2026 Library Levy Renewal
The 2026 Library Levy proposes a $410 million investment to continue supplementary funding for Seattle libraries over seven years (2027-2033). The levy funds: open hours and access (which includes programming, like Story Time); collections, both physical and e-books; building maintenance and capital projects; technology and online services; and administration. The current 2019 Library Levy accounts for one-third of the Library’s total budget and expires at the end of 2026.
2019 and 2026 Library Levy Investments by category, in $ millions.
| Investment | 2019 | Continued | New 2026 | Total 2026 |
| Hours & Access | 98.1 | 195.8 | 22.6 | 218.4 |
| Collections | 43.4 | 53.9 | 4.6 | 58.5 |
| Technology | 23.7 | 25.8 | 12.4 | 38.2 |
| Maintenance | 50.6 | 57 | 28.9 | 85.9 |
| Administration | 3.3 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 9.0 |
| Grand Total | 219.1 | 339.2 | 70.8 | 410.0 |
The City Council Select Committee on the Library Levy began meeting about the Library Levy renewal process this month, with the intention of placing the levy on the August 2026 primary ballot.
PROPOSED LEVY INVESTMENTS
Open Hours & Access: $218.4 million
Funding for:
- Supporting Library operating hours in neighborhood branches and the Central Library
- Providing access to Library programs and services in the community
- Supporting programming targeted towards children ages zero through 5
- Outreach and engagement services throughout the city
COLLECTIONS AND MATERIALS: $58.5 million
Funding for:
- increasing the variety, depth, and accessibility of collections with new titles and additional copies in various physical and digital formats
- providing additional online resources as new platforms and services emerge
- curating a local history collection and making those resources more widely available through digitization
- providing fine-free access to the Library's collections
- continuing innovative approaches to collection distribution and to fulfilling patron material requests.
BUILDING MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL PROJECTS: $85.9 million
Funding for:
- providing for routine, preventive, and major maintenance for the Library's heavily-used buildings as they age, to prolong their useful life
- funding to seismically retrofit one landmarked branch identified as high vulnerability in the City's Unreinforced Masonry Building Study.
TECHNOLOGY & ONLINE SERVICES: $38.2 million
Funding for:
- replacing and upgrading the Library's technology infrastructure, including maintaining its Integrated Library System, the Library's main business platform for procuring, processing, and tracking Library materials
- replacing and upgrading its enterprise network that provides high-speed internet and Wi-Fi access to the Central Library and all 26 branches
- replacing and upgrading its technology equipment such as switches, routers, servers, cabling, computers, tablets, printers, copiers, scanners and widescreen monitors, and other audiovisual equipment for newly emerging technologies
- maintaining and enhancing the SPL.org website and catalog, with a focus on language accessibility as well as device compatibility and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
- supporting the Library's digital equity efforts, including digital literacy instruction and provision and support of internet access devices for use within Library buildings and for check-out
ADMINISTRATION: $9 million
Funding for:
- Levy administration and cost of centralized service, provided by the City of Seattle
- Human resources staffing: $2.3 million
Meeting dates: Select Committee on the Library Levy
The Select Committee on the Library Levy began its meetings about levy renewal on March 11, in preparation for placement of the levy on the August 2026 primary ballot.
Meeting Dates
- March 11, 2026 Meeting Recording, 9:30 a.m.
- March 25, 2026 Meeting Recording, 9:30 a.m.
- March 31, 2026, 9:30 a.m.
- April 2, 2026 — Public Hearing, 5:30 p.m.
- April 8, 2026, 9:30 a.m.
The Select Committee on the Library Levy will meet in Council Chambers at City Hall, unless noted otherwise. Additional meetings will be scheduled as needed. Please note, this schedule is subject to change.
How to make your voice heard
The Select Committee on the Library Levy will host a public hearing on Thursday, April 2, 2026, at City Hall.
- You can submit your comments and questions to Councilmembers via email at: council@seattle.gov which will reach all nine council offices.
- You can give public comment at any of the Select Committee meetings. Learn more about public comment and how to sign up.
History of Seattle’s Library Levy
In August 2019, Seatle voters approved the $219.1 million property tax levy to maintain and enhance Library services from 2020 through 2026, replacing the $123 million 2012 Library Levy.
The 2012 Library Levy followed the $196.4 million Libraries for All bond measure that voters approved in 1998. Libraries for All was a special bond measure approving increased property tax to repay the principal and interest on bonds sold to raise funds for SPL capital investments.
Bond measures require 60 percent voter approval; voters approved Libraries for All by 69 percent. It supported the construction of four branch libraries, the replacement or renovation of 22 existing branches, and the development of a new downtown Central Library.