Fall Book Sale Cancelled August 9, 2012

The Friends are sad to announce the cancellation of its Fall Book Sale planned for September 2012.

The Parks Department plans a major year-long renovation and seismic retrofit of Hangar and Building 30 at Magnuson Park. We need to vacate these premises by the end of September.

We sincerely regret the disappointment that the cancellation of the September Sale will cause for our longtime members, volunteers and fellow book-lovers. We will extend all 2012 Friend Memberships through December 2013.

The Friends will use this time of transition to plan some new and exciting things, including special book sales; member-only programs; an author-driven “Save the Libraries” event; member specials at our FriendShop; and other innovative member benefits. Please keep an eye on your inbox and our website for the latest news!

Thank you for being a loyal member of the Friends and for supporting our mission to educate, advocate and raise funds for the Seattle Public Library.

Seattle Votes “YES” on Libraries!

The votes are in — Seattle Proposition 1 has passed! 62% of voters approved the seven-year, $123 million property-tax levy, sending a clear message about the importance of our libraries. Here are some of the benefits for the Library:

·         Service hours will be restored

·         Collections will be rebuilt

·         Computers will be upgraded

·         Buildings neglected after four years of city budget cuts will receive maintainance

·         In 2013, library branches that are now closed on Sundays will reopen

·         Staff will no longer have to take a week-long, unpaid furlough

Thanks to voters and volunteers for your support! Visit your local branch to find out more about how levy funds will make a difference.

Erica Bauermeister – I Am a Writer Because of Libraries August 3, 2012

I am a writer because of libraries, because of their cool, dark recesses during hot and smoggy Pasadena summers, when I would hole up between the stacks and read and read and read until I had punched every hole in my summer-challenge library card and gone onto the next.  I am a writer because of the refuge of the library during my awkward adolescence, because of the way the books I found by accident taught me about times and places I had never thought of.  I am a writer because of wood floors, and twelve-foot-tall windows that let the light fall down onto books that are sweetly musty and eager to be read.  I am a writer because of inter-library loan, which sent hundreds of books to my tiny Wallingford branch while I was researching 500 Great Books by Women.  I am a writer because of the quick-information line, which answered all my questions in a way far more satisfying than Google will ever be, because the answers were framed in conversations, and sometimes included questions inside themselves.  Which, of course, would lead me back to the library itself.  Because in the end, libraries remind us that reading is a communal activity, a conversation between writer and reader, reader and reader, page and eyes.

Nassim Assefi – The library is one of our most functional, important, beloved public places August 1, 2012

I’ve traveled to over 50 countries and have lived in several of them. What I miss most about the US while abroad (aside from friends and family) is our breathtaking national parks and our vastly accessible public library system. I love the downtown Seattle public library, not just because of its distinctive architecture, but because it is one of the most diverse places in the city. Homeless men are reading their email and applying for jobs, veiled Somali women are checking out books on computer literacy and English as a second language, children of all colors are mesmerized by the puppet stage and making up their own story hour, writers are congregating in their special rooms, introverts are finding solace, and a business man is sipping a latte on his lunch break, nose stuck in a novel. Each of the neighborhood libraries in Seattle has its own personality, reflective of the community it serves, much like the local farmers’ markets. A society can be judged not only by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, but also by the quality, quantity, and accessibility of its public institutions. The library is one of our most functional, important, beloved public places. It is democracy in action and a stepping stone to a better world. Please vote yes on Proposition 1.