King County Library System World Languages Assessment
King County, WA / ONGOING
The King County Library System (KCLS) is one of the largest library networks in the United States, serving over 1.5 million people in King County and speakers of over 170 different world languages, including many immigrants and refugees and people with no or limited English language proficiency. In 2024, KCLS hired Seva Workshop to develop a report of findings and recommendations using data collected in a community survey and listening sessions.
The World Languages Assessment Project reached over 1,300 survey respondents and fifty-three listening session participants to understand how KCLS libraries can be more welcoming and accessible to immigrants, refugees, English Language Learners (ELL), and multilingual communities. The report was one of the first of its kind across the United States and will be used to focus strategic investments in system improvements.
