Insights is an email newsletter designed to keep you informed with local and System wide news and information. I will be sending them to you once per month.
Community Liaison Contact: Carol Van Baalen
LOCAL NEWS
Des Moines and Woodmont continue to be very busy libraries while Kent is closed for remodeling. Circulation statistics for the month of October: 26,703 items checked out at Des Moines, a 17% increase over October 2008; 25,321 items checked out at Woodmont, a 25% increase over October 2008. Traffic counts for October: 19,090 people walked through the doors at Des Moines and 19,433 at Woodmont.
The Kent temporary location has been busy also: 23,338 items were checked out there. Pretty impressive, considering that these are holds, dvds, and children’s books only.
Update on the Kent construction: Construction is ahead of schedule! It is anticipated that the library will reopen late February or early March.
Library Advisory Board News:
Check out the new blog of the Des Moines / Woodmont Library Advisory Board: http://
A Big Thank You to outgoing board members Barbara McMichael and Dana Ketcham. Barbara has served two terms, including one year as board president; Dana has served one term. The search is underway for two new board members to fill their shoes.
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, December 9: Kent Friends Holiday Luncheon at the Kent Senior Center. Call Margie Krist for luncheon time and details.
Thursday, December 10, 6pm: Woodmont Friends Holiday Potluck. Des Moines Friends will also be joining the party! Bring an appetizer to share.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 7pm: Des Moines Friends Annual Meeting. Guest speakers will be Bill Ptacek, KCLS Director, and Julie Brand from Community Relations, with information about the KCLS Levy Lid Lift which will be on the ballot in February. The Library Advisory Board will also be attending this meeting, instead of their regular January meeting date.
SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS
The number of admissions per pass varies by museum. Click on the KCLS Programs page and scroll down to Free Museum Passes. Choose the museum you would like to visit and click on the calendar dates for more information. |
From the Director’s Report (To view the complete November report, please look here.)
The Vashon Park District Board has formally approved a lease with KCLS that will allow for the expansion of the Vashon Library. As mentioned in October, all of the points of agreement were incorporated into a new lease that was presented in October and approved at the Park District Board meeting on November 11. The lease will be presented for approval at the November KCLS Board meeting. Based on the Board’s response to the request from the Vashon Community Council for a Library Committee, Donna McMillen, the area’s Cluster Manager, has made contact with a Community Council representative to initiate ongoing contact with the Library Committee.
The City of Duvall was very pleased that KCLS was able to finalize the agreement with the Duvall Church for the new Duvall Library in the historic downtown area. KCLS updated the City Council on the agreement and asked that they help move the project forward quickly so that KCLS can take
advantage of the good bidding climate. The City’s staff responded very well in the first meeting with KCLS Facilities staff and the architect regarding the general plan for the Library. While KCLS would love to have the Library above the street level, the plan calls for the building to be located at the street level, meaning that patrons who drive to the Library will have access it via a staircase or elevator. The City Council is also considering a resolution to support Proposition 1, KCLS’ levy lid lift measure.
KCLS is excited about a joint project with the Seattle Public Library and KCLS that will result in Citizenship Fairs to be held at two Seattle Libraries and the Greenbridge Library on December 12. The program will include information about becoming a U.S. citizen, legal advice, sample test questions from the citizenship test, naturalization study materials and naturalization application forms. Jo Anderson Cavinta, KCLS’ Diversity Coordinator, helped to develop this program.
Each year, the American Library Association announces the winner of the Newberry and Caldecott awards for Children’s books and illustrations. This year, before the awards are announced, KCLS is asking young patrons what they think should be the next Newberry award book, and giving them the chance to vote. KCLS staff has been reviewing and gathering comments since September and have chosen eight finalists. The books are: All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg, Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine, Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and
Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino, Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez, The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead and Wild Things by Clay Carmichael. Posters and bookmarks of the selected titles were produced by KCLS’ Graphics department and sent out to all of the libraries, along with paper ballots. The paper ballots will be available on Friday, December 18, when voting will also go live on the “You Choose” blog.
Circulation for the month increased by 3% across the entire System. KCLS is still operating without three of its largest libraries, which are closed due to expansion or renovation. Year-to-date circulation is 5% higher than 2008. Items placed on hold continue to increase at an even faster rate of 12% more than 2008. The 33% increase in circulation at Issaquah is consistent with the rapid rise in circulation at that Library over the entire year. It will be interesting to see if use of the Issaquah Library changes much when the new Sammamish Library opens in early 2010.
Upcoming Dates Events and Projects
· The next KCLS Board of Trustees meeting is scheduled for 5pm, Tuesday, December 15, at Service Center.
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