Seattle Public Library Prepares for Expansion
After issuing nearly 100,000 books in 1893, the growing city library prepares to move into new quarters in the Collins Block.
The library commission, through Eben Smith, its chairman, yesterday made its third annual report to the mayor, covering the condition of the Seattle public library on January 1. The report shows the steady growth of that useful institution, with greater promises for the coming year, when housed in new and enlarged quarters. During the year 1893, 2,476 volumes were added to the library, making a total of 11,048 volumes on hand. The circulating department issued 98,000 books for home use, being a daily average of 321. There was an increase in membership during the year of 2,703, making the total number of card holders 6,338. The new quarters in the fifth floor of the Collins block, at the southeast corner of James and Second streets, are in course of construction and the commission expresses the belief that they will be ready for use some time next month.
“The establishment of the public library marked an epoch in the literary and moral history of Seattle.”
The public library system in Seattle has long been viewed as a core pillar of civic life; the move to the Collins Block mirrors the city’s rapid 19th-century growth and its desire to establish high-brow cultural institutions alongside its industrial ones.
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