The ballots have been tallied and the Renton Library is part of the King County Library System.

Now, patrons are asking what’s next for their library.

“There are tons and tons of unknown questions right now,” said Renton Library Director Bette Anderson.

The vote whether to annex to KCLS started close and narrowed throughout the counting process, stalling any action from the City of Renton and KCLS.

“We’ve all been kind of waiting to see what would happen,” Anderson said. “We’re scrambling around now trying to make all the decisions.”

The canvassing board certified the election results Wednesday. The final count showed a 53-vote gap; about 31 percent of registered voters cast their mail-in ballots in the Feb. 9 special election.

KCLS plans to take over March 1.

It’s the first city annexation KCLS has had since the mid-1990s, when Auburn annexed.

“We’re really feeling our way through this,” Anderson said.

Librarians received their layoff notices from the city about two weeks ago. They were all offered jobs from KCLS this week.

Some employees will be paid more, some less and most will stay about the same, Anderson said. KCLS’s benefits also aren’t quite as good as the city’s.

“There are so many questions that are unanswered and it’s dragging on for so long,” Anderson said. “People are having a tough time with it here.”

At Monday’s City Council meeting, members of the KCLS board plan to introduce themselves, said KCLS director Bill Ptacek.

“Our thought is that KCLS is coming into Renton instead of Renton coming into KCLS,” he said. “We’re looking at the possibility of doing some system-wide activities at Renton.”

KCLS also plans to create a Renton-themed library card for its new patrons, he said. “We want to make sure we bring the best of KCLS to Renton and at the same time we want to be mindful of the traditions and culture of Renton.”

Patrons will need KCLS library cards in early April, he said.

For the first month patrons shouldn’t see too many changes, Ptacek said.

“The increased hours are coming and coming soon,” he said. KCLS plans to use employees from other branches and give part-time staff more hours.

Next week, Renton will join the KCLS computer network called I-NET. The fiber-optic system allows libraries and other government organizations to share data electronically.

However, it will take at least a month for KCLS to switch over Renton’s catalog database, he said.

“It’s a complicated process,” he said. “We know that people have done it before.”

Renton’s books will need new bar codes, but KCLS has automated systems for the change, he said.

Staff will receive training right away, and KCLS will begin to grow Renton’s collection.

Ptacek was pleased with the vote. It gives KCLS the opportunity to offer more consistent services in South King County, he said.

“We’re really interested in fulfilling that promise,” he said. “It’s going to be a lot of work.”