Library News
The struggling Castle Rock library is trying out different hours to save costs while remaining open as much as possible. New hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday. The library will be closed Fridays and Sundays. (Daily News, [Longview] 10.17.11)

In the spirit of helping communities save lives, Morton General Hospital purchased automated external defibrillator (AED) units for the Packwood Timberland Library and the Mountain View Timberland Library. The Morton General Hospital Foundation purchased an automated external defibrillator (AED) for the Salkum Timberland Library. (Photo) (The East County Journal, [Morton] 10.19.11)

This month, the Sumner Library, a part of Pierce County Library System, is hosting a library card drive, inviting anyone without a card to sign up and offering those who do, or who bring someone to sign up, a chance to win an iPad2. (The Herald, [Puyallup] 10.19.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/10/19/1870259/sumner-library-hosts-library-card.html#storylink=misearch

Sno-Isle Libraries officials said that based on the positive feedback from pilot sites where public fax machines were installed, (Lynnwood, Granite Falls, Oak Harbor, Darrington, and Mukilteo libraries) this year, seven more fax machines have been added to branches in the library system. (South Whidbey Record, [Langley] 10.19.11) http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/news/132149473.html

Enumclaw Mayor Liz Reynolds’ preliminary 2012 budget was released, validating gloomy expectations.
Hit the hardest is the city library, where Reynolds has proposed elimination of the library director, a library page, and temporary help on Sundays. It’s proposed that library hours be reduced to 32 hours per week, including a Sunday closure. (Enumclaw Courier-Herald, 10.19.11) http://www.courierherald.com/news/132185198.html

The Anacortes Public Library spends thousands of dollars each year notifying patrons of overdue materials that need to be returned to the library or renewed. Beginning this month, the library is changing the way it notifies patrons about overdue materials. The library prefers to send overdue notices by e-mail. (Anacortes American, 10.19.11)

Raymond Timberland Library Manager Emily Popovich attended the Monday, October 17 meeting of the Raymond city council. She told the council of her plan to pursue a USDA grant to fix all the plaster and woodwork in the inside of the library that had been damaged because of a leak in the area of the chimney. Popovich told the council it would probably cost between $50,000 and $60,000 to repair the inside of the library. (Pacific County Press, [South Bend] 10.20.11)

A loosely formed neighborhood group called the East Side Library Access Project got together to help the East Side Library, a part of the Spokane Public Library, by, among other things, raising money to give amnesty to children whose cards had been blocked because they hadn’t paid outstanding fines. 147 cardholders will receive a letter soon saying their fines have been paid by their neighbors. (Spokesman Review, [Spokane] 10.27.11) http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/27/community-binds-for-library/

Here’s something you probably didn’t know Target stocked: school libraries. West Seattle Elementary unveiled its new library Wednesday, paid for by the Target School Library Makeover Program. The total cost of the renovation is estimated at $200,000. Target is on track to renovate 42 school libraries across the country by 2015, with a goal of helping more children read proficiently by the end of third grade. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer Online, 11.2.11) http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Target-builds-a-library-for-Seattle-school-2249352.php

Rey Arellano, interim City Manager for the city of Tacoma told City Council members that about 130 Tacoma municipal employees across most city departments face losing their jobs under a tentative plan to close a projected gap of more than $26 million in the city’s two-year general fund budget. The city’s library isn’t included in any cost-cutting recommendations. The library closed two small branches and laid off 16 employees last year. (The News Tribune, [Tacoma] 11.11.) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/11/01/1888942/130-tacoma-employees-would-lost.html#storylink=misearch

Buildings
Langley Library, a part of Sno-Isle Libraries, recently celebrated its new facelift with the community. Library manager Vicky Welfare said she and her staff are thrilled with the changes to the library. An unexpected bequest to the Friends of the Langley Library for $65,000 made the interior renovations and enhancements possible. (Photo) (South Whidbey Record, [Langley] 10.12.11) http://www.southwhidbeyrecord.com/lifestyle/131598983.html

The Chelan City Council voted Thursday to move forward on a $1.5 million plan to buy the Chelan Masonic Temple and renovate it to house the city’s public library, a part of the North Central Regional Library. (The Wenatchee World, 10.16.11) http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/oct/15/chelan-to-buy-masonic-hall-for-library/

Northwest Indian College is seeking a contractor to prepare a site on the Lummi Reservation near Bellingham for a future library. Bids are due November 3. An $800,000 HUD grant was recently awarded for the library. (Daily Journal of Commerce, [Seattle] 10.20.11)

The Timberland Regional Library has awarded the City of Aberdeen a $25,000 grant for maintenance work at the library. Library Director Christine Peck said that the library district decided to award the grant because it knows cities are struggling to pay for maintenance costs in the face of budget cuts. Peck says the grant will help pay for iron work on the exterior of the building and minor work inside the building, including small upgrades to the bathrooms. (Daily World, [Aberdeen] 10.20.11)

A former fire hall could one day be the new and larger home of Point Roberts Public Library, a part of the Whatcom County Library System, provided supporters can raise up to $500,000. The money would cover the estimated cost of renovations for the old Julius Fire Hall, as well as permits and fees. The Friends of the Point Roberts Library is raising the money and plan a kickoff Saturday, November 19. (Bellingham Herald, 11.2.11) http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/11/02/2248243/project-to-renovate-old-fire-hall.html

Letters & Editorials
I’ve always bragged to family and friends living elsewhere that our King County Library System has the broadest range of materials I’ve come across in a public library, with an easily searchable online database. What more could you want? How about safety of women and children? At the busy Issaquah branch, my 12-year-old and I were recently exposed to several images of hardcore pornography while talking with the reference librarian. (Issaquah Press, 10.12.11) http://www.issaquahpress.com/2011/10/11/to-the-editor-137/

Oh my, what a change in the John Brown Library at Wenatchee Valley College since the last time I visited. The college hosted a group of us this week to hear Andrew Hersh-Tudor, dean for libraries and learning technologies, to tell us about today’s library, a far different place now. (The Wenatchee World, 10.16.11) http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2011/oct/15/wvc-libarary-goes-high-tech/

I carefully read the September 7 article on the event at the downtown library (Yakima) and the eventual capture of the individual. This gave us a snapshot of the immediate reaction of the library official: Protect the privacy of the patron. (Yakima Herald-Republic, 10.18.11) http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2011/10/17/10-18-11-letters-to-the-editor

Dave Forbes is absolutely correct in his October 13 letter to the editor regarding the levy for the library. This is just another tax increase for Hoquiam. (Daily World, [Aberdeen] 10.21.11)

People
When the Bleyhl Community Library closed August 12, to relocate to the new facility on the YVCC campus, it wasn’t the first time new library director Elizabeth Jahnke has been through a major Grandview library shift. “I was part of the first expansion of the Bleyhl Library in the 70s,” Jahnke said. (Photos) (Grandview Herald, 10.19.11)

Awards
The American Institute of Architects Seattle chapter gave an Honor Award to the Vancouver Community Library in Vancouver; architect is The Miller Hull Partnership. A commendation was given to the Kenmore Library; architect is Weinstein A/U Architects + Urban Designers. (Photos) (Daily Journal of Commerce, 10.26.11)

Programs & Displays
“In a Nutshell: The Worlds of Maurice Sendak,” a national traveling exhibition which explores the influence of the Old and New worlds in the work of renowned illustrator Maurice Sendak, will be on display at Eastern Washington University’s John F. Kennedy Memorial Library October 27-December 15. The exhibition is free and open to the public. (Photo) (Cheney Free Press, 10.13.11)

Talk Time is a program of the Sno-Isle Libraries designed to help adults that are not fluent in English. The schedule of Talk Time programs at Sno-Isle branch libraries is available at www.sno-isle.org.
(Northwest Asian Weekly, [Seattle] 10.15.11)

[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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