March 2012

Community Liaison Contact: Carol Van Baalen

LOCAL NEWS

Librarians Out in the Community:

Children’s librarians Laurin Linscott and Deborah Sandler, with help from Kent page Suad Mohamed, hosted a table with information and handouts at the Showare Center in Kent on Saturday, March 3.  The event was Kids Fest:  “You are Remarkable” Children’s Celebration sponsored by Valley Medical Center and the University of Washington.  Laurin and Deborah estimate that they talked to 700 people that day about libraries and literacy!

Deborah also attended a Family Literacy Night at Valhalla Elementary School on March 8.

Des Moines children’s librarian Bekka Martin attended a Reading Night at Sunnycrest Elementary on March 8 also.

Volunteers Needed:

The Woodmont Library is currently in need of volunteers for the Study Zone program.  Study Zone is a free after-school program for students in grades K-12 to study, do homework, and get help with their questions from trained volunteers.

Kent Library is looking for a facilitator for the Talk Time program.  Talk Time is a free, informal English conversation session, held at Kent on Tuesdays from 5-6:30pm.

To find out how you can volunteer, go to the Volunteer page on the KCLS website:  http://www.kcls.org/volunteer/  

March Program Highlights:

Fiddle Tunes of the Civil War, Sunday, March 18, 2pm at the Des Moines Library

Imagine That!  Creative Reuse in the Yard & Garden, Saturday, March 24, 11am at the Kent Library, presented by Tom Watson, EcoConsumer columnist for the Seattle Times.

Pioneer Quilts & the Oregon Trail, Saturday, March 31, 2pm at the Kent Library.

For a complete list of March programs at your branch, click here:  http://www.kcls.org/programs/library_programs.cfm   
or open the attachments to this newsletter.

Meetings:

The Des Moines-Woodmont Library Advisory Board met on Thursday, March 8, at the Woodmont Library.  The main activity for the meeting was a “Meet the Staff” activity; it was an opportunity for board members to attach names and faces and get to know the day-to-day operation and organization of the Woodmont branch.  At their next meeting, on May 3, they will meet the staff of the Des Moines branch.

Friends of the Library will meet in April at their respective libraries:

Des Moines Friends:  Wednesday, April 8, 7pm
Kent Friends:           Thursday, April 9, 12 noon
Woodmont Friends:  Thursday, April 9, 6:30pm

The InfoToGo topic for March is the Universal Class database. With Universal Class, take free online continuing education course on topics ranging from serious to fun. More than 500 non-credit courses are offered!


SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS

FROM THE FEBRUARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT

OPERATIONS

In 2012, KCLS will direct more of its programming budget toward civic engagement and has been discussing ways to pilot civic engagement at the local level while considering how to move forward with civic engagement initiatives on a System-wide basis. Recently, the City of Kirkland purchased a portion of the BNSF railway corridor that runs through the City and now needs to determine how to use the space. The City has asked for assistance from the Kirkland Library to help raise community awareness of the issue, engage residents in the conversation and capture input for the City to consider in their decision-making. Library staff will lead the initiative, which will include introducing the subject at a kick-off event at the Kirkland Library, distributing information in strategic locations throughout the community, including PR stories in local newspapers and on local media and creating an online forum to capture information directly from target audiences. KCLS is exploring using a web application called DialogueApp that allows registered users to submit comments online, rate other people’s comments and capture statistics related to the topic. A System-wide civic engagement project will be unveiled later this year that will have a universal theme that is more appropriate for a broader audience.

In spite of inclement weather, the first program in a five-part series commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War drew 47 participants to the Mercer Island Library. The second program had a similar attendance and was videotaped for online access. The series is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association and will run through May. Each discussion was led by Dr. Lorraine McConaghy, Public Historian from the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). Despite the fact that the Civil War was fought in the East and occurred before Washington was ratified as a State, many important participants in the War had connections to our State.

Take Time to READ begins a second year when the three-month reading campaign launches in July. Book cover posters will grace 240 sites this year, twice as many as last year and Quick Reads Shelves will be installed in 29 locations, including Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Sea-Tac is one of the busiest locations in the region and Take Time to READ will have prominent exposure, including outdoor media on the pedestrian skybridge and backlit display signs within Concourse B. Pagliacci Pizza has also agreed to sticker their pizza boxes across the region with Take Time to READ promotional materials. Other activities will be announced as plans take shape over the upcoming months.

Circulation for the month of January was down 1%. Even though KCLS experienced library service disruptions during several snow days, circulation was positively affected by eBook downloads, which increased 157% for the month compared to the prior year. On a single day, January 18, KCLS patrons downloaded 3,276 eBooks, more than half of which were downloaded to Kindles. Holds increased 4% in January, a further sign that patrons are getting more familiar with the KCLS catalog.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

A special meeting of the KCLS Board of Trustees on February 23 will allow the Board to decide whether to concur with a request by the City of Enumclaw to put annexation on the April ballot before the matter is considered by the King County Council at their February 27 meeting. The Board of Trustees must concur with the City of Enumclaw before annexation can be advanced. The City of Enumclaw is providing minimal funding for their library operations this year. The City initially proposed an agreement that included retaining ownership of the Library building if annexation is approved by the voters. KCLS suggested that it could provide better facilities maintenance if it owned the building while agreeing to relinquish the building to the City if, at any point, KCLS no longer provides library service to the City. The City agreed with the proposed changes to the agreement and the Council voted in favor of putting annexation on the ballot by a vote of 5-2.

KCLS met with members of the King County Council and the new Mayor of Burien, Brian Bennett, to discuss the North Highline library situation. KCLS staff had a follow up meeting with Mayor Bennett at the KCLS Service Center to review the North Highline Library Service Area Analysis and discuss other possible alternatives for library service in the area.  The City of Burien has indicated that they are proceeding with annexation of the North Highline unincorporated area and the vote could be as early as November 2012. However, the City’s plans may be put on hold if the sales tax incentive is not available. Concurrently, the “ad hoc library group” led by the Burien City Manager concluded their meetings at the end of January. The City Manager will make a recommendation to the City Council in the next few weeks. While the group concluded that KCLS should build a new White Center Library on or near the current site, it did not arrive at a solution to the boundary issue that has stopped KCLS from moving ahead. If for some reason annexation is not imminent, the City may want to reconvene another group to examine the issue. KCLS assured the Mayor and City Manager of its willingness to participate in such a meeting if it was to occur.

A petition signed by more than 6,800 residents was delivered to the City of Renton requesting that the City Council’s decision to relocate the downtown library be put to a vote. Signatures are being verified by the King County Elections office and if the petition has the requisite number of valid signatures, the City Council will have to determine whether to put the issue on the ballot. If the petition is not certified, backers will have more time to gather additional signatures. However, the matter could come before the City Council as early as mid-March. The City has already issued construction bonds, purchased property and signed an inter-local agreement allowing KCLS to begin design work. Potentially amending that agreement mid-stream, and KCLS’ response to that, would have to be taken into account during their deliberations. In the meantime, KCLS’ consultant team is scheduled to present initial design plans to the KCLS Board of Trustees at the February meeting.

House Bill 2602, which calls for a study of whether to consolidate junior taxing districts into larger units of government, has cleared the House and is now being reviewed by the Senate’s Local Government Committee. The House included $50,000 in the budget to fund the study and modified the timeline for completion by the end of this year.
The annual audit of the Sno-Isle Libraries is still not finished. The State Auditor has taken issue with specific expenditures of the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation and one audit draft called into question whether certain library programs, such as Game On for teens, is a valid purpose of the library. The library community may ultimately pursue the issues with the State Auditor and Attorney General once Sno-Isle’s audit is complete.

The King County Executive has appointed Robin McClelland to the KCLS Board of Trustees to replace Judge Richard Eadie, whose final term ended in December. Ms. McClelland is a certified urban planner and has several years of experience with city and regional planning efforts. She is a resident of the Shoreline area and has been a Study Zone volunteer at the Richmond Beach Library since 2009. Her appointment is effective upon confirmation by the King County Council.

OTHER

The Federal Way Library hosted a celebration on February 11 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Library’s official dedication date (the Library opened to the public in December 1991). In 1992, KCLS Board President Bill Gates and State Senator Pete von Reichbauer were distinguished guests and local news stations covered a demonstration by protesters who picketed the ceremony to object to the Library’s placement of Playboy magazine on library shelves. Twenty years later, Pete Von Reichbauer, now a King County Council member, presented the Federal Way Library Staff with a resolution from the Council thanking them for their support of a program for youth leaders to meet and talk about the growing problem of gang violence in the area. Bill Gates reiterated some of the speech that he gave at the original dedication ceremony. In 1992, his wife, Mary was on the Federal Way City Council and current Federal Way Mayor Skip Priest served on the Federal Way School Board.

The Bellevue Library was recognized for 35 years of membership in the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce at the group’s monthly luncheon in February.











The upcoming Literary Lions Gala “A Grand Affair” will feature best-selling author Lee Child, along with emcee Nancy Pearl and 30 talented Northwest authors. The event will be held at the Bellevue Hyatt, Saturday, March 10. The annual event is a real highlight for book lovers. New this year and available only at the Gala, tickets will be sold for ten Author Salon events, offering guests a rare opportunity to spend an evening with renowned authors. Imagine dinner with Sherman Alexie at The Ruins, a Mariners game with Art Thiel, a garden event with Valerie Easton, a wine tasting with Paul Gregutt or an evening with Tom Douglas.

Ticket prices are fixed and seating is limited at each event. More information about the Literary Lions Gala can be found at www.kclsfoundation.org/literarylions. Proceeds benefit literacy and lifelong learning programs sponsored by the KCLS Foundation.

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!

Upcoming Dates

There will not be a Planning Committee Meeting in March.

The next Finance Committee Meeting takes place on Tuesday, March 27, 4pm at the Sammamish Library.

The next KCLS Board of Trustees Meeting takes place on Tuesday, March 27, 4pm at the Sammamish Library.