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.

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’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!

Jaime’s KCLS Jaunt #42: Fall City

Whew, Fall has arrived with a vengeance!  This jaunt was definitely a damp one as we headed southeast of Redmond into Fall City on SR-202.  It’s still a beautiful drive of autumnal colors though, even viewed through the windshield wipers.

On this jaunt, I had a special visitor with me – my Mom!  Her home library district is the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, which I have fond memories of from my teen years. We started the morning at the Fall City Roadhouse & Inn.  With the overcast and rainy weather, the recently restored Inn created the perfect atmosphere for a late morning breakfast. I love going to breakfast with my Mom because we seriously discuss the pros and cons of most of the items on the menu before we pick two to share.  You can never go wrong with an omelet and buttermilk pancakes!  The service was very friendly and amazingly quick!  I’d like to give a quick thanks to the online version of the Fall City Neighbors for giving me the heads up on the Roadhouse.

After breakfasting, we backtracked just a few blocks to the Fall City library branch.  Completed in 2008, the library has a soaring ceiling and natural light in abundance, of course!  We were lucky enough to be able to chat with Jeannette, the Lead Librarian for Fall City.  (We also talked a lot about how fun it is to take the train in the Northwest!)  One of the more interesting pieces of art is the digital “signage” that asks unanswerable questions.  My mom and I spent quite a bit of time watching for a question to scroll in between the light patterns! And, while we arrived shortly after the library opened and it was a little quiet at first, it was much, much busier when we departed!

 

Take Time to Read…

If you sat down with a book or a magazine for half an hour…you might find yourself transported to a different world.

But sometimes reading feels like an undeserved luxury. It seems like there’s never enough time for reading. Or when you have those free moments, there’s nothing handy to read.

KCLS libraries are making it easy for you to take time to read by helping you find the time and materials to read.

Here’s how:
Give yourself or someone you care about a Gift of Time card. Pick up a gift card at any King County Library and use it to remind your family, friends, and even yourself of the pleasures of reading.

Turn time to kill into time to read. While you’re waiting for your medical appointment or your oil to be changed, take a little time to read. Take advantage of the books, short stories and magazines on of the Quick Read bookshelves throughout KCLS libraries.

Go for the reads that don’t take much time. Here are some Quick Read suggestions from KCLS librarians.