Saturday, December 25, 2010

Washington State by the Numbers: The 2010 Census Results

Initial 2010 Census results are now available. The Census Bureau has recently released the resident population Census 2010: WA Population Changefor the nation and states, as well as congressional apportionment totals for each state. For Washington state, the population increased 14.1% during 2000-2010.

Click on the following image to display an interactive map that provides details on each state’s population change, population density, and apportionment. 

Click to view interactive map

Beginning in February and wrapping up by March 31, 2011, the Census Bureau will release demographic data to the states on a rolling basis so state governments can start the redistricting process.

Other key Census Bureau references include:
  • Interactive Timeline  Lists census planning efforts, major milestones, and census data announcements over the next several years.
  • Multimedia Center  Features video, photo, and audio showcasing the importance of the 2010 Census.
  • Census in Schools  Features classroom activities and teaching materials to help teachers and students learn about the importance of the Census.

Redmond Library Board

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Redmond Joins the Rotary Club: Completing the NE 36th St Bridge

Redmond added its first rotary (or more accurately, roundabout) as part of the completion of the NE 36th Street Bridge in the Overlake section of Redmond. The bridge, which spans State Route 520, opened on Dec 15th after 18 months of construction.

NE 36th St Bridge (click for larger image)

The bridge crosses SR520 diagonally. In the photo below (taken from Microsoft building 43), you can see the bridge’s “wings” — landscaped extensions that provide broad pedestrian walkways.

NE 36th St Bridge (click for larger image)

Roundabout sign Leading to the NE 36th Street Bridge from the east side is Redmond’s first roundabout. In general, a roundabout is designed for lower speed traffic, unlike a rotary, which is a larger circle and handles higher speed traffic. Roundabouts are increasingly being used in the United States.

NE 36th St roundabout  (click for larger image) The NE 36th Street Bridge features a park-like design with dozens of trees and shrubs on small rolling hills. Several benches line the pathways.

NE 36th St Bridge bench

For more info about the project, see the City of Redmond’s NE 36th Street Bridge project page.

Redmond Library Board

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #45 and #46: Carnation and Duvall Libraries

Go East!This jaunt was definitely in the Northwest weather that we’ve all come to know and “love”!  Rainy, kind of dark, and just generally yucky.  But you know what are always warm and welcoming places? KCLS Libraries!

Wheelie hanging out at Carnation

Native American Art

Woven Baskets
As my travels begin to arrive at their close, I find myself fairly close to home.  But sadly, still in communities I don’t think I’ve ever been in – like Duvall!  But before Duvall, we took the scenic route, through agricultural lands in valleys and river floodplains, out to Carnation. Carnation’s reputation preceded it as I had already heard from another library about the integration of pieces of the old library into the new branch that opened in January 2009.  They were raving about how wonderful it looked and they were right! Native American designs from inside and outside the old cedar structure were turned into artwork for the interior and exterior of the new library. Antique woven baskets from the previous library were also restored and returned to the new library for display. We were also fortunate to be able to chat with Lael from KCLS about all of what makes Carnation unique.  She was very helpful in explaining to us the old and new libraries.

Shortly after, we were off to re-fuel in Duvall before visiting their library.  Although we were originally headed for the Duvall Grill and Taproom, we were sidetracked by the interesting exterior at The Grange Café, where we ultimately settled in for brunch. Oh, so, delicious.  Thick-sliced bread and preserves on the table will win with me anytime! I’ll see you next time Duvall Grill and Taproom.



Both restaurants were only steps away from the Duvall library in the historic downtown area.  A former residence, the library has a fantastic view from the rear windows and the coolest “back room” I’ve seen – through a library shelf!  At the desk, John from KCLS, was nice enough to spend time with us and answer our questions. Planning for a new library is underway, so I’m glad that I was able to see the existing library before they relocate. Although the community has now outgrown the space, it has a great look and feel that makes one feel right at home.
Duvall Library

Duvall View

This marks my 25th jaunt, with only 5 places remaining to visit!

Jaime

image

Thursday, December 9, 2010

World Book Night: The 1,000,000 Book Giveaway

Twenty thousand avid readers across Ireland and the U.K. will give out a million books on the evening of Saturday, March World Book Night 5th, in what is being billed by organizers as “the largest book give-away ever attempted.” World Book Night, as the event has been called, will come two days after World Book Day, a UNESCO-backed international celebration of books that takes place each year in more than a hundred countries.

Chosen by an independent editorial committee, the 25 titles have been picked from a poll of favorite books from across the book industry. The final selection offers a wide array of outstanding books encompassing all types of fiction: historical, literary, young adult, crime, as well as poetry, history and memoir.

Book-Givers
An army of 20,000 volunteers will give away most of the one million books on World Book Night. The book-giver application asks three main questions:

  1. Which book from the 25 selections would you most like to give?
  2. Why have you chosen this book?
  3. Who would you give your copies to?

The Books
Here are the 25 book selections chosen for World Book Night:

Redmond Library Board

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Nonprofit & Philanthropy Resource Center

Nonprofit & Philanthropy Resource Center

Many individual King County Library System libraries have collections that make them unique.  On my jaunts, I’ve had an opportunity to learn about some of them – the Native American Collection at Muckleshoot, the genealogy and auto repair collection at Bellevue, the Pacific Northwest material at Renton, to name a few.  Redmond’s contribution to specialized collections is the nationally-recognized Nonprofit & Philanthropy Resource Center (NPRC).

The Foundation Center has granted the King County Library System status as a “Cooperating Collection” in their national “Cooperating Collections Network.” This Network includes organizations in every state that provide information on private philanthropic giving to the grant-seeking public. In addition, Redmond’s NPRC web site offers more than 200 links to sites covering nonprofit and fundraising topics. Their Nonprofit Calendar also posts meetings, workshops, seminars and conferences on any nonprofit or fundraising topic that takes place in Western Washington.

Boards on Fire! by Susan Howlett

Last week, the NPRC celebrated its 10th anniversary with a presentation by Susan Howlett entitled “Boards on Fire!   Inspiring Your Leaders to Raise Money Joyfully”.  It was a packed house with a variety of non-profits represented in the audience. If you missed it, the podcast will be posted shortly on the NPRC site. For more information, visit the online Nonprofit & Philanthropy Resource Center, visit in person at the Redmond library, or contact Jeannette Privat.

Jaime

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #44: Skykomish

Go East!The drive to the Skykomish branch of the King County Library System was quintessential Northwest Fall.  The clouds were low over the Cascades as we drove out Saturday morning and though the air was chilly and the sky was heavy, we were lucky enough to not see a drop of rain on my 24th jaunt!

Clouds

One of the great things about visiting libraries with Chris is that she knows someone everywhere.  She had emailed ahead so that Linda, the Skykomish Library Manager, knew we were coming out for a visit. Of course, like every library we visit, we were greeted warmly in the cozy building.  And100_7574 with the branch serving a smaller community, Linda pretty much greeted everyone else through the door by name too!  A 30+ year veteran of KCLS in several capacities, Linda was kind enough to spend time with us and fill us in about all things Skykomish.

The branch was remodeled and expanded in 2006, bringing improved light, space, and maneuverability. However, the topic of the day wasn’t so much inside the library as just outside it. For 80 years, the BNSF Railway located maintenance and fueling operations in the Town of Skykomish. As a result of these activities, the ground was saturated with oil and heavy metals and there was 100_7576contamination of groundwater and the Skykomish River.  Since 2006, the BNSF Railway, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Town have been working to essentially dig up and replace all of the contaminated soil.  The library building sits just outside of the area currently scheduled for the 10 year cleanup project.

As we said our good-byes, we asked advice on taking the scenic route back home.  Instead of going directly back up to Highway 2, we turned west onto the Old Cascade Highway to follow it until it intersected back with the main road.  The wet weather along this smaller road only served to accentuate how beautiful our area can be!  It was a short detour though, as we were soon back on the “fast lane” heading home.

Jaime

p.s.  The trip didn’t quite end there, but I really liked that paragraph as a posting ending.  I find that starting and ending the blog entries is one of the hardest parts of this jaunt journaling, so I want to take a good ending when I find it!  On the way back, we also detoured into Index for a brief look at the river where we caught kayakers and rafters from the Outdoor Adventure Center.  Chris and I agree that one of the most fun things we’ve each ever done was white water rafting. We also made a pit stop in Gold Bar for lunch at the Mountain View Diner (large portions!) and took a peek into the Sultan branch of the Sno-Isle Library System. Highway 2 travels enough north and south in its east-west route that one ends up in both Snohomish and King Counties on the drive from Redmond!

Library Map