Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt: Acknowledgements

Extra special thanks to everyone that made my year such an amazing travel experience…it would not have been as excellent of an experience without each of you! I hope to meet you again in the King County Libraries at future events!

• Lorin
• Doris
• Bruce
• Roman
• Chris
• Debi
• Judith
• Brandy
• Travis
• Xiomara
• Vicki
• Anne
• Paul
• Heather
• Rachel
• Pauline
• Annina
• Denise
• Kallee
• Bernadette
• Angie
• Laurie
• Deborah
• Rob
• Ursula
• Bruce
• Judi
• Colleen
• Jeannette
• Linda
• Lael
• John
• Steve
• Tony
• Jim
• Philis

Plus, all of the library staff that I was too shy to introduce myself to!

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt: By The Numbers Summary

For me, part of the fun of any travel is all of the research and planning that goes on before I even step out of the front door!  I took a look at my trusty spreadsheet to see what “interesting” facts I could share about my year in library travel.

Barely Basics
Places Visited:	51
Distinct Trips:	29
Average Libraries/Trip:	1.76
Approximate Miles:	604
Carbon Offset Donation:	$10*
Dig in for more Details
Solo Trips:	12
Trips with Others:	26
Trips with my Mom!:	1**
Library Staff Met:	31 (at least)
Photos Taken:	537
Quirky Counts
New Breakfast Places:	6
Parts Wheelie Lost:	2***
Pies Purchased:	2
Round-trip Ferry Rides:	1
Closed Libraries, Counted:	1****

A good spreadsheet goes a long way!

p.s. It turns out I have one more Jaunt blog post to come…saying “Thank You” will take paragraphs!

*More than enough.  604 miles is less than $2.
**It had been…decades…since my mom was in a library.  Seriously.  She was amazed at the DVD collection.
***Wheel and water bottle!
****Redmond Ridge.  But I’ve been there before.

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #50 and #51: Issaquah Library and Service Center

El Fin. La Fin. Конец. La Fine. Kết thúc.

In other words, The End!  I wrapped up my KCLS Jaunts with trip number 29 for a weekday evening visit to the Issaquah branch and attending a KCLS Board meeting at the Service Center.

I’ve had other occasions to visit Issaquah in the past, but it’s been a couple of years since the last time I saw the inside.  The branch has been refreshed and is laid out a bit differently since my previous outing!  The Managing Librarian, PhilisAnn, was kind enough to spend a few minutes with me talking about the changes.  We also spent some time discussing the great downtown location and how crazy it can be during Salmon Days weekend.  After my chat with the Librarian, I shortly found a cozy place to sit for a bit to read and listen to the sounds of the library around me. 

After finding a convenient stopping place in my book and checking the time to make sure I’d still be on time to the Board meeting, I headed across the street from the library for my reward for finishing my jaunts – a Confetti Cupcake! So delicious!  I bought a pair of red velvet cupcakes to celebrate at home with my husband after the Board meeting.

There was a bit of a line at the sweet shop, so I arrived just minutes before the start time of the meeting.  If you are ever interested in meeting people across all KCLS departments and functions, this is the place to be!  Highlights from the meeting included discussion of the new Bellevue parking garage, the budget (and more budget…), and Evergreen, the new catalog system. About 2.5 hours later the meeting adjourned, and I departed glad that I had ended my jaunts with a quick peek into the Service Center and the “inner workings” of KCLS and its Board of Trustees.

p.s. I have one more Jaunt blog post planned to summarize and say thanks to everyone that I met along the way, stay tuned…

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #49: ABC Express

If library patrons have difficulty coming to you, reach out to them! The King County Library System has a variety of outreach services and mobile libraries and for my 49th “branch” visit and 28th trip, I caught the ABC Express in action in Woodinville.

ABC Express encourages early literacy and daycare providers can take advantage of monthly daytime visits for the young patrons.  In the afternoons and evenings, it also visits communities likely to have a need for library materials, though with residents that might not have an easy way to access a traditional branch.

Stocked with books, music, and videos geared towards children, the ABC Express can be a bustling place.  It certainly was when I popped in during its stop in the Greenbrier neighborhood!  I met Jim, an Outreach Services Specialist, who was kind enough to spend time with me talking about various services that ABC Express and other travelling libraries can provide.  A patron overheard us talking, and unprompted, came over to tell me how Jim makes a point to know all the children that come aboard. I was able to witness this too as Jim greeted the children by name as they arrived and checked out! He says he’s lucky enough to have a job that he absolutely loves and that by being able to encourage children to read and being a positive influence in their lives, he can help make a difference.

So, if you see the bright blue bus in your area, pop in to say hi and experience the…

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #48: Preston

Good things come to those that wait and I waited to visit the KCLS Shipping Department in Preston until nearly the end of my jaunts! We headed out for trip number 27 for a lunch time tour of the wizard behind the curtain.

The shipping and materials distribution department is in east King County in a large warehouse-style building.  While the library trucks parked out front certainly gave it away, its anonymity belies just how crucial to the operations of KCLS the automation and staff inside it really are!

 

To start our tour, we were greeted by Tony and introduced to Steve, the managers of the facility and our hosts for the afternoon.  In addition to innovative library programs, part of KCLS’ world-renown is in its circulation capabilities.  The Automated Materials Handling (AMH) system, utilizing RFID technology, installed in Preston is a large piece of this puzzle.  It’s so impressive, libraries from many different countries visit the facility to see how KCLS moves its materials – nearly 12 million in 2010.  They keep a map on the wall with color-coded pins to track everyone that visits and there is a fantastic distribution of color across the globe!

The AMH has three components:  the inbound/outbound conveyor, the crane, and the sorter.  Mixed materials from the libraries are stored in totes and picked up towards the end of the day at the libraries by one of six trucks.  Each tote typically holds about 40 lbs and 40+ items. Once inside, the inbound/outbound conveyor moves the totes to the crane, which then sorts the totes.  If it’s busy, the crane puts them wherever there is space and as it has free time, it will re-sort the totes to be more efficient for outbound delivery or sorting.  (Fun Fact 1:  the crane, previously nameless, has been nicknamed “The Tin Man” by a local Girl Scouts troop that toured the facility.) The crane also feeds the sorting line.  Because KCLS is a large multi-branch system, materials can be picked up and dropped off at any library.  In addition, the increasing number of holds means that there are books that need to be delivered from one library to another for a patron.  Library Pages empty the totes onto the sorter’s conveyor belt, the RFID tag is scanned, and then the item drops into the correct library tote as the conveyor belt moves around.  Filled totes are delivered back to the crane, which stores them in racks until the delivery driver requests them for their next route. (Fun Fact 2: Items that belong to other library systems are not recognized by the sorter and are kicked out of the conveyor.  They are mailed back to their real library home every Friday.)

In addition to the day-to-day delivery of materials, Preston houses two other important functions.  The first is the “Just-in-Time” collection.  These materials are usually old information formats, like VHS, or very popular bestsellers.  For older materials, it doesn’t make sense to have these items take up valuable shelf space in the libraries as they don’t circulate as often anymore.  (Fun Fact 3:  “Dark Shadows”, in VHS format, still circulates very, very well and I’m sure it’ll spike again when the Johnny Depp version releases!)  On the other end of the turnover spectrum, patrons receive the bestsellers more quickly if they are delivered directly from Preston to their desired hold shelf.  Again, it also helps with space as most libraries don’t have capacity for hundreds of copies of the same book on the shelf! The second function is the packing and delivery of collection material no longer needed to be sold. Because KCLS cannot receive any revenue other than property taxes, the profit earned from selling weeded materials is deposited with the KCLS Foundation.

It was very neat to be able to see the movement of material through the system and meet some of the staff that works hard to quickly deliver our books to us.  In the future, I’ll have a much better appreciation of the books I put on hold. I know now just what it takes to get that book from the Kent, or White Center or Richmond Beach, shelves to my Redmond holds!

Want to see for yourself? Meet Tony and take a virtual tour of the AMH or meet Shiraz to learn about delivering the totes.

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #47: Kenmore

Weekday jaunts have been fairly rare along my journey, so it was nice to have a chance to spend a leisurely Monday afternoon visiting the Kenmore branch. My mission on trip number 26 was to check out a few more books from the Modern Library’s Top 100 Books of the 20th Century.

 

While currently one of the smaller branches with just a few thousand square feet, Kenmore is anxiously awaiting the completion of their new library in the spring/summer of 2011.  (Check out the construction webcam here.) Located just a few blocks from the present site, the new library will be quadruple its current size! 

 

Most of the seats available were taken by patrons as I perused the shelves and the tiny parking lot was. . .busy, to say the least.  The library is also located next to wetlands with Great Blue Heron nests. In 2005, KCLS formed a unique partnership with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to install a webcam on the nests and host a screen for viewing the birds inside the library.  The webcam is offline for the season, but hopefully they’ll be back in the new library!

With mission accomplished - 2 books found from my list - I headed out to cruise by the new site on my way back home.

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

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!

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.

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

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #44: Skykomish

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!

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.  And 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 contamination 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.

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!

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #43: Sammamish

Jaunt #23 takes me out to Sammamish, which happens to be my fourth trip to a library in five days!  While two libraries were jaunt-related, the other two visits were in the normal course of Library Board Business.  On Monday, I attended a Library Advisory Board Forum and Budget Hearing at Kirkland and on Tuesday, at Redmond, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Nonprofit & Philanthropy Resource Center with about 100 other folks from the nonprofit world (there will be an upcoming blog post just on this wonderful place coming soon – I promise Jeannette!).

The impetus for my Wednesday evening visit to Sammamish was the presentation by art historian Susan Olds on “The Life and Times of Picasso” (related blog post).  Before I knew about this presentation, my friend and I had reserved our member tickets to the Seattle Art Museum exhibit for just a few days after this, so it was perfect timing and a jaunt bonus that I hadn’t yet visited Sammamish!  The event was very well attended by all ages and we easily filled the meeting room for about an hour and a half of stories about Picasso and his art. “Colorful”, to say the least.

Also, the new Sammamish library is beautiful! 

You’ll have to visit soon, as my pictures do not do the space any justice at all. It opened at the beginning of this year and is a part of the Sammamish Commons complex.  City Hall and the Police Station are right next door. Across the parking lot is a large park with basketball courts, a climbing wall, and a skateboard facility.  As I was sitting in the meeting room listening to the art talk, I glanced over to the upper windows and I could see the crescent moon framed perfectly between them.  I wish I could have taken a picture to capture the moment, it was amazing.

As the lecture ended and the staff were making the closing announcements a few minutes later, I snuck in a few more pictures in a final circle around the spacious library. I also made attempts at a few outdoor shots, though the results were questionable!