Library News

Orcas Library is on the move to further upgrade and develop its holding of adult materials, and is inviting bookworms, book maniacs and bookish folks to join its new Collection Management Committee.  The committee will meet once a month. For more info, call 376-4985 or 376-5595. (The Island Sounder [Eastsound], 3.16.11)

Nancy Warner, the coordinator for the Initiative for Rural innovation and Stewardship, is currently working together with other community groups to create a 30-mintue video entitled “Foodways and Byways for North Central Washington.” She is partnering with the North Central Regional Library system to collect the photos. (Photo) (Douglas County Empire Press [East Wenatchee], 3.17.11)

With state and federal budgets in upheaval, Port Townsend city officials may have to rethink their strategy for forging ahead on a $9.8 million project to renovate and expand the Port Townsend Public Library. In a prior discussion, City Manager David Timmons and library officials said the city did not intend to ask voters to fund the library’s capital project. (The Leader [Port Townsend], 3.23.11)

Thanks to a grant guaranteed over the next two years, the Puyallup Public Library will acquire the ability to expand curriculum and provide additional capacity for job-searching computer classes to assist unemployed residents. The “Connecting the Dots: Creating a Successful Job Search” grant is distributed by EDLab Group, a non-profit organization supported through funding from federal and state governments, private foundations, corporations and individuals. (The Herald [Puyallup], 3.23.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/23/1595637/city-council-approves-library.html#storylink=misearch

By the numbers, the Columbia County Rural Library is doing well.  Patron visits, materials checked out, visits to the library’s website, and new materials have all increased each of the last three years.  Library Director Janet Lyon gave Columbia County Commissioners a rundown on the library’s activities at their meeting Monday. (Union-Bulletin [Walla Walla], 3.23.11)

Today we live in an age of instant printing and e-books. Hence the current debate convulsing the library world about mega-publisher HarperCollins’ recent decision to limit the number of times library patrons can check out e-books to 26, a figure the publisher calculated is a year’s worth of use.  Kirk Blankenship, electronic resources librarian for Seattle Public Library, says HarperCollins titles account for 22 percent of all the e-book checkouts at the library. (Seattle Times Online, 4.3.11) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2014662056_litlife04.html

Buildings

The Renton downtown library is safe and meets building codes for its current use.  However, it would require significant upgrades to meet structural codes if it was to be re-adapted for a new library as envisioned by the City of Renton and the King County Library System.  There are potentially so many things to be upgraded that “basically you have the shell to work with and everything else would go.” (Photo) (Renton Reporter [Kent], 3.18.11) http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/ren/news/118196524.html

Work continues as crews repair the water damage caused in November by a burst pipe in the building that houses the Manchester Branch of the Kitsap Regional Library. The KRL Board of Trustees is scheduled to conduct its regular monthly meeting at the Manchester Branch on March 22…but the actual opening date for the building has not yet been set. (Photo) (Independent [Port Orchard], 3.18.11)

Five months after a catastrophic Thanksgiving plumbing failure forced the Manchester Library to close its doors, efforts to resurrect the library are nearly complete. An official grand reopening ceremony is slated for April 21, said Sue Whitford, director of IT and facilities for Kitsap Regional Library. (Photos) (The Kitsap Sun [Bremerton], 3.24.11) http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/mar/23/manchester-library-on-the-verge-of-reopening/

When it was first being planned, the $37 million, 80,000 square-foot library in Vancouver was to be the center of a three-block mixed-use development. Though the rest of that project is on hold, the library will be done this summer and is expected to start revitalizing the city’s downtown. The new branch of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library will triple the library’s current space, and provide indoor and outdoor meeting areas. (Photo) (Daily Journal of Commerce [Seattle], 3.31.11)

Letters & Editorials

Mr. Wexman’s perspective on the library and his earlier letter share common threads – an extraordinary recall for direct quotes, a fine hand with innuendo and a penchant for waving his credentials.  This doesn’t get us closer to a renovation of the library. The success of the library project depends on making a carefully designed funding plan work. (The Leader [Port Townsend], 3.23.11) http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=28902&SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&S=1

People

With a librarian vacancy looming in less than two weeks, the Grandview City Council last night set in motion the process for finding a new librarian. Council temporarily assigned the assistant librarian to the head librarian post, with a 10 percent raise.  For the long term, though, Grandview will send out help wanted ads in newspapers between Yakima and the Tri-Cities in an attempt to find a certified librarian within the Yakima Valley. (Daily News [Sunnyside], 3.23.11)

Programs and Displays

Movie vending machines are new to the Pierce County Library System, which is testing two different styles at a few of its branches. The check-out system works quite differently, and there are different rules for how many movies you can check out and how long you can keep them under each one. (Photo) (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 3.14.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/03/14/1583521/its-movie-time-at-county-libraries.html#storylink=misearch

The North Central Regional Library has created its first infomercial to promote a new early reading program, Links to Literacy.  The video can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhtBugKR_AM and is accessible on the library’s website. Links to Literacy is a program designed to teach children the early literacy skills necessary to learn to read.  (The Star [Grand Coulee], 3.16.11)

The Tacoma Public Library announced its choice for the 10^th annual Tacoma Reads Together this month. The novel, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope” by William Kamkwanba and Bryan Mealer, is the story of an 11-year-old Malawi teen who embarked on a daring plan to build a windmill that would change the lives around him. (Photo) (Tacoma Weekly, 3.18.11) http://www.tacomaweekly.com/news/city/tacoma_reads_together/

Speakers covered both border and immigration issues during a forum at the Bellingham Public Library Saturday, March 19, but it was the complex nature of immigration reform that drew the most interest. Speakers with backgrounds in farming, immigration law, community social work, business and education shared their perspective on immigration at the League of Women Voters meeting. (Bellingham Herald, 3.20.11) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/03/19/1925214/immigration-the-focus-of-league.html#storylink=misearch

Art in the Library is a program sponsored by the Ocean Shores Public Library that provides display space or works created by Ocean Shores’ artists.  Art in the Library exhibits rotate on a regular two to three month schedule. There is no fee or commission to display art as a part of the program. The library will provide artist contact information to interested buyers. (The North Coast News [Ocean Shores], 3.23.11)

Keiko Yoshizawa and Masayo Kobayashi of Everett work together to host Japanese Storytime twice a month at the Mukilteo Library, which is attended by upwards of 30 children per session. Kobayashi said parents and children from as far away as Arlington and Marysville travel to Mukilteo for the opportunity to be around others who speak Japanese. (Photo) (Mukilteo Tribune [Snohomish], 3.23.11) http://snoho.com/stories_2011/03_march/032311_walmart.html

Everyone’s a critic.  Or at least they were at the Ellensburg Public Library last week.  As part of the One Book One Community program this month, Kittitas County libraries are challenging everyone to read “Garlic and Sapphires” by Ruth Reichl, former restaurant critic for the New York Times and editor of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. (Daily Record [Ellensburg], 3.24.11)

A childhood spent exploring the forests and fields of Prune Hill in Camas built the foundation for a career in art for one local woman. Oil painter Bryn Howell, who grew up in Camas, will display her nature-themed paintings at the Second Story Gallery at the Camas Public Library in April. (Photo) (Camas-Washougal Post-Record, 3.29.11)

[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 Carolyn Petersen at 360.570.5560 or [email protected] ]

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