Monday, July 12, 2010

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #26 and #27: Richmond Beach and Shoreline Libraries

Go North(East!) Oh sunny day! Trip number 15 found me out in Shoreline, admiring the views of the Puget Sound at the Richmond Beach branch and making the easiest-to-find trip to a library so far, when visiting Shoreline.  This was the first time that I’ve ever really been to Shoreline, so I was definitely curious!

Puget Sound Views My visit started with a walk around the Richmond Beach Center Park. The park sits atop a hill and I knew that beautifully sunny views of Puget Sound would await me if I walked to a point where I could see through the trees!  When I finished snapping a few sun-blinded photos, I headed inside to the nice air-conditioned library. 

It was a busy Friday afternoon!  I managed to snag a few minutes with Anina, the Managing Librarian (who has an impressive KCLS tenure of 36 years!) She made sure that I knew about “Olive” a recent addition to the children’s area.  The life-sized, and entirely hand-crafted, model of a Giant Pacific Octopus is impressive, for lack of a more appropriately elaborate adjective.  

After spending some time reading and experiencing the bustling community library, and with proper admiration and paparazzi shots of Wheelie with Olive, I headed over to the Shoreline branch.
Richmond Beach and Wheelie in the Bushes












Tiny Wheelie with Big Olive

No wrong turns here!  Conveniently located near an I-5 interchange, I easily located this library despite my complete Wheelie on Shoreline signunfamiliarity with the area.  I parked in the upper parking lot and descended a set of stairs to the front of the library. One side of the stairs has a pilot food composting station while the other leads to a beautifully wooded seating area. I can’t recall any other KCLS library that has a from-above approach like that, it made it a more unique entrance. Once inside, I headed straight for the Information Desk and happened upon Denise, the Cluster Manager for Shoreline, Library2Go! Van Richmond Beach, and Lake Forest Park.  She was kind enough to talk to me about the diverse populations they serve, including a high proportion of adult and disabled care homes, and the popularity of the new Library2Go! vans.  Again, at this library I spent some time reading and listening to the sounds of the also bustling library.  As I left, I lingered at the Friends bookshelf where I could also listen into the Chinese Story Time.  I arrived too late to attend the entire program, but I did take a quick peek in the meeting room at all the children enjoying the story in Mandarin Chinese!

To explore a little bit more of the community, you might be wondering where I ate. . .although my trip to Sky Nursery (the gardener’s garden store!) and my iced mocha from their espresso stand probably doesn’t count as “food”, it was mighty tasty in the 90 degree heat.  Plus, as I was waiting at the intersection to turn on Highway 99, where I could see the Sky Nursery sign, I totally heard a radio ad for, you guessed it, Sky Nursery!  I figured it was a sign, and since I did also need a plant, I headed in and was finally able to visit the well-advertised nursery before I headed home!

Jaime

Library Map

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