PNLA Quarterly, Vol. 63 No.2 Winter 1999
WASHINGTON
Linda Pierce, Washington Representative
News
Seattle voters overwhelmingly approved a $196.4 million bond measure to upgrade Seattle Public Library's 107-year-old library system with new facilities, technology and books. The "Libraries for All" plan, titled Proposition 1 on the ballot, won an unprecedented 72 percent of the vote. The bond required a minimum 60 percent "yes" vote for approval.Seattle Public Library has been given the largest single private gift ever given to a public library. On November 24, Bill and Melinda Gates announced the contribution of $20 million to the library system. The gift will supplement and enhance funding for Seattle Public Library's "Libraries for All" capital plan. The Gates' said they strongly support libraries because they are centers for learning that respond to any individual's right to know more.
The University of Washington Graduate School of Library and Information Science has hired Dr. Michael Eisenberg to be its new Director. Dr. Eisenberg moves to Seattle from Syracuse University where he has taught since 1977. His most pressing challenge will be to fill the eight vacant faculty positions and prepare for an accreditation visit in the spring of 1999.
Spokane County Library District's new Deer Park branch opened November 7. The 7,300 square foot structure replaces space half that size occupied in the City Hall basement since 1980. The Valley branch of the systems closed for three weeks for an interior renovation that included new carpet throughout the entire building, repainting, new vinyl wall coverings, and a new second floor service desk. The re-opening was September 14.
Mary Campbell, Managing Librarian at the Redmond branch of the King County Library System, is moving to Anacortes; and Louise Blain, formerly Managing Librarian at the Kingsgate branch of KCLS, will be the new Redmond Librarian. Colleen Brazil, formerly Young Adult Librarian at the Redmond Library, has accepted a promotion to Assistant Managing Librarian at the new Sammamish Librar, scheduled to open on December 15th. John Sheller is the new Managing Librarian there. Construction has also started on the new Redmond Regional Library designed by Bassetti Architects. A 30,000 square foot, state of the art public library, it is scheduled to open in the fall of 1999.
Sharon Newell, Branch Manager of the Port Orchard Branch of Kitsap Regional Library, will retire December 31, 1998. She has held the position for 11 years, a time period during which the branch has experienced a significant increase in circulation. On January 1, 1999, Linda Thompson will join the KRL as the new Port Orchard Branch Manager. Linda will be relocating from her current post as Branch Manger of the Chico Library, part of the Butte County Library System.
Yakima Valley Regional Library moved its Summitview Library into a new 7,000 square foot building located in the Chalet Mall and will dedicate it to Richard E. Ostrander, former Library Director.
The Washington ACRL chapter had it's fall meeting and joint conference with the Oregon ACRL chapter at Menucha Retreat Center outside of Portland October 22-23. Over 100 academic librarians met to discuss topics related to the theme "Librarians for the New Millennium". Washington ACRL is also sponsoring a series of ongoing seminars with CLAMS/LMDC the second will be this spring and is entitled "Exploring our uniqueness: the pedagogy of library instruction". For information on these programs check out the CLAMS web page at http://library.centralia.ctc.edu/home/Clams/default.html.
Washington Library Association (WLA)
The WLA Board continues to look at ways to expand membership and increase the visibility and viability of WLA. This year a new dues structure was passed to ensure that all operating costs are covered by membership dues and to give our supporting and institutional members more for their membership dollar. Now all institutional members may have a link to their home page from the WLA home page. Most of our institutional members have taken advantage of this opportunity. We are also working on how to recruit and service our supporting members. This is an ongoing dialogue and discussion with the library vendor community.This quarter also saw the establishment of a new WLA interest group. WLA interest groups allow WLA members with common interests to gather, discuss and present programs of interest to its members. The new interest group is Grassroots! This group was formed to organize WLA member support for library issues and to enable WLA members to work effectively with their elected officials. The first meeting of the group will be held in conjunction with Library Legislative Day in Olympia, February 23, 1999. For information on the new group, contact Tom Moak at 1-800-572-6251.
As always, conferences loom large in WLA discussion and planning. The 1998 conference in Wenatchee was a popular and financial success earning a profit of $8,468.01! The 1999 conference will be held in Pasco, WA. The featured speaker will be Sherman Alexie, author of Reservation Blues, Indian Killer and other works. The conference will be April 29-30 with Alexie speaking on the evening of April 29. There will be two pre-conferences on the 28th. They are "On the Frontline: Intellectual Freedom and Customer Service" with Candy Morgan, former ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair and Mike Wessells, WLA Intellectual Freedom Interest Group Chair, and "Netting your Ancestors: Genealogical Research on the Internet" presented by Cyndi Howells.
The WALE (Washington Association of Library Employees) also put on a sold-out conference in October at Campbell' Resort in Chelan. This was the 7th annual conference and it celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of WALE. All WLA interest groups have a strong commitment to continuing education and, in November, CAYAS (Children and Young Adult Services) sponsored "All aBout Collections: the ABC's of Building Solid Youth Collections."
Washington State Library (WSL)
The WSL has successfully negotiated a statewide licensing agreement with UMI which was made available to all Washington libraries. Participation by libraries has been extremely high, and WSL is not entering into negotiations with other vendors to offer more databases to Washington libraries. For information regarding the project contact Jeanne Crisp at the Washington State Library.The WSL is again sponsoring the teleconference services Soaring to Excellence and Dancing with Change. These series, produced by the College of DuPage, have been immensely popular with libraries and library employees around the state. This year there are five programs that will be offered at 15 sites around the state with 400 library employees participating. Titles in this series include "Techno-lust, Techno-stress, and Techno-bable," "Library as Consumers," "Tools of Our Trade III, Books, the Internet and Beyond," "Library as Knowledge Creator and Publisher," and "Disaster Planning." Check the WSL homepage at http://www.statelib.wa.gov.
The Library Council of Washington is a newly formed statewide group that advises the Washington State Library Commission on statewide library issues and the spending of library funds. They have made the following recommendations for funding: 1) continue the Statewide Database Licensing Project; 2) continue to enhance the Connectivity Project; 3) support development of standards and guidelines in information technology; 4) begin work on a collaborative consumer education effort; and 5) research feasibility of a collaborative digitization project.