The Redmond Friends Need You!

Did you know that KCLS enjoys support from 38 Friends of the Library and 15 Library Advisory Board groups? The Friends of the Library Groups provided a combined total of more than $300,158 to support programs, materials, art and other library initiatives in 2011. The Friends of the Redmond Library are seeking volunteers to provide help with the on-going book sale within the Redmond Library. Duties includes pricing books and weeding the book sale shelves. The time commitment is 1-2 hours a week on any day of the volunteer’s choosing, with the preference that the volunteer can work regularly on the same day of the week.

The Friends’ mission is to promote and celebrate cultural literacy in Redmond; to support the Redmond Library and its staff; and to support the King County Library System and its mission. As a result of funding from Friends of the Redmond Library, activities that have been added to library programming include, but are not limited, to:

• Children’s story times in Hindi, Chinese, French, and Russian
• Teen coffee house/poetry night
• Licensing for public performances of films & DVDs 
• Opera preview lectures
• Library orientations for Rose Hill and Einstein elementary students and parents

If this sounds like the perfect opportunity for you, please contact Jean Marston at jmmarston@hotmail.com or (425) 883-0455.

Carnegie Libraries on a Shoestring: A DIY Nano-Library Guide

What happens when you cross a birdhouse with a lending library?

You get a nano-library!

The Little Free Library project is a national program whose goal is to create thousands of nano-libraries to promote literacy and community involvement. Today, there are over 700 nano-libraries in 45 states and 20 foreign countries, including Ghana, England, and Germany. Click here for a map showing all locations.

The Little Free Library movement started three years when Todd Bol, of Hudson, Wis., built the first nano-library to look like a one-room schoolhouse in memory of his mother, a teacher. Since then, people have created a hundreds of different designs – many are showcased in the Little Free Libraries Galleries.

If you want to build a nano-library, the project’s Web site provides a Build a Little Library section, complete with building plans.

There only 8 nano-libraries in Washington state, so go ahead — think big and build small.

Big Data for a Busy Library

"Big Data” (i.e. very large data sets) is a hot topic lately in information technology.  With millions of items checked in and out each year across dozens of branches, your local library certainly has more than enough data to go around!

Enter collectionHQ. Last year, the King County Library System joined nearly 5,000 other libraries with its implementation of this software to assist each library branch with managing its collection.  The software is web-based (aka, “in the cloud”) so it can be easily accessed by library staff when data is updated monthly.

In addition to the common analysis one might expect, like top books and authors checked out, the software is also capable of helping the librarians understand what topics are popular in our library.  With this information, they can ensure the shelves are stocked with subjects in demand and relevant in our community.

The Redmond Library recently completed a weeding project to verify books that hadn’t been checked out in years were a) actually still on the shelf and b) otherwise ready to be retired.  It took nearly 6 months to analyze the Redmond branch collection and remove books that are under-utilized – called “dead” in library book parlance. 

Next, they will start analyzing specific topics to help ensure the books available are the ones that Redmond patrons want to check out. In addition, this data analysis tool allows staff to generate reports of “grubby” books – items that have been checked out so frequently they are probably worn out and in need of retiring. (The Hunger Games trilogy, anyone?)

Data is Cool.

Redmond Community Indicators 2012

Redmond Community Indicators is a tool for assessing progress toward achieving the eight broad community goals that underpin Redmond's Comprehensive Plan. The 2012 update was recently published, please see a selection of the highlights below.

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GOAL: CONSERVE
(No Overall Trend)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resource Consumption. The amount of waste per
single-family customer per week declined 3.5 pounds
to 55.3 pounds. The recycling rate among single family
customers decreased slightly to 62.4%. The
rolling three-year average water consumption fell
about four percent to 271 million cubic feet, the
lowest figure in at least nine years. Streams. All six
stream core sample sites have water quality index
scores greater than 40, which means that they are of
marginal concern or better. Two of eleven stream sites
given BIBI scores (“bug index” scores) rated above
35, the minimum required to support native habitat.

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GOAL: COMMERCE
(Improving Trend)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Businesses. There are 5,533 businesses licensed to
operate in Redmond: 958 are newly licensed while
1,445 have operated in Redmond for at least seven
years. Population and Employment. Redmond’s
population reached 55,150 in 2011 and employment
reached 76,876 (2010, latest available, not comparable
to prior years). Income and Poverty. Redmond
median household income rose to $95,038; the mean
wage rose to $110,182 (inflation adjusted). Child
poverty rose from 5% to 6.6% in the Lake Washington
School District (2010), the highest level in over 15 years.

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GOAL: CULTURE
(Improving Trend)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recreation and Arts. The largest increase in
participation in City recreation program was among
those ages 5 to 12, while overall participation
increased to over 148,000. Events. About 24,000
people took part in Redmond Lights and Derby Days
combined in 2011 – about the same number as
participated in 2010. Over 44,000 participated in
arts-related performances and exhibitions in 2011.

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Visit the City of Redmond’s Community Indicator page for complete details and access to historical annual reports.