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A river runs through it: Renton Library. Photo: JiaYing Grygiel
Bookworms, welcome!
Libraries used to be places where you went to check out a book or ask a question at the reference desk. Now, libraries are all that and much, much more, with a wide-ranging roster of activities, programs and events for kids and adults, as well as special attractions that make some of our local libraries bona fide tourist destinations.
The best part? Everything is still free.
At the library, my two kids will gleefully collect a small mountain of books. It’s so empowering to pick out anything — anything! — they want and get to take it home. Around 300,000 people are active Seattle Public Library card users, including my children since they were 5-years-old.
“We are in the part of the country where people really do value libraries and really do use their libraries,” said Julie Acteson, former community relations and marketing director for the King County Library System.
Seattle voters approved a $196.4 million bond measure in 1998 that paid for a new downtown library, added four brand-new libraries and replaced or renovated 22 neighborhood branches.
In the King County Library System, a $172 million capital bond measure approved by voters in 2004 paid for 15 new libraries, 11 expanded libraries, 13 renovated libraries and two parking-expansion projects.
All this investment has added up to some showstopping libraries around the Puget Sound region. Find out which library is shaped like a boat, which has a rooftop garden and which offers you a view of salmon swimming underneath it. Building a day around a library visit is a good way to explore a new neighborhood — and to encourage your kids to love books.
Browse through all our favorite libraries or jump to the one you want to visit today:
- Central Library
- Renton Library
- Suzzallo Library
- Ballard Branch, Seattle Public Library
- Sammamish Library
- Bellevue Library
- Beacon Hill Branch, Seattle Public Library
- Elisabeth C. Miller Library
- Lake City Branch, Seattle Public Library
- Richmond Beach Library
- Tacoma Public Library's Fern Hill Branch
- University Place Branch, Pierce County Library System
Up first: Central Library
More fun family outing: |
Editor’s note: Elisa Murray contributed to this article, which was originally published several years ago and was updated most recently on Jan. 7, 2026 by ParentMap's editorial team.
