The Seattle Public Library is the public library system serving Seattle, Washington, USA. It was officially established by the city in 1890, though there had been a library association active in Seattle since 1868. There are 26 branches in the system including the new (2004) Seattle Central Library and the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL), as well as mobile services. In addition, as of June 2004, there are three new branches in the planning stages, and one new branch in the first stage of construction. The Ballard branch of the library was completed in May 2005. Librarians and patrons in a typical larger urban public library. ... Nickname: The Emerald City Location of Seattle in King County and Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County King Incorporated December 2, 1869 Mayor Greg Nickels (NP) Area    - City 369. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Seattle Central Library Exterior The Seattle Central Library is the flagship library of the Seattle Public Library system. ...

In 1998, Seattle voters, with an unprecedented 69 percent approval rate, approved the largest library bond issue then ever submitted in the United States. The funding provided by the "Libraries for All" bond measure, which proposed a $196.4 million makeover of the Library system, doubling the square footage in Seattle's libraries, including the building of new branches and a new Central Library. A bond measure is a proposal to sell bonds for the purpose of acquiring funds for various public works projects, such as research, transportation infrastructure improvements, and others. ...

As of 2004, the Seattle Public Library system has 590 staff members (453 full-time equivalents). In 2004, the system circulated 2,812,451 adult books, 1,411,903 children's books, 469,871 WTBBL materials, and 2,351,512 other media (CDs, DVDs, videotapes, etc.) for a total of 7,045,737 items lent. They also report 1 million reference questions answered. ^[1] The system also provides 767 public computers (400 of them at the Central Library).^[2] Anyone with a library card can get up to one hour a day of free computer use; the system accepts reservations for a computer at a particular time at a particular branch. Seattle Central Library Exterior The Seattle Central Library is the flagship library of the Seattle Public Library system. ...

The library has moved to an RFID system for materials, which allows people to check out their materials without assistance, freeing librarians to focus on matters other than circulation.^[3] An EPC RFID tag used for Wal-Mart Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. ...

Until 2004, the library was home to Nancy Pearl, one of the few celebrity librarians in the English-speaking world. Pearl's Book Lust book series and her much-imitated "If All Seattle Read The Same Book" project resulted in her being perhaps the only librarian who has ever been honored with an action figure. Nancy Pearl (born 1945?) is a librarian, book reviewer and was, until August 2004, the Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library. ... An action figure is a posable plastic figurine of a character, often from a movie, video game, or television program. ...

The new Seattle Central Library was designed by Rem Koolhaas and his group, the OMA.^[4] Seattle Central Library Exterior The Seattle Central Library is the flagship library of the Seattle Public Library system. ... Seattle Central Library, designed by OMA Rem Koolhaas (born November 17, 1944 in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch architect, former journalist and screenwriter who studied architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. ...

Many of Seattle's early libraries were Carnegie libraries. Some of those buildings have been converted to other purposes (Ballard's former Carnegie library has held a number of restaurants, antique stores, etc.) but others (such as the Fremont branch and Green Lake branch) have been modernized, and remain in use. A Carnegie library, opened in 1913 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, designed in Spanish Colonial style Carnegie libraries for both public use and academic institutions were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie, earning him the nickname, the Patron Saint of Libraries. ...

Fremont Library (built 1921), originally a Carnegie library Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1944x2592, 1298 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Seattle Public Library ... A Carnegie library, opened in 1913 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, designed in Spanish Colonial style Carnegie libraries for both public use and academic institutions were built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman Andrew Carnegie, earning him the nickname, the Patron Saint of Libraries. ...	Ballard's former Carnegie Library Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 574 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...	Ballard Library Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2592x1944, 1185 KB) I took this picture on April 15, 2006 I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ...	Green Lake Library Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2560x1920, 2151 KB) I, the creator of this work, hereby grant the permission to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...
Reading Room in the Central Library Branch Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2816x1880, 2490 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Seattle Public Library Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Seattle Central Library Exterior The Seattle Central Library is the flagship library of the Seattle Public Library system. ...

References

1. ^ History factsheets - SPL website
2. ^ 2004 Annual Report
3. ^ 2004 Annual Report
4. ^ Office for Metropolitan Architecture - official website

External links

• Seattle Public Library Web site
• Ballard Public Library

Mid-20th-century logo of the Seattle Public Library. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1941x1930, 221 KB) A mid-20th-century logo of the Seattle Public Library, depicting two figures that may variously be interpreted as cetaceans (possibly orcas) or humans. ...

One of the library's current logos. Image File history File links Gold_spl_logo. ...