Library News

Anne Lowe, president of Endicott Community Club, recently presented Caroline Morasch, Endicott librarian, with a check for $5,856 from proceeds of the German dinner and silent auction last November in Endicott. The proceeds will go toward the renovation of the present library in Endicott. (Photo) (Whitman County Gazette [Colfax], 1.27.11)

Libraries serving the Reardan community and local students have teamed up to share resources in order to benefit students.  The Reardan Memorial Library and Reardan Elementary and Middle School Library are involved in this cooperative effort.{editor’s note: LSTA grant Supporting Student Success } (Davenport Times, 1.27.11)

A clock on the wall at the Sylvan Way Kitsap Regional Library branch might not always tell you the correct time, but it will always say its “Time to Read.” From now on, though, it won’t tell you anything on Sundays. Sunday was the last Sunday any Kitsap library will be open for the time being. (Photo) (The Kitsap Sun [Bremerton], 1.31.11) http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/jan/30/kitsap-libraries-closed-on-sundays/

Neill Public Library was recently selected as one of seven libraries to benefit from the $426,000 statewide library initiative from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.  Pullman’s library received $10,000, which will be used to fund reader advisory services. (Daily News [Pullman], 1.27.11)

Suicide is the topic when Port Townsend Public Library launches its first Teen Community Read, funded by a $50,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, is the book selected for the next read. (The Leader [Port Townsend], 1.19.11) http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=28530&SectionID=36&SubSectionID=55&S=1

If you see a children’s book lying around a coffee shop, a restaurant or similar public place over the next few weeks, don’t worry about finding its owner. It’s a program called Read & Release, pegged to the 2011 Children’s Literature Conference. “Wherever we go, we are scattering books around the county,” said Aubri Keleman, a teen librarian with the Whatcom County Library System and a member of the board for the Children’s Literature Conference. (Bellingham Herald Online, 2.10.11) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/10/1858895/childrens-literature-conferences.html

Tacoma police are looking for a man who exposed himself last Friday to a child in the children’s reading room at the Wheelock Library in the Proctor District. The boy didn’t tell his grandmother until after they had left the library. An hour later, grandmother returned to the library to tell them what happened. Library staff called Tacoma police. The suspect is described as a white male about 5 foot 7 inches tall and wearing a long black coat. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 2.17.11) http://blog.thenewstribune.com/crime/2011/02/10/man-exposes-himself-to-child-in-library/

The report this month of a man exposing himself and masturbating in front of a 4-year-old at the Wheelock Library in the Proctor District has some wondering. Tacoma’s library director, Susan Odencrantz, says libraries are safe – with some qualifications. “Libraries are public places, which means you have to use judgment,” Odencrantz said.  According to librarians at Wheelock, the boy’s grandmother let him go into the children’s room to play on one of the computers while she stayed in the main section of the library. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 2.18.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/02/18/1549832/keeping-libraries-safe-a-challenge.html

Parked in her car outside the local library, Shelly Hansen uses her laptop to check e-mail, browse the Web and shop online. Like others in this rural Whitman County town, Hansen sometimes uses the library’s wireless signal because her family has no access at home. Hansen said it is not uncommon to see other local residents sitting in their cars in the library’s parking lot, connecting to the free wireless. (Crosscut.com, 2.18.11) http://crosscut.com/2011/02/18/technology/20649/Access-to-broadband-is-limited-in-much-of-rural-Washington/

Buildings

The King County Library System has begun looking for a temporary site to house the Vashon branch during its full-scale renovation project, expected to occur sometime next year. KCLS’s architects are in the final phase of designing a significant remodel of the Vashon branch, expanding the now cramped library from around 6,000 square feet to nearly 10,000 square feet. (The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, 1.26.11) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/vashon/vib/news/114590794.html

Moses Lake Public Library Foundation members are using the unique shape of the Moses Lake Community Library to raise awareness.  Board members unveiled T-shirts sporting the distinct hyperbolic parabolic shape of the library’s roof as a first step to raising funds that will lead to a serious overhaul of the library’s interior. (Photo) (Columbia Basin Herald [Moses Lake], 1.31.11)

Saturday was a big day in University Place, and more than 4,500 people showed up to celebrate. After four long years of cramped temporary quarters in a strip mall the library is back. And it’s well worth the wait. The new library, which replaces one torn down to make way for the city’s Town Center development project, is the first of Pierce County’s 17 libraries to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 2.15.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/02/15/1545325/a-new-library-and-a-first-for.html

Library-goers have time yet to say goodbye to their cozy branch in Maple Falls, which will close at the end of the business day Saturday, Feb. 19. Then they can ready themselves for the Feb. 27 celebration of the replacement, the North Fork Community Library in Kendall. The overall project cost just over $500,000, including the acquisition of 2.3 acres for the new library site. (Bellingham Herald Online, 2.18.11) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/18/1873429/long-awaited-north-fork-community.html

Letters & Editorials

One of the most brilliant and effective collaborations in Tacoma’s history will end this month.  To make do with a disastrous budget, the Tacoma Public Library on January 31 will close the Swan Creek Library and Literacy Center.  The hitch, as the facility’s long name suggest, is that Swan Creek is not like other libraries. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 1.24.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/24/1514558/salishan-may-open-doors-to-soon.html

Budget woes are coming home to roost in Tacoma. Tacoma Public Library announced it is closing two of its branch libraries. More so than the other branch libraries, these two serve population with a high need for books, access to computers and the other services provided by these libraries. There is something very unfair in ending such services for some in Tacoma while retaining them for others. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 1.25.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/25/1515836/leaders-must-find-creative-answers.html

I have been a long-time patron of both the King County Library System and the Enumclaw Public Library.  With this first-hand knowledge, I have strong opinions about the Enumclaw Public Library becoming part of the King County Library System. My opinion, plain and simple, is that it should be done and should have been done a long time ago. (Enumclaw Courier-Herald, 1.26.11)

It is an un-debatable fact that libraries are essential to the advancement of education in any community.  The leadership in Tacoma is working to improve the level of education in our city, but at the same time does nothing to keep the Swan Creek Library open. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 1.28.11) http://blog.thenewstribune.com/letters/2011/01/26/keep-swan-creek-library/

People

Some people take the library for granted, but not Juried Swingruber.  In her position as youth services librarian for the Battle Ground Community Library, Swingruber is able to use her knowledge and dedication in a positive way for the entire community. (Photo) (Reflector [Battle Ground], 1.26.11)

Susan Theisen finds being named the 2010 Sol H. Lewis Award Woman of the Year “rather gratifying.” But then again, she describes her enjoyment of her volunteer work at the Lynen Library in much loftier terms. Week in and week out for the last 20-something years Theisen spends an hour with preschool children teaching them, reading to them and helping facilitate a craft. (Photos) (Lynden Tribune, 1.26.11)

While Thirza Krohn’s title at the Aberdeen Timberland Library is senior librarian for adult services, she’s better known as the branch’s reference librarian. Krohn has worked for the regional library district in several positions, and at several libraries. (Photo) (Daily World (Aberdeen), 1.30.11)

Melody Sky Eisler, a supervisor librarian for the Boise Public Library in Idaho, has been selected as the new manager for Kitsap Regional Library’s Silverdale Branch. Two other branch manager vacancies were filled…Susan Lavin of Bremerton has been named manager for the Downtown Bremerton Branch. Replacing Lavin at Kingston will be Tomi Whalen, who assumes management responsibility for the Kingston and Little Boston branches. (The Kitsap Sun [Bremerton], 1.31.11) http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/jan/27/new-manager-picked-for-silverdale-library/

Becoming a public service assistant for Yakima Valley Libraries was a pretty good move on the part of Thomas Warren.  It was a position he had wanted for some time.  His love of books made it natural for him to work in a library and he started in Sunnyside almost three years ago. (Photo) (Daily News [Sunnyside], 2.2.11)

Awards

River Ridge High School teacher-librarian Sarah Applegate has spent most of her career teaching students how to conduct research and tackle major projects.  Now, she’s getting ready to begin practicing what she teaches.  Applegate, 40, of Olympia, is the recipient of a Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching.  She is scheduled to leave next weekend to study Finland’s education system for about four months. (Photo) (The Olympian [Olympia], 1.22.11) http://www.theolympian.com/2011/01/22/1515091/librarian-takes-learning-overseas.html

Programs & Displays

The Jefferson County Library and the Port Townsend Public Library present their fifth annual Adventure Series starting this week.  This year’s theme is “Adventures in Film.” This free series receives additional support from the Friends of the Jefferson County Library and the Friends of the Port Townsend Library. (Photo) (The Leader [Port Townsend], 1.19.11) http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=28505&SectionID=101&SubSectionID=471&S=1

The Pacific Northwest Folklore Society is again this year offering free public folk concerts at the Everett library starting Sunday. This is the first of three concerts the folklore society plans for this year. The society has been producing concerts at the library off and on for the last four years, said the society’s Bob Nelson. (The Herald [Everett], 1.21.11) http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110121/ENT/701219959

The Issaquah Library is offering a series of classes on planning for college the next couple of weeks.  The classes are free and open to parents and children.  (Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter [Kent], 1.21.11) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/iss/community/114177299.html

Central Washington University Lion Rock Visiting Writer Series and the Friends of the Brooks Library will host a wine-tasting fundraiser with Marji Morgan and readings by a group of local authors at the Gallery One Visual Center in downtown Ellensburg on Friday.  The cost is $15 per person at the door in cash or check, with all funds going to purchase needed materials for CWU’s Brooks Library and to support the CWU series. (Daily Record [Ellensburg], 1.26.11)

Author “Aunt Kimmie” made an appearance before Christmas to read her debut book, Magic Sprinkles, at an event co-sponsored by the Sprague Public Library and The Viking restaurant. A dozen kids showed up at the restaurant for story time. The author also signed her books. (Photos) (Davenport Times, 1.27.11)

The annual star party at the Puyallup Public Library will be held February 7.  Members of the Tacoma Astronomical Society will be on hand to help participants make their own stomp rockets, talk about the night sky and have telescopes set up if the weather permits.  (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 1.30.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/30/1523434/puyallup-library-to-hold-star.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] ]