Library News

Upper Skagit Library is primed and ready for their Summer Reading program. They also have a Library Board vacancy to fill. Trustees serve a five year term and are allowed to serve two consecutive terms. There is a new library associate, Cora Thomas. Cora is a published author and poet. (Concrete Herald, Concrete, 06/00/14).

On May 29th local third graders participated in the Leavenworth Friends of the Library program. The made a field trip to the library where they learned about books that they can check out from the library. (Echo, Leavenworth, 06/04/14).

Salk Middle School and the Balboa/South Indian Trail Neighborhood Council collaborated on a Little Free Library for the community. The middle school students built the library which looks exactly like a little house. (Spokesman Review, Spokane, 05/05/14).

A new Little Free Library has come to Maple Beach. The Point Roberts Friends of the Library collaborated with ReStore in Bellingham to get it built. It will stocked with donated books. (All Point Bulletin, Point Roberts, 06/00/14).

Spokane Public Library will merge with Tincan. Tincan offers free training in computer programs, website design, and more. A cut in funding made it impossible for Tincan to remain independent. (Spokesman Review, Spokane, 06/01/14). http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/jun/01/digital-literacy-trainer-tincan-merging-with/

Hoquiam will be sending a bookmobile through community neighborhoods this summer. The bookmobile will drive through the city every Wednesday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. The van is packed with reading materials and will appeal to every age group. The teachers running the bookmobile will stop several times to spend time reading to children and serving lemonade. (Daily World, Aberdeen, 06/19/14).

The Washington State Library has reduced its hours for the public in half due to funding cuts. The Library will be open from 12pm to 5 pm each day. The cuts are the result of lower than expected revenue and have caused a $1 million shortfall in the budget. (The Olympian, Olympia, 06/10/14).

Mid Columbia libraries are celebrating their 65th anniversary with a bookmobile design contest. They will compile the top designs and a panel of judges will conduct a review of the entries to select a winner. (Record-Bulletin, Prosser, 06/11/14).

Pierce County Library System will hire a new executive director and the public will be included in the decision. Finalists will be interviewed by the Board of Trustees and an open public forum with the final candidates will occur in August.

People The Pierce County Library system has hired two new directors. Cherree Green is the new staff experience director and will manage human resource. Linda Farmer has been named marketing and community relation director. (Business Examiner, Tacoma, 06/9/14).

June Hahn has been appointed to the Whatcom County Library System’s board of trustees. She moved to Whatcom County in 2010 from Ohio. (Bellingham Business Journal, 06/00/14).

Programs/Displays Fizz! Boom! Read! Reading program is starting at the Liberty Lake Municipal Library. The library is planning a full range of children’s activities around this program. There is also an adult summer reading program called Literary Elements. (The Splash, Liberty Lake, 06/00/14).

Whatcom County is presenting the Foothills Garden Tour to benefit the Deming Library. Six private gardens in eastern Whatcom County will be featured. (Concrete Herald, Concrete, 06/00/14).

The Ritzville Public Library is having their Summer Reading program made possible by a grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation. The theme for the reading program is Fizz, Boom, Read! The grant provides funds to purchase $1,000 worth of new books in the science collections for children and teens. (Ritzville-Adams County Journal, 06/05/14).

The Lincoln County libraries and Ritzville have joined together to apply for a grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation. The grant was approved and each library got $1,000 for new children’s science books, $250 for supplies for a science activity to be used for all the libraries. (Wilbur Register, Wilbur, 06/05/14).

Pierce County libraries are offering free classes for those wanting to update or improve their computer skills. There are also classes for eReaders and eBooks. (The News Tribune, 06/25/14).