On March 5, I met with Spokane City Council for a 2-hour study session about the future outlook of the library budget. You can see the slides I presented at that meeting below.
This conversation is not about expansion. It is about sustaining what Spokane already built and uses every day.
This is the first in a series of civic funding explanations I’ll be sharing throughout the year. My goal is simple: to provide transparent, clear information about how Spokane Public Library is funded, how we operate, and what decisions lie ahead. So let’s dive in.
Delivering More for Our Community with Less Than Our Peers
Every year, libraries across the country report their results: how many people they serve, how many programs they offer, how many materials they circulate, and how they support their communities.
When we look at those numbers—you can see our 2025 Annual Report here—one thing stands out clearly. Spokane Public Library delivers more for our community with less funding than many libraries of similar size.
Community demand has not just returned since the pandemic; it has exceeded pre-2020 levels. Today, every location of Spokane Public Library is open and operating seven days a week. Five 24/7 kiosks extend access into underserved areas. Since 2023, the library has welcomed more than one million visitors annually. Our free meeting spaces were used more than 90,000 hours last year. Our community checks out more than one million physical and digital items each year.
The system is being used consistently and measurably.
How We Compare to Peer Cities
Compared to peer cities, Spokane does more with less budget. In fact, amongst peer libraries like Boise, Salt Lake City, Spokane County, and Tacoma, we offer more service with far less money. Our budget is millions of dollars less than those other libraries, despite comparable populations and median incomes. Many comparable systems operate at higher budget levels with fewer service days or reduced weekend hours.
We have made many operational improvements to enhance efficiency. Delivering more with less demonstrates good stewardship. But it also highlights a challenge: we’re operating with limited resources in a growing, changing community.
How Are We Funded?
One question I hear most is: How is the library funded? Most of our operating budget comes from the city’s general fund. Each year, the library competes with other departments for funding based on overall city revenues and priorities.
Unlike some city departments that receive more predictable funding, the library’s budget can change significantly year to year. Compare that to Spokane Parks & Recreation, for example, which has a percentage allocation codified into city charter since 1910.
The challenge facing the library is not demand. It is structural funding. Our operating footprint has grown with seven fully activated locations, expanded hours, specialized service spaces, and new access points. Our community needs and uses the library.
At the same time, recurring cost pressures continue. As we all know, many operational expenses are getting more expensive including labor and benefits, utilities, facility maintenance, technology replacement, safety investments, and interfund costs outside library control.
Revenue, however, does not automatically adjust for inflation. The General Fund allocation has remained flat over time. The voter-approved levy supplements the general fund, but baseline operating costs now outpace funding.
Here’s How You Can Help
I’m telling you this, not to invite outreach to the city council (though we are grateful for your support this past fall), but to keep you, our library supporters, informed of the conversations happening in city government with the intent to keep our library funded at a healthy level.
For now, keep using the library! Attend a library program, check out a book, tell your friends and family about how great the library is. Thank you for being a library supporter.
— Andrew Chanse, Executive Director, Spokane Public Library
