Editing Bothell, Washington (section)

===Library===
[[File:Bothell Library.jpg|thumb|The Bothell [[public library]], operated by the [[King County Library System]]]]

Bothell's [[public library]] has been operated by the [[King County Library System]] (KCLS) since 1946. The city's first library was established at the [[Independent Order of Odd Fellows|Odd Fellows Hall]] on Main Street in 1905 and was followed by private libraries in local businesses and homes. A public library was established on January 19, 1925, after a fundraising campaign led by local women, at the American Hotel and had 1,000 books. The Bothell city council voted to move the library into the city hall in 1928; the city hall was replaced with a new building in 1936 that included more space for a library.<ref name="HL-Library">{{cite web |last=Riddle |first=Margaret |date=September 21, 2016 |title=Bothell Library, King County Library System |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/20131 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=February 10, 2022}}</ref>

The city government contracted with KCLS to operate the library, which remained at city hall, beginning in 1946. A $280,000 [[bond issue]] was approved by voters in 1967 to construct a separate, {{convert|8,300|sqft|adj=on}} building for the library. It was dedicated on July 6, 1969, and held 33,000 books; the library was noted for its natural duck habitat and garden.<ref name="HL-Library"/><ref>{{cite news |date=July 6, 1969 |title=Bothell To Dedicate New Library |page=15 |work=The Seattle Times |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=C12EB6BE1393489FA580F5880B8B058E&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Aimage%252Fv2%253A127D718D1E33F961%2540EANX-NB-12D38BFD309F2D05%25402440409-12D38546B7CFE707%254016-12D38546B7CFE707%2540/hlterms%3A |via=NewsBank |access-date=February 10, 2022}}</ref> The Bothell branch was one of the fastest-growing KCLS libraries by the 1980s and a replacement was planned; voters approved full annexation of Bothell into KCLS in November 1986, which was followed two years later by a KCLS bond issue to construct a new library.<ref name="HL-Library"/><ref>{{cite news |date=November 5, 1986 |title=East briefs: Bothell |page=H1 |work=The Seattle Times |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=C12EB6BE1393489FA580F5880B8B058E&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F0EB53211B419B4F4 |via=NewsBank |access-date=February 10, 2022}}</ref> Initial plans to expand the existing building were scrapped in favor of a new building with {{convert|25,000|sqft|sqm}} of space to serve as a regional library, to be the largest in North King County at the time. The new Bothell library opened on September 18, 1995, and housed 200,000 books and other materials; the old library was purchased outright by the city government and used for various departments until it was demolished in 2016.<ref name="HL-Library"/><ref>{{cite news |date=October 6, 1995 |title=Bothell library dedication tomorrow |page=B2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>