Community Liaison Contact:
Carol Van Baalen
LOCAL NEWS
Dream
Big: READ!
The
summer reading program is in full swing at all KCLS libraries.
Children’s librarians have been out in the schools promoting the program
with students during
recent weeks. Sign-up began on June 1, and the program continues until
August 31. Don’t forget to sign up your favorite child, grandchild, or
neighbor! For a complete list of June programs at your library, click
here
http://www.kcls.org/programs/
Libraries Out in the Community
The
Des Moines Friends are at the Farmers Market this summer, beginning on
June 9 and continuing on the second Saturday of every month throughout
the market season. The Des Moines Farmers Market is located at the
north end of the Des Moines marina, and hours
are from 10am-2pm. Staff from the Des Moines and Woodmont libraries
will join the Friends at their booth for some of those dates. The
Friends will be passing out information about their organization and the
library, and selling book bags and used books.
The
Woodmont Friends also plan to be at the Des Moines market this summer.
They will have a booth on July 7, with information about the Woodmont
Library and Friends.
Kent
staff, along with the staff of the Covington Library, will be
participating with an information booth and the Library2Go van at the
Kent International Festival on June 16. The festival will be at the
Kent Town Square Plaza from 10am-6pm.
Let’s Read!
Children’s
librarians from Kent, Des Moines and Woodmont will be participating in
the Let’s Read program this summer. KCLS is partnering with the
Community
Center for Education Results, the city of Kent, and several other south
King County communities. Let’s Read is focused on helping children
meet the goal of reading at grade level by 3rd grade. Our
children’s librarians will bring library services,
including story times, library cards, and summer reading program, to
Kent and Des Moines Parks playground sites and several elementary
schools.
Upcoming Meetings:
Friends of the Des Moines Library
Wednesday, June 13, 7pm
Friends of the Kent Library
Thursday, June 14, 12 noon
Friends of the Woodmont Library
Thursday, June 14, 7pm
The
InfoToGo
topic for June
is Paying Library Fines Online. You may need to step foot inside
a library to pick up your materials, but not to pay a fine. It’s now easier than ever to pay library fines online.
SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS
OPERATIONS
Director of Public Services Holly Koelling and staff met with members of a group called
“KCLS Parents for Porn-Free Computers.” The group’s
representative addressed the Board of Trustees a few months ago
regarding concerns over Internet access at KCLS libraries, including
what appears to them to be the inconsistent manner in which staff
resolves inadvertent viewing conflicts, availability of privacy screens
and civility of patrons’ interaction with staff. The group offered
thoughtful insights and shared meaningful concerns and staff was able to
address many of their issues. Other topics,
including the use of imbedded monitors, guidelines for calling police
and additional signage regarding parental responsibilities warrant
further discussion. Staff will follow up at a later date.
KCLS
honored its outstanding volunteers at several events during National Volunteer Week.
More than 100 volunteers from around the System were recognized at
Volunteer Appreciation Day at the KCLS Service Center on April 28 for helping with Netmaster, Study Zone, Citizenship, Talk Time and Outreach programs.
During
a question and answer session, many expressed interest in a
letter-writing campaign to encourage publishers to sell eBooks to
libraries. KCLS is providing publishers’ contact
information and suggested that letter-writers send copies to Washington
State legislators. In Federal Way, the Korean American Parents
Association was honored for volunteering over 2,000 hours as Study Zone
tutors. Volunteer recognition events were also held
at the Lake Forest Park, Newport Way and Fairwood Libraries. KCLS
extends sincere thanks to the more than 900 people who volunteer
throughout the System each month.
System-wide
circulation for the month of April was almost exactly the same as
the prior year even though Bellevue Library’s circulation is down 25%
during construction of the new parking garage. On the other hand, eBook
circulation increased 127%. In related news,
New York Public Library prevailed over KCLS in the second annual “Great
Sort-Off” competition held on May 16. NYPL reported 12,258 sorts in a
one-hour period compared to 11,308 sorts during KCLS’ highest hour. The
trophy will be shipped to New York along with
a gift of smoked salmon from the staff at Preston. Despite the loss,
KCLS is proud of Shipping Manager Tony Miranda and the entire Materials
Distribution Services staff, who were rewarded with Top Pot donuts at
the end of their arduous day.
Web Services
is in the process of
updating the KCLS website and has contracted with several virtual users
to conduct usability testing on a number of new features that will be
included in the upgrade. In a side-by-side comparison, most participants
preferred the new website design over the
current site. While there were no issues that prevented users from
successfully searching for information, some tweaks were suggested to
improve certain aspects of the revision.
The second year of
Take Time to READ launches in July and runs through September.
Quick Reads Shelves, rocking chairs and walking tour posters will be
placed throughout King County, including Seattle-Tacoma International
Airport. Over 10,000 books and magazines have been
donated for Quick Reads Shelves and staff from nearby libraries,
officially known as “brand ambassadors”, will be responsible for
restocking them.
KCLS
kicked off a week-long celebration of El día de los niños/El día de los libros
from April 28 to May 4. The Day of Children/Day of Books is a
traditional celebration in the Hispanic community. KCLS hosted a variety
of Dia! programs at almost all branches throughout the System and
participated in an event at the Southcenter Mall
that attracted over
500 people and the praise of Tukwila Mayor Haggerton. A similar event at Crossroads Mall drew another great crowd and several
officials, including Bellevue Mayor Conrad Lee.
Lorig Associates has accepted a Right of First Offer for the remaining property behind the
Newcastle Library. KCLS provided an appraisal and offer
price on the property and a draft term sheet from Lorig is expected
before the end of the month.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The City of Renton approved
a ballot measure to allow citizens to vote on the location of the downtown
Renton Library.
KCLS will conduct an independent cost and feasibility analysis
for
renovating the current building located over the Cedar River. Cost
estimates to construct a new library on the former Big 5 site will be
completed by Miller-Hull Architects by
the end of May, but are already showing signs of surpassing the budget
which calls into question how much it will cost to renovate a larger
building over a river. KCLS has typically encountered higher costs per
square foot for renovation than for new construction.
A public meeting on May 3 for the new
Renton Highlands Library was well-attended and the design plans
presented at last month’s meeting to the Board of Trustees received
favorable reviews. An issue remains whether the Renton Housing
Authority’s developer will provide the underground parking
for the apartment units and the Library. For a variety of reasons, the
developer now proposes to bifurcate the project and provide only a
shared driveway to the under-building parking. KCLS is considering this
latest proposal. While allowing library construction
to happen faster, KCLS would incur all of the infrastructure costs.
This would add to the total project costs for the City of Renton.
City of Enumclaw voters passed a measure to annex to the King County Library System by a total of 44 votes. KCLS will officially
take over operation of the Enumclaw Library on June 1. As with
the Renton Libraries two years ago, the transition will take place
gradually over the next few months and will consist of building and
services upgrades, including technology, collections,
furniture, staffing and hours of operation. KCLS staff met with current
Enumclaw Library staff shortly after the election was certified to
discuss transition plans.
The KCLS Foundation is applying for a grant from the Allen Foundation to secure additional funds for the
Tukwila Library project. KCLS has been working with City of
Tukwila officials to resolve outstanding issues over the purchase price
of the land where the Library will be located. KCLS initially intended
to lease space and budgeted for tenant improvements
only. After the Tukwila Village development stalled, KCLS offered to
purchase a portion of the property and construct a stand-alone library.
In order for the project to move forward, KCLS requests that the City
agree to the budget targets that now include
property acquisition and shared infrastructure costs, or alternatively
lease the land to KCLS for a nominal fee and retain the property rights
if the Library ceases to operate or relocates. The Tukwila City Council
meets on May 21 and staff hopes to report
some news by the next Board meeting.
OTHER
Facilities Development Director
Kay Johnson will retire at the end of May after an illustrious
30-year career with the King County Library System. Prior to KCLS, Kay
worked in libraries in Wisconsin and as a regional administrator for the
Seattle Public Library. At KCLS, Kay served
as a Director of Public Services for Children’s, Teens and Outreach
Services. She moved to Facilities in 1989 and is likely responsible for
the construction of more public libraries than anyone since Andrew
Carnegie. A party in her honor will be held at the
KCLS Service Center on Wednesday, May 23 at 2pm.
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
The next Planning Committee Meeting takes place on
Thursday, June 7, 12pm at the Mercer Island Library.
