Just In Time For The Holidays. . .

The King County Library System’s little helper – LibraryElf, assists patrons in keeping track of their library materials!

Designed for families or individuals with accounts to more than one system, LibraryElf allows patrons a 3 month view of holds, dues, and overdues from multiple library accounts.  Notices are available by text, email, or RSS.

KCLS is a subscriber to LibraryElf so that all patrons have access to premium services at no additional cost. For more information, including directions on how to sign up for the service, visit the KCLS website.

Take Winter by Storm

As the windstorm season approaches, Puget Sound Energy urges residents to get prepared and exercise caution and common sense when encountering downed power lines.

As part of Take Winter by Storm campaign, PSE has created a Web site (www.takewinterbystorm.org) that provides information about how to prepare for bad weather and what to do when storms come our way.

December 2006 Windstorm
Many of you may remember the record-breaking windstorm that hit the Pacific Northwest in mid-December 2006. Here are some facts about that windstorm:

	Strongest windstorm since January 1993
	Wind gusts of 70 mph, according to official record
	Local gusts estimated at more than 80 mph (100+ mph in the Cascades)
	1.5 million customers served by Northwest utilities lost power
	700,000 homes and businesses served by PSE lost power
	Governor Christine Gregoire requested federal disaster aid for 19 counties

Emergency Preparedness
One of the ways you can better prepare for a windstorm or other emergency is to know the shut-off procedure for natural gas service. You can find the steps to take for shutting off both natural gas and electricity at the Emergency Preparedness section of the PSE Web site.

The Take Winter by Storm Web site also provides a Winter Preparation Check List that you can use to build an emergency kit of essentials, as well as a plan for action in the event of an emergency.

Preview the Library Express at Redmond Ridge!

The much anticipated Library Express at Redmond Ridge officially opens on Monday, November 9th at 10 a.m.  If you’d like to get a sneak peek at this innovative KCLS pilot program, you can register for a preview tour on Saturday, November 7th.  Tours run every half hour beginning at 10 a.m. The last tour starts at 12:30 p.m.

The Library Express concept allows patrons to pick up holds and browse a small collection of Choice Reads.  The site is un-staffed, though a telephone with a direct line to Redmond Regional is available for patrons with questions.

Library Express at Redmond Ridge is a joint project in partnership with the Redmond Ridge Residential Owners Association (ROA).  Located in the ROA’s management office, you will be able to access the separate entry with your library card number during the same hours as the Redmond Regional Library. Additionally, there will be security cameras inside and outside to ensure patrons enjoy a welcoming environment.  

Hope to see you there!

The Plow That Broke the Plains

As part of the One Book, One Redmond program the Redmond Library will show a series of films that depict the times and hardships of the Great Depression. The Plow That Broke the Plains, a documentary film that includes Bam White, will be shown on Saturday, November 29th at 2:00pm. Bam White is a central character in Richard Egan's book, The Worst Hard Time, which chronicles the life in the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s.

For more info on this film and others in the series, see One Book, One Redmond Film Festival.

The Plow That Broke the Plains
The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) is a short documentary film which shows what happened to the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada when uncontrolled agricultural farming led to the Dust Bowl. It was written and directed by Pare Lorentz. Lorentz worked on the film with composer Virgil Thomson, who shared Lorentz' enthusiasm for folk music and incorporated many folk melodies, along with other popular and religious music, into the soundtrack.

You can view this film below:

The film was sponsored by the United States government (Resettlement Administration) to raise awareness about the New Deal and was intended to cost $6,000 or less; it eventually cost over $19,000 and Lorentz, turning in many receipts written on various scraps of paper, had many of his reimbursements denied. In the end, he paid for much of the film himself.

In 1999, The Plow That Broke the Plains was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

“The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”, Part II

The King County Library System is continuing to offer related programming throughout November in conjunction with the recent airing of Ken Burns’ “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”. The programs range from musical performances on a saw to meeting a nature photographer.

My recent nature photography attempt at Mount Rainier.

While there are no Washington State National Parks specifically featured in the film – Washingtonians know that we have plenty of spectacular nationally designated places in our own backyard!

Do you know how many sites the National Park Service manage in Washington state?  There are 14!  If you are from the Puget Sound area, two readily come to mind: Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks. 

Did you also know that the Klondike Gold Rush site in Seattle and Alaska is part of an International Historical Park with units also in Canada?  The fragmentation of the units also leads people to believe that the Seattle site is the smallest US National Park, but it is not.  The area totals over 13,000 acres when Alaska is properly included.

If you missed the September airing of “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea”, check your local PBS listings in early 2010 for the re-airing dates. Visit the National Park Service’s website to find out more about how you can help continue to improve “America’s Best Idea”.

InfoVote 2009

Lawn Signs. Door Hangings. Phone Calls. Pounding the Pavement. In other words, Election Season!  The King County Library System’s website can help you with your 2009 voting needs.

InfoVote 2009, created in partnership with the League of Women Voters, The Municipal League of King County, and King County Elections, provides links to help you answer questions you may have about the November 3rd election.

In addition, many KCLS library branches host 24 hour ballot boxes that do not require postage (since King County has recently moved to an all-mail voting system.) Lastly, KCLS has compiled a selection of election related material in their catalog for both students and adults.

Don’t forget to postmark your ballot or have it in a drop box by 8 p.m. on November 3rd!

Turn To Us. . .

The Choices Will Surprise You. How continually apt I find the KCLS motto. Just when I think I’ve nailed down everything the library has to offer, I learn something new! 

Recently, I began preparing to tutor my first GED student through Hopelink’s Adult Education Program. As I was reviewing the tutor resources information on the Hopelink website, there was a mention of resources online at KCLS. The King County Library System’s Testing and Education Reference Center has it all! As I reviewed the GED offerings, I began to notice just how many sample tests were available. . .

Preparation eBooks and practice tests for the GED, SAT, ACT, MCAT, GRE, GMAT, GAT, LSAT, CLEP, ABCDEF (just seeing if you are paying attention on that one!) and many career related exams for the civil service and other licensing boards are available from home, simply by entering your library card number!