February 2013

Friends & Partnership Contact: Carol Van Baalen

LOCAL NEWS

STAFF NEWS

Barbara Blue, children’s librarian and manager at the Des Moines Library, is retiring this month.  Children, parents, and staff will miss her smiling face at story times, school visits, and at the library desk where she has served for 30 years!  A retirement party for Barb will be planned later this year.

Woodmont Library has a new teen librarian, Val Kitiona.  Val comes to us from the Newport Way Library.  Bekka Martin, former children’s and teen librarian at Des Moines and Woodmont, has moved to the Renton Library.

FRIENDS MEETINGS IN FEBRUARY

Des Moines Friends             7pm at Des Moines Library

Kent Friends                     12 noon at Kent Library

Woodmont Friends             6:30pm at Woodmont Library

The Friends support the library with their book sales and other fundraisers.  New members are always welcome!

LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY

There’s still time to register for WLA’s annual Library Legislative Day in Olympia on Friday, February 15.
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.

Register online here: http://www.wla.org/library-legislative-day

Contact Jennifer Wiseman (425.369.3221 or jlwiseman@kcls.org)  to reserve your spot on a bus, rented by the KCLS Foundation, that will be transporting participants from KCLS’ Service Center (departing at 7:15am), as well as the Library Connection @ Southcenter (departing at 8:45am) to Olympia and back.


February Programs:  click on this link for a complete list of programs at your library http://www.kcls.org/programs/library_programs.cfm.

SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS

FROM THE JANUARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT

OPERATIONS

In February, KCLS will launch Zinio, an on-line service that provides digital access to more than 200 magazine titles. There is no limit to the number of simultaneous users who can access a subscription. After the service is up and running, KCLS will explore the possibility of providing tablets in the magazine areas of the libraries to provide access to this new resource.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Progress continues slowly on plans for the Renton libraries. Developing plans to remodel the existing Renton Library that spans the Cedar River, a protected salmon stream, is challenging. Architects have been working on a design for the library that can use as much of the current infrastructure as possible without any renovations below or on the riverbank which will make the permitting process much simpler.

The City of Renton and the developer of the new housing project where the new Renton Highlands Library will be located have yet to finalize a purchase and sale agreement. However, it has been determined that the new library project will be completely separate from the housing development project, and once the survey and lot lines are established KCLS and THA Architects can finish the design. 

OTHER

The King County Library System Foundation launched the New Year with great news of a $100,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation to the Tukwila Library Capital Campaign. The Foundation is seeking to raise $1 million to fund an additional 2,000 square feet of meeting space in the new Tukwila Library, bringing the total size of the library to 10,000 square feet. This grant brings the total to $231,000 raised to date for the project.

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 Tuesday, February 26, 4pm at the Service Center.

The next Finance Committee Meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 26, 4pm at the Service Center.

The next KCLS Board of Trustees Meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 26, 5pm at the Service Center.

 

January 2013

Community Liaison Contact: Carol Van Baalen

LOCAL NEWS

DES MOINES LIBRARY ADVISORY BOARD There is currently an opening on the Library Board, and the city of Des Moines is seeking applicants. The Library Board advises the City Council and the King County Library System on the planning, promotion, construction, and development of public library facilities and programs.  It also makes recommendations that they deem advisable for the development of future library resources.  Members, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council, serve without compensation for a 3-year term. Applications are available online on the City of Des Moines web site, or at the Des Moines and Woodmont Libraries. UPCOMING MEETINGS: The Library Advisory Board will meet Thursday, January 24, 7:00pm at the Des Moines Library. STAFF NEWS Woodmont has a new teen librarian!  Val Kitiona joined the staff on January 2nd.  A graduate of the University of Washington, she has worked at the Burien Library, at KCLS Answerline, and most recently as a teen librarian at the Newport Way Library.  Welcome, Val! PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS Friday, January 18 & 25, 3pm at Des Moines After School Movies. January 18 movie is for teens; January 25 movie is for kids.  Call the library to see what is playing. Tuesday, January 22, 4pm at Woodmont: Children & Teen Book Swap Bring your gently used books to the library for a book exchange.  You may take home a book for every book that you bring. Saturday, February 2, 2pm at Kent: Steampunk! A visual introduction to the literary genre and fashion wave that is taking the world by storm, presented by Art Historian Susan Olds. For a complete list of programs at your library, click here:

http://www.kcls.org/programs/library_programs.cfm

SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS

FROM THE DECEMBER DIRECTOR’S REPORT

OPERATIONS

KCLS has begun piloting the sale and circulation of reusable book bags at libraries in the Kent and Bellevue clusters and patron response has been positive.

 

KCLS will participate in a community-wide count of homeless teens on January 24, 2013. The King County Housing Authority, which is the lead agency, conducts a count of homeless people every January but the count has never identified how many teens are included.

 

Two new KCLS Mobile Learning Labs are scheduled for delivery in December. The other two vehicles should arrive by early January. The vehicles will house technology and collections that target students, English language learners and adult audiences. Service is scheduled to start in March 2013.

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

There was a very good turnout for the Enumclaw Library open house on Saturday, December 1.  Mayor Liz Reynolds, City Council members and all five Library Advisory Board members were on hand for the celebration and the Library was filled with local patrons who seemed pleased with the recent interior refurbishment. Based on renewed interest in the Library, the Mayor and others talked about the idea of developing a community center or senior housing facility in proximity to the Library.

 

KCLS received word that Robert Spitzer’s reappointment to the KCLS Board of Trustees is expected to be signed off by the King County Executive on December 11. The appointment is effective 30 days later which will allow the Board to start the year with all seats filled.

 

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 Finance Committee Meeting takes place on Tuesday, January 29, 4pm at the Service Center.

The next KCLS Board of Trustees Meeting takes place on Tuesday, January 29, 5pm at the Service Center.