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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Renton Public Library

Public library in Washington state, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 7, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

The Renton Public Library is the King County Library System (KCLS) branch library in Renton, Washington, in the United States. It was a city library between its construction in 1966 and 2010, when it was one of the last three non-KCLS members in the county outside of Seattle and it was incorporated into KCLS after what may have been "the most contentious annexation fight in the system's 71 years".

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Renton Public Library” is public library in Washington state, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Renton, Public and Library, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1966, 2010—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Renton, Public and Library is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “public library in Washington state, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The first chronological checks are 1966 and 2010.

Critical limits

Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Renton Public Library”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Renton Public Library primary sources, Renton Public Library archive and Renton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Renton Public Library”?
  2. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Renton Public Library” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.