Library News

50 to 60 Islanders met with staff from the King County Library System and architects from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to give input that will inform the next iteration of design proposals for the expanded Vashon Island branch library.  (Photo)  (The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, 4.21.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/vashon/vib/news/91638779.html

Pasco and Mid-Columbia Libraries are nearing an agreement on a contract for library services.  Kyle Cox, Mid-Columbia Libraries administrative services director, said the city and district reached an agreement after meeting Thursday on the major issues and need to iron out some details.  “The people of Pasco really win,” he said.  (Tri-City Herald (Kennewick), 4.23.10) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/04/23/987893/library-board-pasco-close-in-on.html

Snohomish and Island County Libraries are reaching around the world to help military families connect with their deployed loved ones overseas.  A private room with a computer, webcam, and Skype setup will be provided.  Drop in or call ahead (425.776.8722) to make an appointment.  (Northwest Navigator Kitsap/Everett Edition (Poulsbo), 4.23.10)

Do you have a passion for libraries and the differences they can make in individual lives and in a community?  If so, you may wish to become a member of the Maple Valley Library Guild, a non-profit group which meets monthly on the first Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m.  They support programs for children, teens and adults at Maple Valley Library, a part of the King County Library System. (Voice of the Valley [Maple Valley], 4.27.10)

Generally speaking, Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson’s latest quarterly budget update to the City Council was a dead ringer for his past several ones.  But at least one new twist emerged from the latest budget update: A dispute over the Tacoma Public Library budget, originally approved for $24.7 million. As part of their first-quarter balancing act, Anderson and Finance Director Bob Biles recommended a $1.6 million cut from the library budget. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 4.28.10) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/04/28/1165818/library-in-cross-hairs-as-revenue.html

The Libraries of Stevens County will hold community forums as part of its strategic planning process.  Local forums will be hold throughout May.  Surveys will also be available at all library district branches and online through June. (Deer Park Tribune, 4.28.10)

For the growing masses who cannot afford to pay a lawyer in these tough economic times, public law libraries are a “starting point” to help them navigate the legal maze. Unexpected financial woes have made pro se, or self-representation, the way in court.  Any given day brings somebody to the library looking to fight an eviction or expunge a criminal record for example. (Photo) (Seattle Times, 5.2.10)

Elections

The Port Orchard City Council is expected to vote next week on an ordinance that would authorize an election by which the city could be annexed into the Kitsap Regional Library (KRL) system.  But first, KRL officials had to answer some pointed questions about the agency’s planned levy request, whether Port Orchard is being adequately served under its current arrangement with the library and what would change if the city were annexed.  (Independent, (Port Orchard) 4.23.10) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/kitsap/poi/news/91763564.html

Clallam County voters will be asked to approve a levy lid lift for the public libraries on the August primary ballot.  The North Olympic Library System – which overseas public libraries in Port Angeles, Sequim, Forks and Clallam Bay – voted unanimously Thursday night to put the measure on the August 17 ballot. (Peninsula Daily News [Port Angeles], 4.25.10) http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010304259983

Nothing like a little library debate to get the blood pumping in Ocean Shores.  After heated debate Monday night, the City Council decided to place a tax measure on the ballot in August, asking for 22 cent per $1,000 assessed property value to support the library. But voters will not be able to choose between that one, and a higher rate that would have supported a move to the Timberland Regional Library System. (The Daily World Online [Aberdeen], 5.11.10) http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2010/05/11/local_news/doc4be9b4c1697d6182628166.txt

Buildings

A facilities plan adopted April 13 by the board of trustees of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District says every library in its service area, except for the library in downtown Vancouver and libraries in North Bonneville and Stevenson, needs to be bigger.  The report provides guidelines for timing of expansion, relocation and renovation of buildings.  (The Reflector (Battleground), 4.21.10)

One year after the creation of a local library was proposed at a Rainier Historical Society meeting, the Rainier Volunteer Library, a part of the Timberland Regional Library System, will celebrate its grand opening.  The May 8 ceremony concludes a whirlwind year that brought the entirely volunteer-run library from dream to reality. (Photos) (The Olympian, 4.27.10) http://www.theolympian.com/2010/04/27/1219848/check-out-rainiers-new-library.html

Remodeling of the Colfax branch of the Whitman County Library is two months away from completion, knee-deep in wet cement, drying pain, clouds of dust and slowly-emerging renovations. The project has been set back by about three weeks because the crew digging space for the elevator shaft ran into excessive ground water and more rocks than anticipated. (Photos) (Whitman County Gazette [Colfax], 4.29.10)

More than 2,000 stones were hand-placed into a concrete reflexology path at the Sammamish Library, a part of the King County Library System, not just for their visual appeal, but also according to their size, texture and measurement in order to hit specific pressure points of the feet.  Reflexology is an ancient healing art based on the belief that reflex points assist in the feet, hands, and ears that correspond to all parts of the body.  (Photo)  (Daily Journal of Commerce (Seattle), 4.30.10)

The King County Library System is seeking a firm to relocate the Tsutakawa Fountain to the interior of the Burien Library.  Bids are due by 2 p.m. on May 17 to King County Library System’s Service Center. (Daily Journal of Commerce [Seattle], 4.30.10)

Letters and Editorials

The library district doesn’t pay rent to any of the owners of the buildings in which Kitsap Regional Library branch libraries are located.  The property tax being paid by people living within the Kitsap County Rural Library District is not paid to the county.  It is paid to the library district. (Independent [Port Orchard], 4.23.10)

The Port Orchard City Council is expected to recommend next week that a special election be held asking city residents whether they desire to be annexed into the Kitsap Regional Library System. It’s hard enough to sell a tax increase when you can make people understand they’re getting something tangible – like a new library – in return.  But in this case, the whole motivation seems to be an accounting device. (Independent [Port Orchard], 4.23.10)

The excessive spending habits of the Everett City Council must come to an end. There are many more pressing needs in our city than spending taxpayer dollars on council member’s pet projects.  Some of these projects that we should be spending tax dollars on at this time are Fire Station No. 3, the municipal court building and the Evergreen Branch Public Library, which is in need of expansion.  (The Herald [Everett], 4.25.10) http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100425/OPINION02/704259907

Two public agencies meet in secret behind closed doors.  Is it: The CIA?  The FBI? No. Neither.  It must be something far more delicate than that, something like – Pasco and Mid-Columbia Libraries deciding on a contract for library service.  So, a library meeting with a city behind closed doors to talk about books.  It’s an absurd concept, but a very real one playing out between two agencies that both know better. (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 4.30.10) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/04/30/996405/whats-the-big-secret-taxpayers.html

With a newly added feature called NetLibrary, the Columbia County Rural Library District now provides far-reaching library service to its patrons.  Whether we patrons are at home or abroad, the Columbia County Rural Library District delivers.  Thanks! (Blue Mountain News [Dayton], 5.2010) http://issuu.com/bluemountainnews/docs/blue_mountain_news_-_2010?mode=embed&layout=http%3A//skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

People

Some people tramp through the cedars of the rain forest, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive Bigfoot.  .  Lewis Stock hunts a more elusive pretty.  For the past two years, Stock has been on the trail of the lost Carnegie libraries of Washington.  Starting with the Seattle main library, 43 Carnegie libraries were built in the state between 1901 and 1916.  Of those, 10 have been demolished, and of the 33 still standing, more than half are used for other purposes.  All photographs by Stock are now on display at the Port Townsend Library, an original Carnegie library. (Photo) (Peninsula Daily News [Port Angeles], 4.21.10) http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010304219992

A librarian whose principal “holds on the same level as a master teacher” at the 300-student Quilcene School District is one of eight regional finalists for a statewide award.  Kelly Ingalls was selected the regional Classified Employee of the Year out of employees in 15 school districts. On Wednesday, she will be in Olympia as one of the finalists for the state 2010 Classified School Employee of the Year award.  (Peninsula Daily News [Port Angeles], 4.25.10) http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010304259974

Awards

Julia Jantz, librarian at the Odessa Public Library, has formally requested that the Council be the fiscal agent for handling grant money that she has applied for from the Washington State Library.  Two separate grants are involved, the first a $3,500 grant for books, DVDs and a DVD projector to be used in partnership with the Odessa School District.  The other grant, a Washington Rural Heritage grant for $2,650, will provide equipment and encouragement for communities to digitally capture important and/or fragile documents and items of historical important to the community.  (Odessa Record, 4.29.10)

Programs and Displays

Teens at the Marysville Library, a part of Sno-Isle Libraries, got a chance to create eye-catching art out of recycled materials March 24. Close to a dozen kids from Marysville and Arlington put together “LED throwies,” under the supervision of Teen Librarian Laura Tilman, out of ingredients that cost little more than pennies each. “This is part of our ‘altered objects’ series,” Tilman said.  (Photo) (Marysville Globe, 4.14.10)

The book choice for 2010’s Tacoma Reads Together program was chosen by Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland.  Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon” is a classic and groundbreaking “hard-boiled” detective novel that has been adapted into three films, and whose author has his own Tacoma past. (Photo) (Tacoma Weekly, 4.15.10) http://www.tacomaweekly.com/article/4271/

Children’s author and illustrator Peter Brown engages his audience at Mukilteo Elementary.  Teacher-Librarian Stephanie Wilson earned an educational grant through Target and used it to bring Brown, who talked about his latest work.  (Photo) (The Mukilteo Beacon, 4.21.10)

Professional photographer and hiker Alan Bauer will show and tell some of his favorite images of the Pacific Northwest at 2 p.m. April 25 at the Main Branch of the Everett Public Library. He has hiked the Pacific Northwest for the last 10 years, working on several book projects for The Mountaineers Books. The program is free for all. (Everett News Tribune [Snohomish], 4.21.10)

After two years, local author Virginia Ann Work has released the second book in her medieval Christian fiction series.  She will be having a book launch for “Mistral Wind from the North” at the Chewelah Public Library on Monday, April 26. Work will be selling and signing copies of her book, as well as reading an excerpt while in medieval costume.  (The Independent [Chewelah], 4.22.10)

Artist Erik Sandgren describes the process of painting on a canvas as he sketches out a new work for a packed house at the Montesano Timberland Library on Tuesday.  The event was part of the “Lunch for your Brains” lecture series put on by the Friends of the Montesano Timberland Library. (Photos) (Daily World [Aberdeen], 4.22.10)

Readers across Snohomish and Island counties can get on the same page the entire month of May.  Libraries in both counties are sponsoring The Big Read, a chance for people to read, discuss and celebrate the same book. This year’s selection is “The Things They Carried,” a masterwork of contemporary literature by Tim O’Brien about the Vietnam War. (Photo) (The Herald [Everett], 4.23.10) http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100423/NEWS01/704239869

Sno-Isle Libraries is proud to present Kennedy Foster, author of “All Roads Lead Me Back to You,” the Whidbey Reads! 2010 book selection.  Foster will speak at two public events on Whidbey Island during the month of April.  She will be available to autograph copies of her book at both events. (South Whidbey Record [Langley], 4.24.10)

Turn your eyes to the sky and celebrate International Astronomy Day today at both Everett Public Library locations and, weather permitting, Harborview Park. Although rain or overcast may cancel the event at the park, weather will not be a factor for the society’s exhibits and demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Everett Public Library. All the events are free. (The Herald [Everett], 4.24.10) http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100424/LIVING/704249971

A high-tech bookmobile, or a 74-foot tractor-trailer packed with digital equipment, will be at the Kennewick branch of the Mid-Columbia Libraries today and at the Pasco branch Wednesday.  Readers of all ages will be allowed to explore digital downloading through interactive demonstrations and to experience the Mid-Columbia Libraries audiobook and eBook download service. (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 4.27.10) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/04/27/992527/digital-bookmobile-to-visit-libraries.html

Celebrate comic book day at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 5, in the Young Adult area of the Port Angeles Library.  Learn some of the ins and outs of cartooning from artist David Lasky, recently named “Cartoonist of the Year” by Cartoonists Northwest. The library will hand out free comics courtesy of the Diamond Comic Distribution Agency while supplies last, and each participant will go home with a mini-comic of his or her own creation. (The Sequim Gazette, 4.28.10) http://www.sequimgazette.com/news/article.exm/2010-04-28_learn_about,_make_a_comic

Anne Arntson who opened the Yoga Soleil studio in downtown Puyallup did her best to remove ideas of the fast-paced digital age from the minds of her teen students on April 21.  Teens from the Puyallup Library’s teen program participated in the yoga program which coincided with Turnoff Week, a national initiative to get adults and children away from televisions, cell phones and other electronic devices.  (Photos)  (The Herald (Puyallup), 4.28.10)

In honor of National Poetry Month, the King County Library System is holding two poetry contests.  The first invites students and adults to submit haikus that relate to a particular book.  The second contest, Rhyme On! invites teenagers to submit poetry.  (SnoValley Star (Issaquah), 4.29.10)

Book Sales

The Maple Valley Library Guild, a non-profit organization, sponsors an ongoing book cart at the back of the library and two annual Book and Media sales to raise funds to support children, teen, and adult library programming.  The Guild asks that community members think of the library first when they decide to get rid of books, DVDs, videos, audiotapes, and cassette tapes.  Children’s books are in high demand and are especially appreciated.  (Voice of the Valley (Maple Valley), 4.27.10)

Economy/Hard Times

Sultan Library, part of Sno-Isle Libraries, is now providing notebook computers for job seekers to borrow for extended in-library use.  The notebook computers are part of the Sno-Isle Libraries “Tools for Tough Times” campaign which is funded 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 and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  (Monroe Monitor & Valley News, 4.27.10) http://www.monroemonitor.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=193&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=55&S=1

The Oak Harbor Library, a part of the Sno-Isle Libraries, is now providing notebook computers for job seekers to borrow for extended in-library use.  The notebook computers are part of the Sno-Isle Libraries “Tools for Tough Times” campaign funded by a $30,000 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 and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  (The Whidbey Examiner (Coupeville), 4.28.10) http://www.whidbeyexaminer.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=3820&SectionID=3&SubSectionID=3&S=1

[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] ]