Washington State Library News
Washington State University Libraries have joined Ask-WA, a service coordinated by the Washington State Library in participation with libraries statewide. WSU faculty, students and staff can get a quality answer within minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (WSU News Online, 8.14.13) http://news.wsu.edu/articles/37052/1/Get-online-answers-24%2F7-through-new-library-service

Library News
Ali Raphael, 18, Darby Lowney, 16, and Laura Christman, 17, were selected to participate in the Best Fiction for Young Adults session during the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in January. Lynn Stone, reference/teen services librarian at the Poulsbo branch of the Kitsap Regional Library, had seen the announcement in a library journal and approached each of the teens with the opportunity. (Photos) (North Kitsap Herald [Poulsbo], 6.14.13) http://www.northkitsapherald.com/community/211591061.html

Dayton City Council members learned 25,354 people visited the Dayton Memorial Library and Delany Room in 2012 during the annual report by Janet Lyon, library director at the Council meeting held June 10. (Dayton Chronicle, 6.19.13)

When California-transplants Trudy and Delvin Fredrickson moved to Grays River 13 years ago, they loved just about everything about the area except its lack of public library. So, they teamed up with fellow book-lovers and began gathering the resources to make one. (Photo) (The Daily News [Longview], 8.8.13) http://tdn.com/news/local/naselle-community-bands-together-to-expand-public-library/article_e91576d0-0089-11e3-a11b-0019bb2963f4.html

Jared Mills is a librarian on the move. As the project manager of the Seattle Public Library’s “Books on Bikes” team, he pedals his bicycle around Seattle with a customized trailer to bring books and library services to community events. At least, he did. Mills discovered Wednesday that … the bike is gone. (Seattle Times, 8.16.13) http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/2013/08/thief-steals-wheels-of-seattles-books-on-bikes-librarian/

To celebrate Washington State Parks’ 100th birthday, State Parks and ParksByNature Network have partnered with the Timberland Regional Library to offer a fun program to round out the summer – the Park and Read GeoChallenge. The GeoChallenge includes state parks and libraries in Lewis, Thurston, Grays Harbor, Pacific and Mason counties. The Parks and Read GeoChallenge will run through September 30, 2013. (Edmonds Beacon Online, 8.19.13) http://edmondsbeacon.villagesoup.com/p/state-parks-launches-park-and-read-geochallenge/1045542

Elections
The margin of defeat for a proposed $3 million Port Townsend library bond in Tuesday’s primary election count was larger than both sides expected, but all expressed optimism for the library’s future. Proposition 1 sought voter approval for the city to issue up to $3 million in general obligation bonds to go toward a $4.3 million project to renovate and expand the Carnegie Library. (Peninsula Daily News Online [Port Angeles], 8.7.13) http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013308089986

After coming up 76 votes shy of the required super majority needed to fund a permanent library facility, the future of the Camano Island Library is now in the hands of the Sno-Isle Libraries Board of Trustees. (The Herald Online [Everett], 8.8.13) http://heraldnet.com/article/20130808/NEWS01/708089925/-1/news01#Camano-library-approved-but-bond-measure-failing

Buildings
The Chelan library renovation project is underway. Construction of Wenatchee has begun the deconstruction phase of the job and will soon start the transformation of the former Masonic Lodge in to Chelan’s new public library, a part of the North Central Regional Library. (Photo) (Lake Chelan Mirror, 6.19.13)

Saying that the existing Mercer Island Library works well, King County Library System (KCLS) planners told about 50 Islanders last Thursday night that the remodeling set for the library this fall will make it even better. (Mercer Island Reporter, 6.19.13) http://www.mi-reporter.com/news/211877701.html

To many people who live in the Renton area, the library and its location over the Cedar River is a place of the heart – one worth fighting for … even if the changes are in the name of progress. Three years after a vote to annex to the King County Library System, the debate still flares, in what some say is the most contentious annexation fight in the system’s 71 years. (Seattle Times Online, 8.19.13) http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021647152_rentonlibraryxml.html?syndication=rss

The Lynnwood Library will be closed for remodeling for most of September. A shorter closure also is planned at the Marysville Library between Sept. 2 and Sept. 6, said Ken Harvey, spokesman for the Sno-Isle Libraries System. (The Herald Online [Everett], 8.20.13) http://heraldnet.com/article/20130820/NEWS01/708209941/2-Sno-Isle-libraries-getting-upgrades

Letters & Editorials
The proposed Camano Library District and bond to purchase, for $2.3 million, the former Islander’s Restaurant is out of line in today’s economic hard times. A community-founded, privately funded library has great potential over that of a public library. (Stanwood/Camano News, 6.18.13) http://www.scnews.com/opinion/article_c34122f6-7933-53b8-acdd-0a202130885c.html

With all the reading programs offered around the Mid-Columbia, the gray skies provided a good opportunity for kids to start logging those reading minutes. We are grateful to live in a community where our libraries offer so many resources to its citizens and encourages children to read. (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 6.27.13) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/06/27/2449483/our-voice-libraries-and-cbc-are.html

Programs & Displays
Hey, families! The North Olympic Library System is the place to be this summer! In addition to offering an exciting summer reading challenge, all four libraries are hosting a wide range of events for babies, children, young adults and families. (Forks Forum, 6.13.13)

Summertime is for easy livin’ – but parents might worry about its impact on their children’s learning. A part of Sno-Isle Libraries, Stanwood Library’s summer reading program, offers many adventures to inspire reading and learning, from live eagles to the depths of Puget Sound. (Photo) (Stanwood/Camano News, 6.25.13) http://www.scnews.com/youth_scene/article_eecf56de-76b4-5fed-b15b-3eeecbed6b2c.html

The White Salmon Valley Community Library’s Sprint/Baker Gallery, a part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, will be featuring area artist Cleo Sterling’s oil paintings on Masonite in her exhibit titled “Cleo Sterling…Undefined: Abstracts in Oil” during the month of August. (Photo) (The Enterprise [White Salmon], 8.1.13) http://www.whitesalmonenterprise.com/archives/Story.aspx/14286/see-oil-abstracts-at-library

[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 Martha Shinners at 360.570.5567 or [email protected]]