made a Pom Pom to add to their string.

Skyway

This is an old friend, located near my sons’ junior high school (which is admittedly not all that close to our home). It’s fairly small but I like its steep angles as it fits itself into the oddly shaped lot where the streets meet but not orthogonally. And I really like the topologically donut shaped sculpture outside, so I tried to take the picture through it.

Snoqualmie

This is a small library that relies on its lovely views to give a sense of roominess. This art chandelier thing hangs over the Teen area, and there also a small and cosy children’s section. The chairs were comfortable although they didn’t seem to have the cool charging areas I see in more modernized buildings, so remember to bring standard plugs!

South Center

Tukwilla

The more libraries I visit the more impressed I am with KCLS. This is another compact but powerful place, with the children’s area conveniently in one corner and a high airy ceiling that gives room to breath, as well as a generous number of comfortable chairs and study areas. The meeting room currently held two reading buddy dogs, one a new recruit still learning to temper her enthusiasm so I got to help by walking into the room repeatedly until she could greet me politely. 

Valley View

Vashon

Many librarians cited Vashon as a hard one to add to my list, but I have family on the island so I’m there periodically. It’s a bright and inviting building with windows onto greenery from all sides, including a nice view of a playground from the children’s section. I always appreciate that.

White Center

Woodinville

Woodmont