Library News

A $5 million bond to pay for a new police station, library and other projects is on its way.  The Ferndale City Council voted Monday, April 5, to authorize the city administration to begin the process that would culminate with the city receiving the money in June.  More votes for approval will be needed before they receive the funding, however.  (Bellingham Herald, 4.7.10) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/04/06/1372253/ferndale-oks-start-of-5-million.html

Colton Library, a part of the Whitman County Rural Library District, will have extra open hours for computer use Thursday from 12:30 to 2:30 now through June 10.  The extra hours are intended to help patrons who need extra computer time to hunt for a job or need to work on their computer skills through the library’s WORC program.  (Whitman County Gazette [Colfax], 4.8.10)

Nonprofit organizers and other grant seekers in Jefferson County now have access to a resource center at the Port Townsend Public Library. The library has become a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center of New York.  A grand opening event for the grant center will be held at the library at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.  (Peninsula Daily News [Port Angeles], 4.9.10)

The Walla Walla County Rural Library District Board of Trustees will meet at 5 p.m. Monday at the Touchet Library.  Board members will discuss how to provide more open hours and activities at the Prescott Library, which will be open one more day per week this summer due to a grant from the Yancy P. Winan’s Testamentary Trust. (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, 4.11.10)

Gusts broke a large branch off a cedar tree behind the Vancouver Public Library, a part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System, on April 5.  It landed in the delivery driveway after smashing the front end of a library vehicle and breaking an upstairs window.  There were no injuries, but folks in and around the building heard and felt the impact. (Columbian [Vancouver], 4.14.10) http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/apr/14/east-clark-county-camas-washougal/

The Fort Vancouver Regional Library Foundation sponsored 2010 ShamROCK on March 17 at The Rock Wood Fired Pizza and Spirits.  Linda Thomas, the board chairwoman, headed up the event, which more than 500 people attended.  The event raised $1,000 and will help support the library district’s 2010 summer reading program. (Columbian [Vancouver], 4.14.10) http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/apr/14/east-clark-county-camas-washougal/

Buildings

The Kent Library, a part of the King County Library System, reopened March 6 after a six-month renovation.  The library has new furniture, fresh paint and is equipped with an automated materials handling system.  Lobby and meeting rooms in the library were also reconfigured. (South County Business Report [Renton], 4.2010) http://www.pugetsoundpublishing.com/BRarchives/BR_1004.pdf

Architects Without Borders (AWB) volunteers from Portland returned to Cathlamet Saturday to present their initial design concepts for the Cathlamet City Hall/Library building and surrounding property. Eight members of AWB visited Cathlamet in February to listen to input from town residents and to view the site. Around 30 people attended the meeting last Saturday to provide feedback on the initial concepts. (The Wahkiakum Co. Eagle [Cathlamet], 4.1.10) http://www.waheagle.com/news/article.exm/2010-04-02_architects_present_initial_concepts_for_town_center

Architects and library system staff will share three initial proposals for the footprint of the expanded Vashon library, a part of the King County Library system (KCLS, at an open house on Thursday, April 15 – the first official opportunity for the public to weigh in on the future look of the structure.  “The community should not take these meetings for granted,” said Bonnie de Steiguer, chair of the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council committee on the library.  (The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, 4.7.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/vashon/vib/news/90027967.html

The La Conner Regional Library is feeling cramped, and the hunt is on for a new space. In the last few months, the library’s staff and board of trustees have been talking about the possibility of moving to a larger space.  Recently the library learned it could be eligible for federal stimulus funding that could provide up to $500,000 toward a new library. (La Conner Weekly News, 4.7.10)

Ferndale City Council members approved $5 million in bonds to fund the police station and library projects, construction of a new park and remodeling of the Pioneer Pavilion.  $200,000 will be committed to construction of a new library. The $200,000 bond is in addition to the $1 million already committed to library construction. (Westside Record-Journal [Ferndale], 4.7.10)

Area residents had mixed feelings when they got their first look at the designs for Duvall’s new library last month.  The capacity crowd at the March 16 public meeting had both praise and criticism for the plans, presented by Johnston Architects.  The presentation is available on the King County Library System’s website. (Photo) (Valley View [Woodinville], 4.12.10)

Letters & Editorials

Vashon Island residents have always supported their library, whether with votes for bond election or volunteer hours.  Now it is time to support the library in another way – with your thoughts and ideas and a little bit of your time.  At 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, Islanders are invited to attend a meeting of the Vashon Park District board to make known opinions about the library.  At 6 p.m. Thursday, April 15, King County Library System is holding an open house to let Islanders meet the architect, see possible designs and voice our ideas and suggestions. (Photo) (The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, 4.7.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/vashon/vib/opinion/90023752.html

In a recent study session, the Kitsap Regional Library’s trustees supported a plan to ask taxpayers for a levy increase this fall. I personally am taxed to the gills already. If I had a need to use the library’s computers, I certainly wouldn’t object to paying a dollar or two rather than asking for a tax increase just so I could keep using it for free.  (Independent [Port Orchard], 4.9.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/poi/opinion/90296117.html

So far, the Kitsap County Rural Library District board of trustees is approaching the idea of a property tax lid lift in a way that may make it practical for voters to decide rationally whether to approve or reject a tax increase. The library district trustees need to ensure that we can know what that $790,000 will buy before South Kitsap voters mark their ballots. (Photo) (Independent [Port Orchard], 4.9.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/poi/opinion/90297292.html

While computer usage is popular, there are still some people who think that libraries should emphasize books and spend fewer dollars on providing computer access for our customers. Librarians understand why public computer and Internet access is so vital because of the daily stories they hear from users.  The public library serves everyone equally and can be a bridge between the have/have not society.  (The Herald [Puyallup], 4.14.10)

Thank you Port Townsend voters! The foresight of the PT voters in passing the library levy lid lift took on new meaning this week after reading that Clallam County is closing its library for two weeks this year: no library, no website, no drop-off boxes. Again, I applaud the foresight of the city and voters in supporting our library with our tax dollars. (The Leader [Port Townsend], 4.14.10)

There is a display of books at the Coupeville Library, a part of Sno-Isle Libraries, called “Chick Lit.” Slang referring to a person’s race or ethnicity is no longer politically correct or acceptable in our society – so why is gender slang still being used? Let’s work at building self-esteem in women instead of promoting this type of culture. (The Whidbey Examiner [Coupeville], 4.14.10) http://www.whidbeyexaminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=3766&SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&S=1

People

With nearly 30 years of experience as a professional librarian, Kate Skinner is looking forward to offering her expertise to the community as new manager of the Chewelah Public Library. Most recently, Skinner worked seven years as a reference librarian and adult programming coordinator at Kitsap Regional Library. Skinner said she wants to help Chewelah Public Library become an even more important hub for the community. (The Independent [Chewelah], 4.8.10)

Connor Kuehn knew he had to do a community service project for his class.  The thought of planting flowers somewhere appealed to him but he didn’t know where.  Then, with a subtle hint from his mother, Kuehn decided to help spruce up the Sunnyside Library, a part of the Yakima Valley Libraries, by planting flowers in the area in front of the building.  Kuehn found out that the irrigation line connected to the flower garden was broken.  This is forcing Kuehn to water by hand and he is looking for volunteers to help out. (Photo) (Daily News [Sunnyside], 4.8.10) http://www.dailysunnews.com/ARCHIVES/Story.aspx/18159/christian-fourth-grader-seeking-help-in-continuing-sunnyside-library-project

Awards

The Caring Neighbors board recently donated $1,000 to the Adams County Library District #1 for the Friends of the Othello Library summer reading program. (Photo) (Independent Review [Othello], 4.7.10)

To help serve local residents impacted by the economic downturn, the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) applied for and received a Renew Washington grant for $50,000 from the Washington State Library in 2009.  Known as the Hard Times Grant, WCLS is focusing the funds on helping low income and underserved Whatcom County residents learn about libraries’ job hunting resources. (Westside Record-Journal [Ferndale], 4.7.10)

Ten residents of the St. John area have already taken advantage of a variety of instruction through the Whitman County Library’s WORC programs.  The grant funding will provide additional Friday hours at the St. John Library. WORC programs are made possible through a grant from the Office of the Secretary of State, Washington State Library as a part of the Renew Washington Project which is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  (Whitman County Gazette [Colfax], 4.8.10)

The “Deep Diving Dolphins” from Redmond’s Audubon Elementary School are the Grand Champions of King County in the Global Reading Challenge for 2010. This annual competition is sponsored by King County Library System (KCLS) Foundation.  Each year King County librarians select 10 books to be included and the KCLS Foundation then provides free copies of each book to student participants, as each team must answer questions based on these 10 books as part of the challenge. (Redmond Reporter [Kent], 4.9.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/red/community/90269847.html

Anacortes Public Library Foundation President Sylvia Cooper accepted a check for a $250 literacy grant from Barbara Hoenselaar and Patti Pattee of Watermark Book Co. It was presented on behalf of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and matched a donation made by Watermark Book Co. to the foundation late last year in support of fundraising activities that benefit the library.  (Anacortes American, 4.14.10)

Programs & Displays

In honor of National Library Week, April 11-17, Whitman County Library System is holding its fifth annual penny drive.  To commemorate the historic celebration, each of the System’s fourteen branches is collecting coins to benefit the children’s programs held within their own community. (The Eagle & Boomerang [Palouse], 4.8.10)

For all those world travelers in our midst, or for those who’d like to visit far-flung locales, but who don’t have the time or money, or for those who just like to meet new people and learn new things, the Roslyn Library is offering up an opportunity to meet with people from around the world at an informal lasagna dinner on Friday, April 9, starting at 5:00 p.m. at the library. (Northern Kittitas County Tribune [Cle Elum], 4.8.10)

Over the past several years, most of the larger public library systems in Washington have started offering downloadable audiobooks to their patrons, said Will Stuivenga, project manager for Statewide Database Licensing for the Washington State Library. With a new project coordinated by the Washington State Library, about 40 small and midsized public libraries – including Timberland Regional Library – can offer downloadable audiobooks, also known as “eAudiobooks.” They join 22 public library systems already offering the service. (Nisqually Valley News [Yelm], 4.9.10)

Book Sales

It’s a bibliophile’s dream.  Not to mention for music, film and art lovers.  More than 250,000 books, CDs, DVDs, sheet music, art prints and posters will be on sale this weekend when the Friends of the Seattle Public Library hold their twice-yearly book sale.  Free parking is available but plan ahead.  This is a tremendously popular event and more than likely you won’t be the only bibliophile there. (Photo) (Seattle Times, 4.16.10) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2011617912_cheapblurb16.html

[This summary of library news was created by Bobbie DeMiero and Leanna Hammond of the Washington State Library Division of the Office of the Secretary of State.  It represents a selection of newspaper clippings about Washington libraries from all Washington newspapers received in the packets on the dates shown. For more information about any of these stories, contact Carolyn Petersen at 360.570.5560 or [email protected] ]