Bellingham Public Library serves the residents of Bellingham, Washington, circulating 1.5 million items annually to more than 45,000 registered cardholders. It is a department of the City of Bellingham and is funded by city taxes.
Materials may be checked out at four Bellingham Public Library locations. The Central Library is located in the Civic Center area of downtown Bellingham. The Fairhaven Branch is a Carnegie library which celebrated its 100th birthday in December 2004. The Barkley Branch opened in September 2008. We also offer the WCC Connection at the Whatcom Community College Library.
Through a reciprocal use agreement, City residents also have access to the collections of the Whatcom County Library System and may borrow items from libraries worldwide via our Interlibrary Loan service.
In 2009, a study committee comprised of representatives from Bellingham Public Library and Whatcom County Library System released a Report Regarding the Potential for Annexation. They concluded that "current financial data shows that combining the two library systems would not result in achieving 'equal or better library service for less money if joined together as allowed by law.'" While the committee recommended continued, proactive exploration of ways for the two library systems to work together, they did not recommend any further study of annexation at this time. This recommendation was upheld by both libraries' Boards of Trustees.
Report Regarding the Potential for Annexation