Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library News

 Commissioners seek applicants to serve on regional library board: One of three Clark County positions to be filled (Reflector, Battle Ground, 10/05/14).

Meyer Farm listed on Clark County Heritage Register. Meyers were active in critical decision-making in county(Reflector, Battle Ground, 10/15/14).

 Here’s the story on StoryCon (The Columbian, Vancouver, 10/17/14).

Library will reduce fines for those who donate food.

It may not seem like it, but one can of food can go a long way. Especially at the Burlington Public Library. This month, the library is participating in a Food for Fines program, where one donation of a canned or nonperishable good will knock $1 off patrons’ late fees. (Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, 10/06/14).

Elite Care at Sylvan Park opens lending library: Library stocked with resources for caregivers and diagnosed individuals (Reflector, Battle Ground, 09/17/14).

 City, schools link libraries, share resources: PT libraries join forces, focus education on Common Core, future economy (The Leader, Port Townsend, 09/24/14). Read the rest of this entry »

Volume 10, November 6, 2014 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT

2) LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE 2015

3) FREE BOOKS FOR WASHINGTON LIBRARIES

4) EARLY LEARNING STEM INSTITUTE

5) CAYAS FALL WORKSHOP REGISTRATION OPEN

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

————————————————————————————————————— Read the rest of this entry »

On October 14^th, Mary-Jean Grimes, President of the Tokeland-North Cove Chamber of Commerce notified the Tribal Council that they have voted the Shoalwater Bay Tribal Community Library as the Business of the Year.  The Library’s name was sent to the Pacific County Economic Council for the County’s Business of the Year Celebration Dinner at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco, Thursday, November 13, from 5PM to 7PM.

Having the chamber of commerce recognize that the Shoalwater tribal Library is an economic generator and a force for progress in the community is a wonderful accolade.

Congratulations to Shoalwater tribal librarian Linda Rose!

From the desk of Mary Paynton Schaff

Fall might seem an odd time to think about weeding, but in the world of libraries weeding happens all the time. Weeding is the term libraries use to describe removing books from a collection. And contrary to what one might assume about the State Library’s collections, books don’t just come here to gather dust in perpetuity. We weed like other research libraries weed, and a book might find its way out the door or moved into another collection for a variety of reasons.

1)      The book no longer fits within our collection development guidelines or library mission

2)      The book contains outdated or inaccurate information

3)      We have more copies than we need

4)      The information contained in the book can be more easily be found online

5)      The collection is out of shelving space

6)      The book has not been used in many years

7)      The book is too damaged to be useful any longer and new copies can be found to purchase

Currently our librarians are weeding our Reference Collection and Northwest Collection and finding new homes for books that no longer meet our needs. What happens to books that are weeded out of these central library collections? The State Library’s branches, including prison and hospital libraries, have first dibs on the central library’s discards, followed by other Olympia-area state government branches. If a book can’t find a home in any of those places, we dispose of the items through the Washington State Surplus program. Materials that are officially surplussed can be donated to other locations, including officially designated rehabilitation workshops such as Goodwill. A significant portion of weeded materials are destroyed when none of the surplus qualifications are met.

Other Washington State Library collections like the State and Federal Depository programs have different rules for weeding materials based on the rules that govern their operation. Weeded copies from these State Library collections may find their way to local state or federal depository libraries near you.

For an amusing look at the world of library weeding, including the importance of keeping library collections relevant and up-to-date, check out Awful Library Books.