Washington State Library News
Saint Cecilia Catholic School student, Mathias Van Patten, was honored in Olympia it the Letters about Literature awards ceremony at the state capitol as a semifinalist for his letter addressed to L. Ron Hubbard for the book, Battlefield Earth. The Letters about Literature is a national contest sponsored by the Washington State Library, a part of the Secretary of State’s Office. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer Online, 5.31.12) http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Mathias-Van-Patten-8th-Grade-Student-from-St-3599696.php

Library News
Public libraries in several states are pulling the racy romance trilogy “Fifty Shades of Grey” from shelves or deciding not to order the best-seller at all, saying it’s too steamy or too poorly written. In Yakima, there have been no requests to pull the racy book, which meets internal criteria for adding to the collection, said Kim Hixson, director of Yakima Valley Libraries. (Yakima Herald-Republic, 5.10.12)

Space is getting tight at the Silverdale branch of the Kitsap Regional Library. The nonprofit Friends of the Library raises funds annually by selling books a few times a month out of the Hess Meeting Room, but the growth in children’s programming has pushed the sales out of the space. (Central Kitsap Reporter [Silverdale], 5.11.12) http://www.centralkitsapreporter.com/news/151020735.html

Shannon Peterson, of Port Orchard, has been chosen president-elect of the Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. She is a youth services librarian at Kitsap Regional Library’s Port Orchard branch. (The Kitsap Sun [Bremerton], 5.13.12)

On Saturday, March 10th, over 140 area residents attended a sold-out event featuring Seattle-based artist, John Grade, and co-hosted by Duvall Friends of the Library (DFOL) and Northwest Art Center (NWAC). The event was designed to help raise the funds necessary for the base of John Grade’s sculpture “Fold” which will be the signature are piece in the new Duvall Public Library. (Photo) (Valley View [Woodinville], 5.14.12) http://www.nwnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6246:community-succeeds-in-raising-the-foundation

Tammi Jo Bisch said she wasn’t surprised when her husband Steve said that he wanted to build a library. A little more than a month later, the little kiosk, shaped much like a large birdhouse and containing about 40 books and magazines, sits under the blue spruce in front of Tammi’s mother’s house in Pasco. (Photos) (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 5.14.12) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/14/1939148/pasco-mini-library-works-on-big.html

Sedro-Woolley Library supporters are promoting the idea of a rural partial county library district for city and county residents within the Sedro-Woolley boundaries as a way to keep the library healthy and stable, despite the slow economy and questionable future. (Courier Times [Sedro-Woolley], 5.15.12)

Bradburn et al v. North Central Regional Library District, launched in 2006 under the auspices of the American Civil Liberties Union, ended April 10 with a U.S. District Court Judge upholding the libraries’ right to filter some adult content on its public computers. The deadline for an appeal passed Thursday. (The Wenatchee World, 5.16.12) http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/may/15/library-search-filtering-lawsuit-ends-without/

Patrons of Mid-Columbia Libraries could see fewer authors visiting or other special events and presentations at their neighborhood branch in the future. Library staff and trustees said survey responses from patrons indicated the libraries should focus more on building good collections of materials, maintaining welcoming facilities and providing guidance to patrons. (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 5.16.12) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/16/1941520/mid-columbia-libraries-patron.html

The Castle Rock Public Library has enough money to stay open through August, but afterward staff may once again be scrambling to keep the doors open. The Friends of the Library volunteer group has gathered a few more donations, but nothing large enough to secure the library’s continued operation into fall, librarian Vicki Selander said Thursday. (The Daily News [Longview], 5.24.12) http://tdn.com/news/local/castle-rock-library-s-fiscal-future-remains-uncertain/article_6b45fcc8-a600-11e1-a6ef-0019bb2963f4.html

“You wouldn’t find a person more dedicated to the power of books than Faye Allen,” said Terry Collings, former executive director of The Seattle Public Library Foundation. She helped arrange for her son’s, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, charitable foundation to donate $22.5 million for the Seattle Public Library. She died Saturday from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. She was 90. (Photo) (The Seattle Times, 6.4.12) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018350427_fayeallenobit4m.html

The Bellingham Public Library became part of BiblioCommons earlier this month. Members of the library actually have had access to the online catalog since January 2011, when the Whatcom County Library System started using the service. But city library cardholders needed to go to the county library website to find the catalog. (Bellingham Herald Online, 6.14.12) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/06/14/2563433/bellingham-librarys-online-catalog.html

Elections
The votes have been counted and certified. The final result is the King County Library System will take over operation of the Enumclaw Library June 1. King County Elections certified the election April 27. The final results were 1,207 votes for the proposition at 50.71 percent and 1,173 against with 49.29 percent. (Enumclaw Courier-Herald, 5.16.12) http://www.courierherald.com/news/151610895.html

Buildings
The Friends of the Washougal Community Library are supporting plans to investigate the existence of public support for a new library building. A resolution, recently adopted by the Friends, mentions the group will pursue further planning and fundraising for a “bigger, better” library building, if there is community support. (Camas-Washougal Post-Record, 5.8.12)

Approving the agreement for the Yelm library purchase is taking a bit longer than anticipated. “There’s just been so many things that have to happen for it to occur,” said Yelm Mayor Ron Harding. “We’re making forward movement, it is just taking longer than anticipated.” (Nisqually Valley News [Yelm], 5.11.12)

The Renton City Attorney’s Office put into play the last piece of a ballot measure allowing Renton residents to decide where they want a new downtown library constructed. At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Zanetta Fontes, senior assistant city attorney, reviewed the 250-word explanatory statement she will submit to the King County Elections Office. (Renton Reporter, 5.11.12) http://www.rentonreporter.com/news/150681575.html?mobile=true

Tacoma’s Landmarks Preservation Commission is scheduled Wednesday to get its first look at signage planned for the new $16 million Tioga Library Building currently under construction on the University of Washington Tacoma campus. This week’s meeting will serve as a design review to allow commissioners to comment on the new signage. (Photo) (Tacoma Daily Index, 5.23.12)

Letters and Editorials
The field is now set for what promises to be a spirited debate on the location of a new downtown library. Even the word “new” is up for debate. If the public chooses to keep the library over the Cedar River, would that library be considered new even if it’s been around for decades? (Renton Reporter, 5.11.12) http://www.rentonreporter.com/opinion/151016085.html

I love libraries. I’ve been a reader all my life, and libraries have been a constant source of joy and a lifeline for me in times of need. I can’t tell you how many times the Sunnyside branch of the Yakima Valley Libraries has managed to find a rare book for me through interlibrary loan. (Daily News [Sunnyside], 5.16.12) http://www.dailysunnews.com/archives/Story.aspx/24177/word-nerd

I moved to Morton 20 plus years ago and was astonished we didn’t have a library. Since I lived in the city limits of Morton, I had to purchase a library card to access the resources at Timberland Regional Library (TRL). TRL is a part of the solution to what ails Morton. A library will bring families together. Join the 255 people who have signed the petition and made the choice to get involved. (The East County Journal [Morton], 5.16.12)

Recently, a Lacey Timberland Regional Library patron observed children in the library’s youth area playing with toys and submitted a letter to the editor expressing concern that children weren’t reading. Books and toys can work together to create a love of learning. (The Olympian [Olympia], 5.17.12) http://www.theolympian.com/2012/05/17/2108459/toys-at-the-library-serve-useful.html

We love the Little Free Library that Steve Bisch built in Pasco. And we hope that it gets lots of use and community support. The goal of littlefreelibrary.org is to place 2,510 libraries around the world – they’ve already got a good start. After all, the one in Pasco is number 1,389. (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 5.17.12) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/05/17/1942663/working-together-makes-whole-greater.html

Awards
Kate Burton, teacher-librarian at Fort Vancouver High School, was awarded a Distinguished Fullbright Award in Teaching. The award will pay for Burton to live and study in Sheffield, England, for six months during the 2012-2013 school year. (The Columbian [Vancouver], 5.22.12) http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/may/22/fort-teacher-librarian-earns-fulbright-award/

In the right hands, old-school still gets the job done. Elizabeth Frank, 16, of Camano Island, used paper dolls, crayons, dollhouses and still photography to win second place in Sno-Isle Regional Library System’s Teen Tech video contest. The result, “Ginger May’s Trip to the Library,” is nostalgic, timeless, and somehow brand new. (Photo) (Stanwood/Camano News, 5.15.12)

Programs & Displays
An afternoon program at the Burlington Public Library for students in grades 4 to 6 will benefit homeless animals. So far, the six-week program, led by Children’s Librarian Lisa Anderson and volunteer Susan Czetwertynski, involved 11 participants who read and discussed animal-focused books and then learned how to sew cat toys. (Skagit Valley Herald [Mount Vernon], 5.6.12)

Pierce County Library System’s summer reading program will use gamification, an online gaming technique, for teens to earn badges by reading, completing challenges, posting book reviews, and other online participation. The online gaming event will start on June 23, officials said. (South Pierce County Dispatch [Eatonville], 5.9.12)

Timberland Regional Library (TRL) is offering people a chance to win one of five popular e-readers while becoming familiar with premium online reference/information resources they can use every day. The ‘Name That Database’ contest will be conducted online only and participants must correctly answer all 13 questions about TRL’s reference databases. The contest runs from May 1 to June 15. (South Beach Bulletin [Westport], 5.10.12)

“Dreams and Wishes” will be the theme for this year’s Grandview Library summer reading program, and signup for the program begins Monday, June 4, at the library. The first day of the program is Thursday, June 14, and it will continue each Thursday, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Grandview Herald, 5.16.12)

Military families can obtain a library card, download books and movies and find local utility information all in one dedicated Military Connections website at http://military.mypcls.org./ “We created this website to make getting and using information and resources from Pierce County Library System easier and more applicable to soldiers and their families.” (The Bonney Lake Courier-Herald [Kent], 5.16.12) http://www.blscourierherald.com/community/150100595.html

[This summary of library news represents a selection of current newspaper clippings about Washington libraries received from Washington newspapers. The summary is created by Bobbie DeMiero and Leanna Hammond of the Washington State Library, Division of the Office of the Secretary of State. For further information about this summary or the clippings listed, contact Martha Shinners at 360.570.5567 or [email protected]]