Sunday, January 30, 2011

Februrary 2011



Community Liaison Contact: Carol Van Baalen


LOCAL NEWS
Upcoming Meetings & Events
Friends of the Des Moines Library:  Wednesday, February 2, 7:00pm
Friends of the Kent Library:  Thursday, February 10, 12:00 noon
Friends of the Woodmont Library:  Thursday, February 10, 6:00pm

Library Legislative Day, Friday, February 4, in Olympia.  Bus transportation provided by the KCLS Foundation will leave South Center at 8:15am.  This is a great opportunity to network with library supporters from around the state and meet with State Legislators and their staff to discuss the value of libraries and the impact laws have on them. It’s easy for you to participate: Register online now.
February Programs for Adults:
Effective Networking for Employment: Tuesday, February 8, 10:30am @ Woodmont Library
This is a re-scheduling of the presentation that was cancelled in November because of snow.
Presented by Tanner Phillips, Employment and Training Specialist, WorkSource Affiliate, South Seattle Community College.  Participants will learn how to take their job goal and develop a comprehensive approach to professional networking.  Topics include myths of networking, developing a network “system,” and the 4 core elements of networking information exchange.  No registration.
Tax Preparation Assistance
Available at Des Moines, Kent, and Woodmont Libraries, beginning the week of February 1st and continuing until April 15th.
Trained volunteers will assist you in completing your basic personal income tax returns. Registration is required and may be scheduled beginning Monday of the current week by calling the library or in person.
Appointments will be available at the following times:
Des Moinesmost Wednesdays evenings and every Thursday afternoon
Kent:  Every Wednesday from 4:45-9 pm and Saturday from 10:30am-5pm
WoodmontWednesdays, Noon-5pm; Saturdays Noon-5pm, and some Thursday evenings, 5-9pm
Tax forms are also available at the library.  1040 Instructions booklets have not yet arrived as of 1/26/11, but most other tax forms have been received.
Kent’s program flyer is not available online yet, but you can access their February programs by going to kcls.org, clicking on Programs & Classes, “search by individual library”, and choosing Kent from the list.

SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS FROM JANUARY
  
 


The InfoToGo topic for February is Free Museum Passes. KCLS has partnered with these area museums to offer free museum passes: Bellevue Arts Museum, KidsQuest Children's Museum, Museum of History and Industry, Tacoma Art Museum, and Washington State History Museum. For more information on the current month’s InfoToGo card, click here.
 FROM THE DIRECTOR’S REPORT (To view the complete January report, please look here.)
OPERATIONS
December circulation reports include some interesting details. KCLS exceeded Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL) in items circulated, 22.3M versus 21.9M in 2010. Queens previously held the distinction as the highest circulating public library system in the country, but it appears KCLS may have assumed this position. It will still take a few months to get statistics from other large library systems. 

eBook circulation increased 73% in December, much of which occurred right after Christmas.  The daily count went from 826 to 1405 after December 25.  Collections Management Services added 2,000 new titles in anticipation of this trend.

The Future Services Staffing Pilots went into effect in the Federal Way and Bothell library clusters on January 1. All of the planning, training and scheduling led to a very smooth transition at all six libraries within these clusters. The model evaluation plan is under development with Organizational Research Services (ORS) and data collection will soon commence. The Future Services staffing model will be evaluated and refined as necessary throughout the year.  Operationally, patrons have seen little change in the libraries while librarians are working on an extensive list of outreach and on-line projects.
The winners of the Caldecott and Newbery Awards for children’s books were announced at the American Library Association meeting in San Diego earlier in the month.   Erin Stead won the Caldecott Award for the picture book “A Sick Day for Amos McGee”  and the Newbery Award went to “Moon over Manifest” by Clare Vanderpool, a book that was not on the list of candidates for King County kids to choose when voting for the “You Pick the Next Newbery Award.”  “Turtle in Paradise” by Jennifer Holm, “Woods Runner” by Gary Paulsen and “One Crazy Summer” were the top choices of KCLS’ young voters.  While total votes cast were lower than last year, blog comments about the various books pointed to these younger patrons’ heavy use of social media networks.
Despite some tough winter weather, staff continued to make visits to home daycares throughout King County.  At last count, KCLS visited 85 childcare sites serving about 750 kids.  Staff reports that few, if any of the children would have gotten to go to a library prior to Library2Go.  There are another 420 licensed daycares in KCLS’ service area and library staff is encouraged to expand service so that the vehicles will be fully utilized at each branch location.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The North Highline Library Service Area Analysis is on this month’s agenda for the full Board to review key trends and conclusions.  Final recommendations will not be made until the public and other stakeholders and interested parties have an opportunity to comment through a series of community surveys and focus groups. 
KCLS has been working with the City of Renton administrative staff to develop an inter-local agreement which formalizes KCLS’ relationship with the City for the development of the Downtown and Renton Highlands Libraries.  The inter-local agreement will identify which party is responsible for site acquisition and construction costs and which party has responsibility for design and construction management.  A final draft is being reviewed by attorneys and KCLS would like to issue the Request for Qualifications for both projects next month.  City officials are prepared to issue a press release on the location of the library sites once the details of the inter-local agreement are finalized which is anticipated in the next few weeks.
The City of Enumclaw should have all paperwork submitted to the King County Council by January 27 in order to get the annexation issue on the April ballot.  KCLS has prepared a draft information piece for the election and the City’s legal counsel is finalizing the inter-local agreement that will go into effect if the annexation passes. 
KCLS will be working with the Tukwila City Council on the siting and site acquisition for the new library in Tukwila Village.  As reported to the Board of Trustees last year, the City of Tukwila acquired a number of parcels along International Boulevard (Highway 99) on both sides of 144th Street.  With assistance from Perkins+Will architects, KCLS has developed a few alternatives that meet the City’s criteria.  If the City Council agrees to the site alternatives and a mutually agreeable price can be determined, KCLS will be ready to proceed with library design.

·       KCLS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN PROJECTS

View all at http://www.kcls.org/bond/ or sign up here to receive automatic updates on the KCLS Capital Improvement Projects!

 Opening day for the expanded Newport Way Library is set for Saturday, April 30, 9:30am.  
  Upcoming Dates
The next Planning Committee Meeting takes place on Thursday, February 10, 12 noon at Burien Library.
The next Finance Committee Meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 22, 4pm at Service Center.
The next KCLS Board of Trustees Meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 22, 5pm at Service Center.