Library Advisory Board Forums

On June 20th and June 27th, the King County Library System hosted members from all of its participating city library advisory boards. Like the overall KCLS mission, the purpose of the forums is to Inform, Connect, and Share knowledge across each of the communities in which the library operates.

INFORM

Bill Ptacek, KCLS Director, began the forum with highlights and political background of the system. Did you know that King County Library System is an independent entity operated by the state? While King County Council appoints the KCLS Board of Directors, the relationship with King County government ends at this responsibility. Next, Linda Glenicki presented the financial picture of KCLS. Nearly all of the General Fund for the system is collected from property taxes and a recent performance audit conducted by the state auditor generally found that KCLS manages its construction projects with appropriate controls.

CONNECT

Become a fan of KCLS on Facebook! Read what has KCLS all a-twitter! In this segment of the forum, Jennifer Wiseman, Public Services Project Manager, discussed social media tools available for use to connect to the community. KCLS actively engages its community on various sites (see all the ways you can connect with KCLS on their website) and encourages Library Advisory Boards to engage their communities with these free tools too. Training is also provided at the Library's public Learning 2.0 site. The Redmond Library Board of Trustees offered a handout with quick tips on maintaining an active and engaging blog (Thanks to Lorin!)

SHARE

Finally, before and after the forums, board members from different cities discuss how they are engaging their communities with their library. There is opportunity to discuss what is and isn't working and offer suggestions for further training from KCLS to assist the advisory boards in their missions. Redmond's Library Board of Trustees "purpose is to consider library policy, promote interest in the library and to inform Redmond citizens of library needs."