LOCAL NEWS
Upcoming Meetings:
All three of our Friends groups meet this week at their respective libraries. Agendas include financial reports for the 2011 year, approval of the 2012 budget, and election of officers, as well as other topics for discussion.
Des Moines Friends: Wednesday, February 8, 7pm
Kent Friends: Thursday, February 9, 12 noon
Woodmont Friends: Thursday, February 9, 6:30pm
Our Friends & Board Online:
Check out our Des Moines – Woodmont Library Advisory Board & Friends page on Facebook if you haven’t already done so. And be sure to “like” it while you’re there!
Here is a sampling of programs and activities happening at our libraries this month:
Tax Assistance
Free tax help provided by trained AARP volunteers, by appointment; begins February 1st and continues until April 15.
Des Moines Library: Wednesday evening and Thursday afternoon
Kent Library: Wednesday evening and all day Saturday
Woodmont Library: Wednesday afternoon and Saturday afternoon
Finding the Right College for You (teens)
Thursday, February 9, 3pm at Kent Library; sponsored by the Friends of the Kent Library.
Fancy Nancy Valentine Party (ages 3 and up)
Monday, February 13, 3:45pm, at Des Moines Library
Saturday, February 18, 2pm at Kent Library
Ancestry.com Workshop on genealogy
Saturday, February 18, 2pm at Des Moines Library
Beyond Ancestry.com
Saturday, February 25, 2pm at Des Moines Library
For a complete list of library programs listed by your library, click here: http://www.kcls.org/programs/library_programs.cfm
Or open the attachments with this newsletter.
The InfoToGo topic for February is Social Media. Stay up-to-date with what’s happening at the library by connecting to KCLS on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube. Let us know what you think by joining the conversation!
SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS
FROM THE JANUARY DIRECTOR’S REPORT
To view the complete January report, please look here.
OPERATIONS
Pending the opening of the Newcastle Library and the re-opening of the expanded Auburn Library, there is an opportunity to transition the respective clusters to KCLS’ new services staffing model. Since both Libraries are due to open mid-year, staff selection and training will begin in January. The two clusters will join the Bothell and Federal Way clusters that piloted the new staffing model in 2011 and the Covington cluster, which has been experimenting this year to find as much time as possible for librarians to be off desk duty so that they can more fully engage in outreach, online or development of new library services. Organizational Research Services will present the results of its full-year evaluation of the pilot model to the Board in February.
The telephone notification feature in Evergreen went live in January. It is an important service to patrons who don’t have computers and will result in substantial savings in the postage budget in lieu of holds and overdue notices sent by mail.
After implementing new volunteer management software last year, KCLS tracked more than 700 individuals who volunteered more than 4,700 hours to support KCLS programs and services in 2011.
Circulation in the month of December increased 3% compared to the prior year. Year-to-date circulation was 21.8 million items, which was 3% lower than KCLS’ record setting mark in 2010 but the second highest circulation in the history of the Library System. The number of holds placed in December increased 13% over December 2010. Circulation of eBooks continues to be notable. KCLS patrons downloaded 95,000 titles in December, leading all other U.S. public libraries in eBook circulation as reported by OverDrive. In addition, Kindle downloads accounted for 45% of December eBook circulation and grew to over 50% in the days after Christmas on the heels of the release of the new Kindle Fire.
OTHER
KCLS was one of 65 public libraries nationwide to receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association to present the series entitled “Let's Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War” in commemoration of the Civil War sesquicentennial. Registration for the book discussion series is already full at 60 participants. Related programs on Civil War topics will take place at other KCLS Libraries through May, including Civil War Quilts, the Civil War in Washington Territory, Fiddle Tunes of the Civil War and “From Birth of a Nation to Ken Burns: The Civil War in Cinema.” More information can be found at http://www.kcls.org/events/index.cfm#civilwar2.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
The City of Shoreline, Shoreline Library Advisory Board, Friends of Shoreline Library and Friends of Richmond Beach Library recognized Judge Richard Eadie for serving 10 years on the KCLS Board of Trustees. More than 40 people attended the reception, including KCLS staff and King County Council member Bob Ferguson. Judge Eadie, who remains active in the Shoreline community, was presented with a letter of appreciation from the Mayor of Shoreline.
KCLS has held two public meetings since December on the new Renton and Renton Highlands Libraries. At the second public meeting for the Renton Library, Miller-Hull Architects presented more detailed plans and the reaction from both the Renton City Council and the public was generally favorable. Miller-Hull will continue to refine the plans so that the permitting process can begin later this year. The first public meeting for the Renton Highlands Library was held at the Highlands Neighborhood Center in early January but did not attract as many patrons as expected so KCLS will hold its next meeting at the Renton Highlands Library. The developer hired by the City of Renton presented plans for building the Library’s underground parking garage. KCLS’ architects spent more time describing the site and very general design concepts. At both meetings, a petition was being circulated by a small group of citizens who want voters to overturn the Renton City Council’s decisions about the choice of sites and financing for the two Libraries. The City Council has already approved a bond issue to finance the projects.
KCLS had a great meeting with the Tukwila City Council about the new Tukwila Library. City staff presented the entire Tukwila Village project and clarified decision points for the City Council, including the sale of the property for the Library. Council members reiterated their support for the Library and even indicated a willingness to convey the property in the least costly fashion so that KCLS can maximize the new Library’s square footage. The current plan calls for an 8,000-square-foot building and KCLS informed the Council that the KCLS Foundation is interested in raising money for 2,000 additional square feet. The current climate for construction and land acquisition costs could make the possibility of a larger Library a reality.
Since KCLS reported last month about the State Auditor’s narrow interpretation of fundraising and expenditure practices of library foundations, Washington Libraries and especially the Sno-Isle Libraries has been working with the State Auditor and Attorney General’s offices to clarify some of the issues. In the long run, KCLS’ agreement with the KCLS Foundation may be an acceptable and desirable approach to alleviating the Auditor’s concerns. In general, the agreement spells out that, in consideration of KCLS’ support of the Foundation’s staff and infrastructure, the Foundation will provide the KCLS Board of Trustees an annual evaluation and review of its activities that support the Library System.
The Washington State Legislature is considering House Bill 2602 which “intends to establish a joint select committee on junior taxing districts to review junior taxing districts for the purpose of evaluating their provided services and making recommendations regarding their appropriateness for consolidation into an appropriate general purpose local government.” The Bill is sponsored by Representatives Eddy and Springer and Representative Takko, chair of the House Local Government Committee which will hear the Bill. Junior taxing districts include fire, library, hospital, park, cemetery and other smaller districts. The Bill calls for legislation to be drafted based on the committee’s findings.
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, February 9, Noon at the Lake Hills Library.
The next Finance Committee Meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 28, 4pm at the Service Center.
The next KCLS Board of Trustees Meeting takes place on Tuesday, February 28, 5pm at the Service Center.
