Spokane Government Collections

This guide is an overview of Spokane Public Library's Spokane Documents, Environmental Impact Statements, and Miscellaneous Documents collections. Using these collections, Spokane Public Library staff can help you find information on such topics as the City of Spokane's budget or the environmental impact of a local housing development.  For new documents, check out the Spokane Government Blog.

Spokane Government Documents

Spokane Public Library receives documents on many government topics from both the City of Spokane and Spokane County. Check here for information on the transit system, neighborhoods, parks, and the environment. Some of the more important Spokane Documents are:

• The Official Gazette. This is the City of Spokane's weekly report of City Council and other board meetings. It includes meeting minutes, notices for bids, and ordinance updates. The Official Gazette is not indexed; you will need to know an approximate date to find the correct issue. Current issues can be found online. Older bound issues, dating back to 1911, are kept in the Northwest Room  at the Downtown Library
• City of Spokane Budget and Performance Report. The city’s budget report comes out annually and details department revenues, expenditures, personnel, and goals. The current year budget and older editions back to 1973 can be found at the Downtown Library
• Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The City of Spokane’s annual report is an audited account of funds spent by city departments. It will take about six months for the previous year’s report to be produced. The most recent copy is at the Downtown Library’s Second Floor Reference and Information Desk. The Downtown Library has older editions back to 1914 in storage; ask at the Second Floor Reference and Information Desk to retrieve them
• Spokane Municipal Code and Spokane County Code. Look here if you want local parking, noise, animal control, or traffic ordinances. The most updated version of both codes are available online. The Northwest Room of the Downtown Library contains historical printed editions of the Spokane Municipal Code and the Spokane County Code. The online versions of both of these codes can be accessed from any library branch using the public catalogs
• Spokane City and Spokane County Comprehensive Plans. Comprehensive Plans are required by the state’s Growth Management Act. These important documents will set the standards for how the city and county will grow in the next 20 years

The majority of Spokane Documents are located at the Downtown Library.  Staff at the Downtown Library Reference and Information Desk can search a Spokane Documents database by title or subject to help you find a particular document. Since all documents in this section are part of the reference collection, they do not check out.

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Internet Pages

Spokane Public Library's internet site has a convenient way to link to local government resources. The Spokane Government page links to the internet sites of the City of Spokane, Spokane County, the fire districts, other Spokane county cities, research organizations, and national sites dealing with local government issues.  See our Spokane Government Blog for featured new documents and internet sites.

Many documents can be found online.  Just check the local government internet site for the document in which you are interested or Ask a Librarian for help in locating a particular resource.

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Environmental Impact Statements

Environmental Impact Statements are "documents which are required by federal and state laws to accompany proposals for major projects and programs that will likely have an impact on the surrounding environment" (Black's Law Dictionary). Spokane Public Library's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) collection has documents on local projects such as the North Spokane Corridor (EIS 375). EIS documents address public concerns and include a governing body's decision about a particular project. EIS documents are also a good place to find maps or diagrams for a project.

The EIS collection at the Downtown Library is arranged by EIS number. Related documents are shelved under the same number. For example, a draft EIS would be EIS 399, while the final EIS would be EIS 399a. Downtown Library staff can search the library's EIS database by title or subject to help you find a particular document. The Downtown Library keeps older documents in storage or in the Northwest Room. EIS documents are part of the reference collection and do not check out. 

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Miscellaneous Documents

Spokane Public Library also provides a collection of public information documents from companies, universities, nonprofit organizations, or multiple levels of government. These documents are known as Miscellaneous Documents (MDs) because they do not easily fit into other categories. They include such topics as the Coeur d'Alene River Basin pollution studies (MD 514), Superfund site cleanups, salmon recovery, and aquifer studies.

The MD collection is housed at the Downtown Library near the Environmental Impact Statements. Older documents are in storage. Miscellaneous Documents are arranged by MD number, with documents on the same topic shelved under the same number. Ask Second Floor Reference and Information staff to search the MD database by title or subject if you are looking for a particular document. Miscellaneous Documents do not check out. 

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For Further Information

Contact the Downtown Library reference staffat 444-5336 to find out whether Spokane Public Library has a particular document. You may ask the library to order a document, but it may take several weeks to receive and process it.

You can obtain a copy of many Spokane Documents by contacting the city or county department in charge of the project. Look in the blue pages of the phone book for telephone numbers. For Environmental Impact Statements or Miscellaneous Documents, you will need to contact the organization or business that is in charge of the project. Public notices or newspaper articles are a good way to find out who is in charge.

Government internet sites - city, county, state, or federal - are an excellent way to locate documents. Many documents can be found full-text on the internet. Go to Spokane Public Library's government internet pages for quick links to government sites.

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