July 2013

LOCAL NEWS

Your Libraries Out in the Community

Let’s Read:  Children’s and Teen Librarians from the Kent, Des Moines and Woodmont Libraries are visiting 10 free lunch sites at schools, parks, and apartment complexes in our communities this summer.  The Let’s Read program, begun last summer, is a partnership with local school districts, parks departments, food banks and other organizations.  Its goal is to increase proficiency in 3^rd grade reading, the percent of families reading to their children daily, and kindergarten readiness.  The librarians bring stories, book talks, and Summer Reading program materials to each site that they visit.  Here are the sites that they are visiting this summer:

Des Moines Field House Park

Midway Park (Des Moines)

Parkside Elementary (Des Moines)

Appian Way/Cottonwood Apartments (Woodmont)

Club Palisades Apartments (Woodmont)

Chestnut Ridge Park (Kent)

Morrill Meadows Park (Kent)

Tot Lot 1 Park (Kent)

Mill Creek Middle School (Kent)

Farmers Market

Look for the Friends of the Des Moines Library at the Des Moines Farmers Market on Saturday, July 27, and more dates later in the summer.  The Woodmont Friends will take a turn on August 10.  The Friends will distribute information about the library and the Friends, and sell a few books besides.  The Farmers Market is located at the Des Moines Marina, from 10am-2pm throughout the summer.

Upcoming Dates

Des Moines Library Advisory Board:        Annual Presentation to the Des Moines City Council, Thursday, July 25, 7pm

Save the Date:  KCLS Friends Day              Saturday, October 26, 8:30am-1pm, at the Service Center in Issaquah

SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS

(from the June Director’s Report)

The new White Center Library will be located directly across the street from Mountain View Elementary School in the Highline School District. Public Services Director Denise Siers and I had an opportunity to meet with new Superintendent Susan Enfield who recently served as Interim Superintendent for Seattle Public Schools. She discussed her interest in early childhood development and invited KCLS to participate in the District’s ongoing meetings with day care providers in the area.

KCLS is close to finalizing an agreement with the City of Bothell to modify the entrance to the parking lot of the Bothell Library in order to accommodate several important community developments related to the City’s Downtown Revitalization Plan. The City is interested in day lighting Horse Creek, which runs next to the Bothell Library, and adding a pedestrian bridge to access the Library. As a result, the Library will lose some existing parking spaces and the City has agreed to swap some parking spaces in an adjacent lot. The Downtown Revitalization Plan calls for the realignment of the Bothell Highway (SR 522) along the Sammamish Slough and termination of Main Street at the Library.

There will be plenty of parking available at the long-awaited grand opening of the expanded Bellevue Library parking garage on Saturday, June 22. KCLS expects a large crowd and guests will enjoy a car show with more than 40 classic, muscle and exotic cars.

This fall, representatives from Public Health Seattle-King County (PHSKC) will provide one-on-one assistance in a number of KCLS libraries to people enrolling in qualified health insurance plans established under the Affordable Care Act. The Washington Health Benefit Exchange selected PHSKC as a lead assistance provider to ensure that all King County residents obtain health insurance. Open enrollment runs from October 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. 

System-wide circulation for the month of May increased one percent over the previous year and a 40% increase in eBook circulation compensated for an overall decline in other parts of the collection. Circulation in the Bellevue Cluster could remain unchanged when the Bellevue Library parking garage opens since renovation of Library Connection @ Crossroads is scheduled to begin immediately after the garage project is complete.

A new KCLS app, READometer is now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Patrons can use the free app to record reading time for up to 50 readers, including friends, students, book groups or study partners. The READometer will be featured in the Summer Reading Program and the app will also direct users to the nearest KCLS branch or Take Time to READ Quick Reads Shelf.

 

The KCLS Foundation is pleased to announce that it has raised nearly one third of its $1 million goal to create a Community Mosaic – a performance space, gathering place, community living room and learning hub – as part of the planned Tukwila Library.

The Library System has funding to build an 8,000 square foot library on the Tukwila Village site at the corner of Tukwila International Boulevard and South 244^th Street. The KCLS Foundation Board of Directors enthusiastically committed to seeking support to add 2,000 square feet for the Community Mosaic space. The new building will    replace the small, busy and crowded Foster Library.

Upcoming Dates

Planning Committee Meeting - Thursday, June 18, Noon – Mercer Island Library
Finance Committee Meeting - Tuesday, July 30, 4pm – KCLS Service Center
Board of Trustees Meeting - Tuesday, July 30, 5pm – KCLS Service Center