Richland Public Library presents 2025 usage surge, new lawn and service expansions

The Richland Public Library reported broad increases in use and services for 2025 during a presentation to the Richland City Council on March 17.

Cara Hernandez, chair of the library board of trustees, said the library hosted 1,031 programs and outreach activities last year, reported a gate count of 224,100 (an 8.2% increase over the prior year), and tallied more than 48,000 program attendees. "My name is Cara Hernandez and I have the honor of serving as the chair of the library board of trustees," Hernandez said as she opened the presentation.

Library Director Chris Knolf highlighted new and expanded services, including a reciprocal borrowing program with four regional libraries, a doubled hotspot inventory, a redesigned website with streamlined renewals and mobile checkout, and additions to language-learning and recreation materials. "The lawn will give the library an all ages outdoor space that can be used for programming, play, and study," Knolf said, describing the new outdoor area the library completed and recently ribbon‑cut.

Knolf gave detailed holdings and circulation figures: roughly 158,577 physical items in the collection, 217,437 digital holdings and a combined total of about 376,014 items; circulation totals (physical plus digital) were reported at approximately 895,971, with 44,982 holds filled. He also said the library issued 5,002 new library cards and recorded 27,242 computer sessions in 2025.

On finances, the presentation listed 2025 total expenditures of $2,835,417.72, with notable collection spending of about $424,700 and a general fund budget of $2,964,088. The library estimated the value of services used by residents at $13,000,000 for 2025.

Looking ahead, the library's 2026 priorities include celebrating the library's 75th (noted in materials as 70th—see clarifying details), continuing reciprocal borrowing, applying for a state capital improvement grant to add playground equipment at the new lawn, and planning space and shelving for the next decade. The board thanked the Friends of the Richland Public Library, the foundation, staff and trustees for support.

Council members asked follow-up questions about gate‑count breakouts and maintenance costs for the new outdoor lawn. Knolf said the gate count measures people who physically enter the building and that further breakdowns (for example, by purpose of visit) are limited without more granular tracking. Facilities staff told the council that the lawn uses artificial turf (ForeverLawn) and that ongoing maintenance has been absorbed into the city's facilities budget; the turf has an expected useful life of roughly 15 years, with playground equipment replacement likely on a longer cycle.

The council thanked library staff and board members for the report and for the library's role in the community.