From Our Corner

Clippings, Dec. 10, 2008 – Part 1

Clippings, December 10, 2008, Part 1

“The Washougal Community Library is not expected to have its hours of operation reduced, following the recent approval of the 2009 Fort Vancouver Regional Library District operational budget…Washougal is not on the list of branches that will have their hours cut back. It has not been determined, however, how layoffs will be distributed around the district. “(Camas-Washougal Post Record, 11-25-08)

“The Jefferson County Rural Library… Read more

Clippings, Dec. 10, 2008 – Part 2

Clippings, December 10, 2008, Part 2

“A $5,000 donation by Bank of America brings Grandview’s joint city-community college library project more than halfway to its fundraising goal. The project will cost $4 million, with $2 million coming from state matching funds…Construction is set to start in July.” (Tri-City Herald [Kennewick], 11-29-08)

The residents of South Park in Seattle celebrate their neighborhood of mixed industry, artists, diverse cultures, and young families, are… Read more

OCLC picked to digitize historic Washington newspapers

The Washington State Library (WSL) recently awarded Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) the contract to digitize 100,000 newspaper images from microfilm. The contract is part of WSL's National Digital Newspaper (NDNP) grant… Read more

Music, and Experiencing Life

Today's Diane Rehm guest [no, I do not plan to share this with you daily] was Daniel Barenboim, pianist and conductor, and author of the new book Music Quickens Time. I would not have deliberately turned to this book or this subject, but it reminded me of the experience of satisfaction that is one of the nicest parts of being a librarian, of introducing someone to a book and having it click for them. It appears that Barenboim is a very thoughtful man. One insight--music is special because… Read more

Reading is Good; Reading is in Trouble

On Diane Rehm's NPR show this morning, Emma Walton Hamilton, the author Raising Bookworms, was being interviewed. Seemed to have lots of good ideas and stats--which were a little hard to take notes on while I was driving. But here are some that stuck in mind--People who are readers have been shown to have many other socially redeemable features, such as being voters, funding Good Causes, going to plays and museums, etc. (Don't know if this would be cause, effect, or just a personality trait… Read more

San Juan Island Heritage Cataloged in WorldCat

San Juan Island Heritage has become the second Washington Rural Heritage collection to be cataloged at the item level in WorldCat. Washington Rural Heritage participants with published collections should expect to see their items similarly cataloged in the near future; the majority of these collections have been registered with OCLC and the crosswalk process from Dublin Core/… Read more

Grandview, WA – Celebrating 100 Years

Image From the desk of Evan Robb Who is this man standing in a field somewhere near Grandview, Washington? Will we learn even a small part of his story? Or will he remain unidentified indefinitely? A fascinating part of working on a… Read more

Clippings, Dec. 5, 2008

Clippings, December 5, 2008

“The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District Board of Trustees approved a 2009 operational budget of $17.9 million Nov. 10, that will require reduced library hours in several branches, layoffs, and other expense cutbacks.” (The Enterprise [White Salmon], 11-20-08)

“More than 8,000 people signed up for free Pierce County Library System cards in October during the second annual Card Drive.” (The Herald [Puyallup], 11-20-08)

The Pierce County… Read more

Clippings, Dec. 3, 2008

Clippings, December 3, 2008

“The Kitsap Regional Library System will change its hours next year to balance its 2009 budget. Beginning Jan. 2, the nine-branch regional library system will cut back five hours a week system-wide.” Some branches will be open fewer hours, some a few more. All branches will open at 1 p.m. on Thursdays. “Research shows that Thursday is the day with the fewest visitors.” (The Kitsap Sun [Bremerton], 11-20-08)

Elections:

… Read more

WSL Updates, Dec. 4, 2008

Volume 4: December 4, 2008 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE DEADLINE DEC. 6

2) FREE LIBRARY 2.0 ONLINE TRAINING EVENT

3) PBS AMERICAN EXPERIENCE PROVIDES LIBRARY OPPORTUNITIES

4) APPLICATIONS FOR THE BIG READ ARE DUE FEB 3

5) QWEST FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR PRE K-12 EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

6) WASHINGTON LIBRARY ASSOCIATION MEETS IN SPOKANE, APRIL 15-18, 2009

7) ACCESSIBILITY… Read more

Arts & Letters Daily

This site is so good that I do not know where to start. Want to read the London Times online ? Or the latest issue of New Yorker ? Book reviews from Village Voice ? George Will's column ? Lots of Weblogs ! NPR Hourly News ! Much Much More ! Find all of this at: http://www.aldaily.com

Letters About Literature Deadline Approaching

Attention Washington students! Have you entered this year's Letters About Literature contest yet? The deadline is fast approaching! All entries must be postmarked by this Saturday, December 6, 2008 in order to be considered. Entries for Letters About Literature 2008-2009 should be addressed to: Letters About Literature Competition Level (indicate level 1, 2, or 3) PO Box 609 Dallas, PA 18612 Participation Guidelines and… Read more

Clippings, Dec. 1, 2008

Clippings, December 1, 2008

In Walla Walla, “a dispute between the City Library and the County Rural Library District could be settled soon, ending a contract disagreement over more than $400,000 But the threat to cut hours, staff and books is far from over.” (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, 11-14-08)

An article mentions recent high losses of DVD’s at some Mid-Columbia branches and says that North Central Regional Library experienced a similar problem a few years ago, but moving… Read more

Clippings, Nov. 26, 2008

Clippings, November 26, 2008

The city of Ocean Shores is facing a budget deficit of $824,000 for next year. The mayor suggests that the only way to bring balance is for nine layoffs from several city departments, including one of the four staff positions at the library. Citizens defended certain departments from the need for cuts. The mayor said that raising certain fees might save as much as $192,000, which could save four positions, not including the one at the library. (The… Read more

Take Me Away

Who doesn’t enjoy a little escapist literature now and then? Serial stories in Washington’s territorial newspapers provided much-needed relief for early pioneers. Whether settlers craved romance, civilization, or wealth, it was all there for the reading. Image… Read more

WSL Updates, Nov. 26, 2008

Volume 4: November 26, 2008 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) NEW WSL BLOG AVAILABLE—ADVENTURES IN DIGITIZATION

2) FIRST TUESDAY ON DEC. 2 WILL FEATURE WTBBL

3) WEBJUNCTION FOCUSES ON “LIBRARIES IN TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES”

4) PRESERVATION BOOKSHELF—AN ONLINE UPDATE FOR ONE TITLE, PLUS…

5) ARCHIVED WEBINAR OF “YOUR LIBRARY’S ROLE: BULLS-EYE OR FRINGE?”

… Read more

Trust

The most difficult part of my job is being a supervisor to the library clerks. As all library clerks are inmates they bring a unique aspect of supervision that I was not aware of before, trust. For the most part when you work in a library on the streets you hire people based on their work experience, their history, a background check may be done, and as such you hire the best person for the job. This is not always true when it comes to hiring workers for the library.… Read more

Clippings, Nov. 21, 2008

Clippings, November 21, 2008

Background to the story of the Mid-Columbia Regional Library and its contract with Othello and Adams County Library District No. 1 and (higher) pricing for 2009. “Mid-Columbia Library cannot charge a different levy rate to an entity outside its legal boundaries less than the levy rate being charged to the contracted cities within their boundaries. In other words, the Othello Public Library either needs to pay the additional rate or look at… Read more

Library users

What makes a person a library user? Is it the love of books? Is it the love of information and knowledge? Is it love for the latest gossip? Is it the need to hear the latest music? Who can really say? But the truth of the matter is all library users have one thing in common, the willingness to walk in the door and maybe just maybe discover something great. Library users in prison are the same as those that walk into the libraries on the streets, they have the same concerns, the same needs… Read more

WSL Receives NEH Newspaper Digitization Grant

The Washington State Library (WSL) recently received a National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) grant. Washington's NDNP grant is managed by the… Read more