Tuesday, October 11, 2011

October Insights

 





Community Liaison Contact: Carol Van Baalen

LOCAL NEWS

Friends Day Reminder – Saturday, October 22!

Don’t forget to put it on your calendar.  If you need transportation to the Service Center in Issaquah, please call me at the Woodmont Library (253-839-0121).  More details about the program are given below in this newsletter.  Hope to see many of you there!

Friends Lifetime Achievement Award for Ed Heineman

Several Friends Awards are given out each year on Friends Day.  This year one of the recipients is Ed Heineman, long time member of the Kent Friends, who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Ed has been a valuable member of the Kent Friends for 25 years.  He is a tireless worker at the annual book sale and for the past 15 years, has been in charge of the setup and takedown.  At the age of 85, he now recruits younger family members, his sons and grandsons, to help.  According to Rose Ann King, chair of the book sale, the problem with Ed is getting him to slow down.  He is the one who is always called when there is a problem or help is needed.

Ed will be presented with his award at the Kent Friends meeting on Thursday, October 13, by Jeanne Thorsen, director of the KCLS Foundation.  Congratulations, Ed!

Laptop Winner from Kent Library

The Kent Library celebrated with Anna Voloshina, age 10, as she accepted the very cool notebook computer that she won in the drawing at the end of the Summer Reading Program this year. She and her family, along with a few friends and her school librarian from Soos Creek Elementary, joined staff for the celebration which took place in the small meeting room Saturday, September 17 at 11am.  This is the first time that a student from the Kent Library has won the laptop.

KCLS Board Retreat

Library Advisory Board members and Friends are invited to attend the annual KCLS Board Retreat, which will be held on Friday, October 14, from 1-5pm at the Service Center in Issaquah.  The topic for this year’s retreat is Intellectual Freedom and the role of public libraries in a democracy.

If you have any questions, please contact Maria Hatcher at 425.369.3233 or mshatcher@kcls.org

SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUGUST



The InfoToGo topic for October is Study Zone Online. This service allows students in grades K-12 to join an online Study Zone session for help in math, science, English and social studies. It is now possible to access online tutors from library computers or from home.


FROM THE DIRECTOR’S REPORT(To view the complete September report, please look here.)

OPERATIONS

The Literacy Garden at the Mercer Island Library was unveiled this month. The Garden surrounds two sides of the Library and has spaces for story times and impromptu programs.The Pomegranate Center awarded a grant funded by Tully’s Coffee to create nature spaces throughout the community for people to gather and explore. Officials from Tully’s and thePomegranate Center recognized Library staff and community volunteers who worked on theproject.

KCLS and Seattle Public Library were the first two Library Systems to launch the Amazon Kindle Library Lending platform. Patrons report that downloading content works fairly well. Amazon is poised to launch a new version of theKindle later this year. It is bound to be a huge seller and increase the demand for library eBooks.

Last month, eBook and audiobook downloads increased 132%. Nearly 400,000 titles have been downloaded so far this year, increasing circulation in these categories by 126%. At the same time overall circulation continues to slow. Circulation declined 7% last month and 5% for the year. Holds placed were down by 12%, representing about a third of the 7% System‐wide decline in August. Circulation at the new KenmoreLibrary is still booming. Usage is 122% higher than last year. The Renton Highlands Library also stands out with a 35% increase in circulation over the prior year.

Karen Forys, Superintendent of the Northshore School District and 1999 Superintendent of the Year passed away in 2007 while still serving in the position. Her husband Ed was an avid library patron and the couple lived in Woodinville for 37 years. After Ed passed away, his family decided to fund a small renovation project at the Woodinville Library in the couple’s honor. The meeting room will be opened up into the Children’s area, which will greatly enhance the general reading and seating areas in the Library and make the meeting room a more integral part of the Library.

Last month, Information Technology Services (ITS) performed an Evergreen database upgrade. This month, ITS will install a new version of the software on Sunday, September 25. The new software will include many of the feature developments that staff has been working on the last few months.

The Technology Summit discussions that were held earlier this year are continuing with staff throughout the System. Technology Forums are being conducted in every Cluster and at the Service Center to brainstorm ideas for new technology programs and services to implement. Staff in each cluster will spend a morning talking about the five themes that emerged from the initial session, including using existing patron technology, leveraging the library catalog, supporting and building local communities, making KCLS services more accessible, and extending and repurposing existing programs and services for the digital age.


OTHER
This year, a record 76 KCLS staff members used a vacation day to participate in United Way King County’s Day of Caring on Friday, September 16. Two projects benefited from the energy and talents of this group: the Jubilee Reach Center in Bellevue, which provides services and after‐school programs for children, and Serenity Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation (SERR) in Maple Valley, which is dedicated to the rescue and recovery of horses.

Twenty‐nine volunteers helped out with painting and yard clean‐up at Jubilee REACH. By day’s end, the facility was sparkling and the grounds and gardens looked remarkably improved! The remaining 47 volunteers spent the day at SERR helping to fix fences, pressure wash stalls, groom and photograph horses, remove weeds and clear rocks. Day of Caring is the annual kick‐off event for United Way’s Workplace Giving campaign and KCLS is proud to once again sponsor a LoanedExecutive for this year’s campaign. John Tun, a librarian from the Bellevue Library will work with companies and organizations on their Giving Campaigns through December.


KCLS is one of several partners to revitalize Northwest Bookfest. This two day event will be held October 1‐2 at the Peter Kirk Community Center adjacent to the Kirkland Library. KCLS and the KCLS Foundation are sponsoring several programs and author visits. Northwest Bookfest was held for several years in Seattle. Lagging attendance and lack of financial support caused the event to go dormant until it was resurrected by several writers and publisher groups along with the City of Kirkland and 4Culture, King County’s culture services agency.


Friends of the King County Libraries will descend upon the KCLS Service Center on Saturday, October 22 for the annual Friends’ Day event and celebration. This year’s theme centers around the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair and activities and presentations will be organized in various pavilions. The main program will include a presentation by Book‐It Repertory Theatre about the Fair which gave us, among other things, the Space Needle and Seattle Center.



The Foundation is pleased to announce that bestselling author Lee Child will be the keynote speaker at the Literary Lions Gala on March 10, 2012. Child, a former television director in Britain, is the author of the popular Jack Reacher series. His new book, The Affair, will be available this week. As mentioned above, Friends Day is Saturday, October 22 and the Foundation will present its annual Friends of the Library awards. Six Friends will be honored this year, including:

 Leslie Stevenson‐Johnson, Friend of the Year, Burien Library Guild
 Ed Heineman, Lifetime Achievement Award, Friends of the Kent Library
 Noreen Johnson, Hall of Fame, Friends of the Covington Library
 Donna Jean McGee, Hall of Fame, White Center Library Guild
 Bob and Kris Nelson, Hall of Fame, Friends of the Covington Library
 Susan Nyman, Hall of Fame, Friends of the Vashon Library

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

The City of Enumclaw recently inquired whether KCLS is still open to Enumclaw annexing to KCLS. If the City Council decides to move forward, an election is envisioned for April 2012. If voters approve annexation, KCLS would take over library operations in May and the remainder of the City’s Library budget would be allocated to KCLS. The City’s current budget situation is very severe with only enough funds to keep the Library open two or three days a week.

The City of Bellevue is pursuing annexation of a pocket of unincorporated King County that is in the Eastgate area, which includes the area where the Newport Way Library is located. Annexation could lead to better infrastructure, including sidewalks along Newport Way that lead to the Library. The City requires that 50% of affected property owners sign the petition. To date, the City estimates that 30‐35% of the required number of signatures has been gathered.

More than 130 people attended the public meeting to kick‐off the new downtown Renton Library project. While there were a number of people who expressed concern with the new location for the Library, the meeting primarily focused on the design for the new facility. The architects received good input and City staff seemed to think the meeting went well.

Last month it was reported that the City of Federal Way is considering the appointment of a Library Advisory Board. Some of KCLS’ existing Advisory Boards are feeling the pinch of reduced City support. For instance, the City of SeaTac was investigating whether it could continue to support their Library Advisory Board but Board members at this month’s meeting indicated a strong interest in continuing. KCLS committed to provide administrative support as it currently does in several jurisdictions. Armed with that information, the City Clerk planned to talk with City Council members who raised the issue. KCLS expects to hear
a status report in the near future.

The Tukwila Library project is still on hold until the City sets forth its terms and conditions for the sale of the property for the new Library. As previously mentioned, the developer accepts KCLS’ general plan for the property. The architect was selected last year and the Council reviewed KCLS’ preliminary plan earlier this year and it was hoped that the project would be well into the design phase by now with construction beginning next year. A meeting with the Mayor and a Library Advisory Board member is scheduled for October 3. KCLS hopes that the Mayor can help get the project back on track.

The Burien City Council continues to discuss annexation of the remaining unincorporated area of North Highline. However, the Council has not yet set a date to make a decision whether to move forward or not.

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, October 13, 12 noon at the Burien Library.

The next Finance Committee Meeting takes place on Tuesday, October 25, 4pm at the Renton Library.

The next KCLS Board of Trustees Meeting takes place on Tuesday, October 25, 5pm at the Renton Library.