Washington State Library News
Chuck Bauman, a 1979 South Kitsap graduate, aims to capture the school’s football history with a book. He began to compile the Wolves’ records because “you cannot really find anything on the high school.” Bauman eventually plans to visit the Washington State Library in Olympia, which has a microfilm collection that consists of more than 40,000 reels of newspapers dating to the 1850s. (The Independent [Port Orchard], 8.17.12) http://www.portorchardindependent.com/sports/166459686.html?mobile=true

Library New
The King County Library System is considering spending $300,000 to buy a new, smaller bookmobile that won’t require drivers to have a commercial drivers license. Library staff had been driving the Library2Go bus for a few years before it discovered that Washington had changed its laws on what size vehicles need a commercial license. (Photo) (Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter [Kent], 8.10.12) http://www.issaquahreporter.com/news/164796456.html

Sedro-Woolley Public Library recently received an enhanced vision reader to assist low-vision library patrons when reading books and papers or watching videos. Sedro-Woolley resident Mary Hart, in cooperation with the Sedro-Woolley Lions Club, presented it to Librarian Debra Peterson. (Photo) (Courier Times [Sedro-Woolley], 8.14.12)

The Walla Walla County Rural Library District (RLD) Board of Directors wishes to address certain false and misleading statements and misinformed criticism of the RLD. The RLD Board has a fiduciary responsibility to all its taxpayers throughout the County. We are doing our part and will continue to do so with the most effective and efficient use of your tax dollars. (Walla Walla Union Bulletin, 8.14.12)

The Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social has been an annual celebration at the Goldendale Library for about 40 years, and it’s back tomorrow evening. This year, the event will commemorate the Library’s 100 years of service as well. (Photo) (Sentinel [Goldendale], 8.15.12) http://www.goldendalesentinel.com/story/2012/08/15/news/ice-cream-social-commemorates-library-centennial/1204.html

Big changes are coming to the Liberty Lake Municipal Library. As the department transitions Tuesday into the Cooperative Information Network (CIN), a consortium of 25 other area libraries, even the most basic library user will see adjustments to services. (Photo) (Liberty Lake Splash, 8.16.12) http://www.libertylakesplash.com/news.asp?id=22228

The desk and chair of Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson are being moved out of city storage to the University of Washington Libraries. The furniture will be displayed and used in one of the university’s Special Collections public reading rooms located in the Allen Library. It will be on loan from the city of Everett through June 30, 2022. (The Herald [Everett], 8.17.12) http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20120817/NEWS01/708179891/0/SEARCH

Alma Lewandowski really likes the late psychologist Carl Jung. The Richland resident travels to Portland about once a month to attend meetings of the Oregon Friends of C.G. Jung, a group dedicated to studying Jung’s work. And her iPod Nano, loaded with Jung’s lectures and books that she downloaded from the Richland Public Library, always makes the trip with her. (Photos) (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 8.19.12) http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/08/19/2067412/mid-columbia-libraries-power-up.html

Elections
Last week, Ocean Shores voters gave their library a two-year lease on life. A measure to raise property taxes $.247 per thousand—replaced an expiring two-year “lid-lift” that was passed 2010—was passing with 51.83 percent approval. The county’s second ballot count showed the lead had extended to a seemingly insurmountable margin. (The North Coast News [Ocean Shores], 8.15.12)

An effort to create a rural partial-county library district has enough valid signatures to get onto the November ballot, said Skagit County Elections Supervisor David Cunningham. Supporters submitted about 1,300 signatures last week from voters in the proposed district; they needed almost 1,000. (Skagit Valley Herald [Mount Vernon], 8.16.12) http://www.goskagit.com/all_access/library-district-proposal-passes-signature-check/article_81a14d1f-d16b-50a6-b7f0-ae0af0571258.html

From the final results, the Cedar River library was the clear choice of Renton’s voters for the location of the downtown library. The percentage has changed little since August 7. The last tally available before the Renton Reporter’s print deadline, the Cedar River library location was favored 76 percent to 23 percent for a new library just west of the Piazza. (Renton Reporter, 8.17.12) http://www.rentonreporter.com/news/166436016.html

Buildings
The Walla Walla County Rural Library District over the next couple of months will be looking into expanding the Prescott Public Library into the empty lot next door or buying land or a building from the Prescott School District, officials say. (Photo) (The Times [Waitsburg], 8.9.12)

As members of the Friends of the Washougal Community Library, a part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, continue to support the idea of a new library, there are discussions regarding whether it would be beneficial to sign a lease at Washougal Town Square or wait to build. (Camas-Washougal Post-Record [Camas], 8.14.12) http://www.camaspostrecord.com/news/2012/aug/14/fvrl-director-discusses-new-library-options-in-was/

A lot of local townspeople will be inconvenienced for three weeks because of repairs at the Raymond Timberland Library. The facility will be closed from Tuesday, August 21 through Monday, September 10 for major repairs and painting of the interior walls. (Willapa Harbor Herald [Raymond], 8.15.12)

Plans for a big mixed-use project called Tukwila Village are moving ahead and include a larger library than initially planned. The King County Library System held a public meeting on August 23 to review preliminary plans for the library. (Daily Journal of Commerce [Seattle], 8.17.12)

A long-planned parking garage expansion for the Bellevue Library, a part of the King County Library System, should open later this year, easing parking woes faced by those who use the downtown facility. The garage will increase the parking capacity from 199 to 362. (Bellevue Reporter [Kent], 8.17.12) http://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/166455276.html

After months of fundraising, Chelan Friends of the Public Library raised enough money to move into a desperately needed bigger location next year. In May, the library received a Washington State Community Development block grant for $490,000, with the stipulation that the community raise $160,000. As of Wednesday, the committee had raised $162,000. (The Wenatchee World, 8.17.12) http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2012/aug/17/chelan-library-reaches-first-fundraising-goal/

There will be no mid-life crisis for the University of Washington’s 40-year-old Odegaard Undergraduate Library, thanks to a $17 million face lift that’s under way. Architect Miller Hull Partnership and GC/CM Mortenson Construction are working toward a spring completion. (Photo) (Daily Journal of Commerce [Seattle], 8.28.12)

Letters & Editorials
In recent months, a dedicated group of Washougal residents, primarily members of the Friends of the Washougal Community Library, have been working to drum up support for finding an existing space or constructing a new building for the library. (Camas-Washougal Post-Record [Camas], 8.14.12) http://www.camaspostrecord.com/news/2012/aug/14/new-washougal-library-what-do-citizens-think/

Maureen and I want to acknowledge the Walla Walla County Rural Library District Board of Directors for its diligence and challenging decisions relating to negotiations with the city library. The city has decided to close the doors to the city library for county residents within a 50 miles radius. Therefore, more than ever before, we support the construction of a new central library by the RLD. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 8.16.12) http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/16/construction-of-rld-library-supported/

It is not that the library negotiations ended without a solution that would work to bring the city library and the Rural Library District together. Rather we identified a number of solutions but could not agree on employing any one of them. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 8.17.12)

The intransigence shown by the Walla Walla Rural Library District Board at Monday’s meeting was duly noted by county and city residents in attendance. This board has ignored the pleas of the populace, as well as letters from county commissioners and mayor/city manager asking for further negotiations before going ahead with plans to build a $3.6 million central rural library building. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 8.17.12) http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/17/rld-board-acts-if-it-has-mandate/

The County Rural Library District Board took out a full-page ad in the Union-Bulletin to address what it considers “false and misleading statements.” While it is clear Board members have a feeling of being misunderstood, what is not addressed is that at numerous meetings this Board has not heard its constituents. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 8.17.12) http://union-bulletin.com/news/2012/aug/17/rld-board-needs-to-listen/

Re: The 2011 Pierce County Library System’s Annual Report to the Community. I was very impressed by the facts and figures in the report. It would be nice to see the Tacoma Public Library produce such a report. In fact, has anyone given thought to combining the two library systems since Tacoma’s system has to make big budget cuts and there seems to be a duplication of services? (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 8.25.12) http://blog.thenewstribune.com/letters/2012/08/24/library/

[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]]

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.