Whatcom County Library System staff are hosting 11 public listening sessions in February and March at county library branches and online to review the library system’s budget. The meetings are open to all community members.
Following multiple years of significant and sustained inflation coupled with increasing demand for library services, WCLS began accessing reserve funds to address a budget deficit in 2024 and will again draw on reserves for 2025. Library system staff and Board of Trustees are seeking public input on options to decrease expenses and to raise revenue to allow the library system to maintain existing open hours and services. More than 90% of the library system’s annual revenue comes from local property taxes. WCLS is not part of county government.
Library Budget Listening Sessions
WCLS staff will present the library budget, answer questions and gather feedback.
- DEMING LIBRARY, 5044 Mt. Baker Highway, Deming: 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 5
- SUMAS LIBRARY, 461 2nd St., Sumas: 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8
- LYNDEN LIBRARY, 216 4TH St., Lynden: 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10
- EVERSON LIBRARY, 104 Kirsch Drive, Everson: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13
- BLAINE LIBRARY, 610 3rd St., Blaine: 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25
- NORTH FORK LIBRARY, 7506 Kendall Road, Kendall: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27
- SOUTH WHATCOM LIBRARY, 10 Barnview Court, Sudden Valley, Gate 2: 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 1
- ISLAND LIBRARY, 2144 S. Nugent Road, Lummi Island: 3-4:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1
- POINT ROBERTS LIBRARY, 1431 Gulf Road, Point Roberts: 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 8
- FERNDALE LIBRARY, 2125 Main St., Ferndale: 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 11
- ONLINE: There is one online session, 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 5. Registration is required to receive the link, wcls.org/events.