Library News
Members of the Stanwood High School Chapter of the National English Honors Society (NEHS), Mackenzie Mocklebust and Kristine Burnham, hand a $110 check to Jill Wubbenhorst, managing librarian of Stanwood Library, for the Stanwood-Camano “Together We Read” program. The NEHS held a bake sale in May to raise the money. (Photo) (Stanwood/Camano News, 6.19.12)

Timberland Regional Library District is “pulling back” from initial plans to put a public library in Cosmopolis Elementary. Acting Timberland Executive Director Gwen Culp said that she and the facilities committee crunched the numbers and decided it was no longer feasible to do the library project. (Daily World [Aberdeen], 6.19.12)

The Icicle Fund Board of Directors recently approved a $20,000 grant for the Chelan Friends of the Public Library. The Leavenworth-based foundation is dedicated to funding organizations that support the arts, the environment and history in North Central Washington. The renovation and expansion campaign of the Friends of the Library and the City of Chelan has reached $105,838. (Lake Chelan Mirror, 6.20.12) http://lakechelanmirror.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=6220&SectionID=9&SubSectionID=9&S=1

Rainier City Council members Monday approved a $1.62 million city budget that officials say reins in spending and prepares the city for the future. The city balanced its budget this year in part by reducing library and municipal count hours. The library will now be open 20 hours a week instead of 32. (Daily News [Longview], 6.20.12) http://tdn.com/news/local/rainier-council-approves-budget/article_444d6152-ba6d-11e1-b23e-001a4bcf887a.html

Whitman County received .09 percent of the state’s share of sales taxes generated in the county to fund economic development projects, and the Blue Ribbon Advisory Task Committee decides how to distribute those funds. Whitman County Library District was partially funded in its request to develop a community arts center in Colfax. (Whitman County Gazette [Colfax], 6.21.12)

The Liberty Lake Municipal Library is taking steps to join a new library system – the Cooperative Information Network (CIN) – this month, with plans to launch August 21. The new system joins the library to a group of 25 libraries spanning north Idaho and eastern Washington. (Liberty Lake Splash, 6.21.12) http://www.libertylakesplash.com/news.asp?id=22063

Walla Walla Public Library (WWPL) and Walla Walla Rural Library District (WWRLD) cardholders can access the Washington Anytime Library catalog of more than 4,800 e-books through the library website. WWPL patrons also have access to Tumblebooks, a service that provides e-books to children, through the library’s website. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 6.22.12)

The Timberland Regional Library District keeps increasing its downloadable book collection, according to Acting Executive Director Gwen Culp. Timberland’s primary vendor is Overdrive and has access to a collection of more than 14,000 downloadable books. (Daily World [Aberdeen], 6.22.12)

Pew’s Internet & American Life Project study, conducted with nearly 3,000 respondents between November 16 and December 11, 2011, suggests that library patrons trying to borrow digital titles have been deterred by the selection and by not having the right e-book device. Nearly 20 percent of respondents found that the device they owned could not receive a given title. (Daily World [Aberdeen], 6.22.12)

For more than a century The Herald has been the daily record of Snohomish County, keeping the community informed on the latest news. But if you want to travel back in time to read about our history as it was reported, make your way to the downtown branch of the Everett Public Library. Every issue of The Herald, since the first publication on February 11, 1901, is available to browse on microfilm or microfiche. (Photo) (The Herald [Everett], 6.24.12) http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120624/BLOG53/706249993/

Buildings
Twenty years ago, Orcas Islanders broke ground for the construction of a new library on the Rose Street bluff, overlooking Eastsound. This summer and fall, the ground-breaking and construction period are being recognized with an enhancement of the library landscape. By next summer, when the library celebrates its anniversary with a community picnic, the new landscape should be buzzing with insect, avian, and human interest. (The Island Sounder [Eastsound], 6.20.12) http://www.islandssounder.com/community/159597465.html

A library is all about using materials over and over and over again. That’s not enough to qualify as an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly facility, however. When Vancouver’s downtown library, a part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library, was recognized as a green building project, it was a result of design decisions and construction choices. (Photos) (The Columbian [Vancouver], 6.24.12) http://www.columbian.com/news/2012/jun/23/library-outshines-itself-with-leed-gold/

After being told in June the city was not eligible for a $1.25 million Whatcom County grant, members of the Ferndale library’s fundraising committee now say they plan to announce new funding that will ensure that the project will happen. Meanwhile, in Bellingham, city leaders have been discussing a new central library for more than a decade. (Photo) (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 7.15.12) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/07/15/2214101/new-library-on-track-in-ferndale.html

Letters & Editorials
I believe great things happen when people come together to accomplish a common goal. The tree planting last week at Newport Public Library was an outstanding success because of the generosity of these individuals. (Newport Miner, 6.20.12)

In huge sections of Washington, citizens have little or no access to news about what is taking place in their own communities. “If we finally get this technology – this broadband – to our towns, are we going to be able to afford it at an individual level but also at a municipal level?” wonders Kristie Kirkpatrick, director of the Whitman County Rural Library District, where residents flock to libraries to get on the internet. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 6.20.12)

Walla Walla County needs one library system to serve all county residents regardless of where they live. The ongoing dispute between the Rural Library District and city of Walla Walla Library is on a path to weaken both library systems and further waste taxpayers’ money. What’s needed now is leadership. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 6.20.12)

There was a library levy that was voted on by the citizens of Ocean Shores last February. This levy was defeated by a narrow margin. The City Council supported a resolution to bring it back to the voters in a primary already scheduled for August 7. The voters of Ocean Shores must decide if $24.70 per year is worth the cost of having a library in our community. (Daily World [Aberdeen], 6.22.12)

A seven-year Seattle Library Levy is the wrong way to pay for an essential day-to-day service. Free public libraries are an essential service. This current levy proposal is mostly for libraries’ day-to-day expenses, and these are neither optional nor one-time. (Seattle Times Online, 7.16.12) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2018702955_edit17library.html

People
Between the two of them, Michael Carver and Sandy Glover have 64 years of experience working in public libraries. But at the end of June, both will be retiring from the Camas Public Library. Glover is the assistant director and Carver, a reference librarian, also serves as the unofficial in-house technical support person. (Photos) (Camas-Washougal Post-Record, 6.19.12)

Frances Barbagallo recalls telling herself , “This feels like the right place for me,” when she began working in what was a tiny Deming Library 33 years ago. Barbagallo, 67, became branch manager of Deming Library in 1980, and retired from the post May 31. (Photo) (Bellingham Herald, 6.26.12) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/06/25/2578092/frances-barbagallo-steps-down.html

Programs and Displays
In June, the Moses Lake Library Foundation (MLLF) held “Book a Night with the Library,” an event where attendees sampled a variety of local wines and danced to live music by Swing Shift, all to benefit the cause of expanding and upgrading the Moses Lake Library. (Columbia Basin Herald [Moses Lake], 6.18.12) http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/entertainment/dining/article_15c8b21a-b995-11e1-9b4e-001a4bcf887a.html

Normally, libraries encourage their patrons to be as quite as possible. This summer, the Shelton Timberland Library wants local teens to turn the volume up. At 6:30 p.m. on August 7, the library will have its Rock the Night Concert, a part of its annual Summer Music Series. (Shelton-Mason County Journal, 6.21.12)

The White Salmon Valley Community Library, a part of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, in cooperation with the White Salmon School District, invites parents with readers and pre-readers ages 4-10 to sign their children up for Reading Buddies this summer. Young readers will be assigned a reading coach to read with, play literacy games, and share stories. (The Enterprise [White Salmon], 6.21.12) http://www.whitesalmonenterprise.com/archives/Story.aspx/13406/sign-up-for-reading-buddies

Summer Reading
With the end of school in sight, King County libraries, part of the King County Library System, are getting pumped up for their summer reading program. The theme this year is “Dream Big. READ!” and kids of all ages are encouraged to participate. (North Lake News & Woodinville Weekly, 6.18.12) http://www.nwnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6446:ready-set-read&catid=34:news&Itemid=72

The Walla Walla Public Library this summer is offering reading programs for adults, teens, younger children, and the entire family. The adult program is called “Between the Covers” and features the unlikely pairing of Frankenstein and Scarlett O’Hara, which you’ll have to see to appreciate. For teens, the library has a program called “Own the Night” and for younger children, “Dream Big. Read!” (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 6.19.12)

As part of the Own the Night summer reading program, the Sequim Library, a part of North Olympic Library System, hosts free weekly movies at 5:30pm on Fridays for teens 13 and older. These movie nights will run through July 27. (The Sequim Gazette, 6.20.12)

Registration for the 2012 Summer Reading Program begins June 25 at the Orcas Island Public Library. The program runs until August 19 and is open to children from preschool through middle school. Parents of preschoolers are encouraged to enroll their children and read aloud with them as part of the reading program. (The Island Sounder [Eastsound], 6.20.12) http://www.islandssounder.com/community/159603405.html?mobile=true

The Jefferson County Library begins its summer bookmobile schedule Wednesday, June 20, and continues through September 3. The Summer Reading Program, “Reading is Out of This World,” runs from June 25 through August 9. (The Leader [Port Townsend], 6.20.12)

School is out, and it’s time for playing outside, swimming at the pool, and reading a good book. Cathlamet Public Library’s Summer Reading Program, “Dream Big, Read,” meets weekly and runs July 11 through August 10. (The Wahkiakum County Eagle [Cathlamet], 6.21.12) http://www.waheagle.com/news/article.exm/2012-06-21_library_gets_ready_for__summer_reading_program_

Dream big this summer with a handful of books and a weekly lineup of fun activities at the Ephrata and Soap Lake public libraries. The theme of the North Central Regional Library’s 2012 Summer Reading Program is “Dream Big! Read!” (Grant Co. Journal [Ephrata], 6.21.12)

Reading, experts say, should be on every list of summertime activities for children. Rhonnie Craven and Leslie Marshall, who work in the children’s department at the Wenatchee Public Library, a part of the North Central Regional Library, gave us their summer reading picks. They suggested books nominated for two different awards. (The Wenatchee World, 6.22.12) http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/jun/22/summer-reading-can-be-f-u-n-local-librarians/