Free Online Access to ConsumerReports.org Through the Library! November 10, 2009

Before you make your next big (or little) purchase, why not check out the product reviews and ratings on ConsumerReports.org? Now you can do that online for free through the Library’s web site at www.spl.org.

 To find ConsumerReports.org, go to www.spl.org and click on “Databases & Web Sites.”  Next, click on “Consumer Reports & Information” and then click on ”Consumer Reports.”

If you are trying to access ConsumerReports.org from a computer outside the Library, you will need to enter your Library card numbers and personal identification number (PIN) when prompted, and then press the Login button.

This is just one more way that the Seattle Public Library is helping its patrons during tough economic times. Be sure to take a look at the many other consumer resources available on the Consumer Reports and Information database.

Art, Family, Playgrounds and Greenlake Library November 8, 2009

“On a typical Sunday outing we’ll take our bikes and scooters down to the lake, have breakfast, play at the playground, go to the library and go home,” Greenlake patron Rebecca Albiani told us over morning coffee.  The library serves an important role in both her family and professional life. Her eldest son, 8, “is an avid reader; it would bankrupt us to keep him in books by purchasing them,” she said. His current reading list: Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians, Septimus Heap books,  and 39 Clues. The youngest son, 6, “memorizes books so he needs a constant flow of simple stories as he learns to read.”

In professional life, Rebecca “gives talks for general audiences at the Frye Art Museum.” For the past ten years she’s lectured on everything from ancient Egypt to Pop Art. “I couldn’t do that without the library. Every month I have a new topic. 95 percent of my research materials come from the public library,” she said. Wouldn’t the UW Art Library be a stronger resource, we wondered, but Rebecca said the public library’s catalogue is usually ample. “The public library has THE book on the Index of American Design, for instance, which is the New Deal program I’ll be lecturing on in December. I could get a UW library card but it’s so much more convenient to walk to my public library [Greenlake Walkscore: 89] where I know people who work there and I don’t have to worry about parking.”

“The library is a crucial leveling factor. Plus it is simply a wonderful community gathering place” she told us. “When I think about the proposed library budget I worry about Saturday hours and Sunday closures in particular. On Sunday I see people on computers or sitting in the magazine section—that’s where my husband goes. There are always a lot of families reading to kids or kids coloring. At the playground I often hear moms saying, “Shall we go to the library now?”

——————————————————————————————————

Please support Library hours in the 2010 budget.

Seattle Neighborhood Blogs Take Up the Final Call to Action to Save Neighborhood Branch Library Hours November 7, 2009

Neighborhood blogs across Seattle are supporting the Friends of The Seattle Public Library!  Thanks to the Laurelhurst Blog, Rainier Valley Post, Wallyhood, Miller Park, Beacon Hill Blog, My Green Lake and Wedgewood Blog for getting your communities involved in this final email campaign and thanks to Blogging Georgetown, Capitol Hill Seattle, Fremont Universe, Greenwood, Magnolia Voice, PhinneyWood, Queen Anne View and West Seattle Blog for their earlier support.

Your past emails have made a difference!  Councilmembers Burgess, Harrell, and Licata are committed to preserving the current hours of operations at all neighborhood branches of The Seattle Public Library.  We have launched this final e-mail campaign targeted at Councilmembers Clark, Conlin, Drago, Godden, McIver, and Rasmussen to urge them to join Councilmembers Burgess, Harrell, and Licata in preserving our present neighborhood Library hours.  Please send the email outlined below today:

TO: sally.clark@seattle.gov; jan.drago@seattle.gov; tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov; richard.conlin@seattle.gov; jean.godden@seattle.gov; richard.mciver@seattle.gov

CC: tim.burgess@seattle.gov; bruce.harrell@seattle.gov; nick.licata@seattle.gov

SUBJECT:  $1.2 Million Restoration of Library Funds

TEXT: Dear Councilmembers Clark, Conlin, Drago, Godden, McIver, and Rasmussen,

Please join fellow Councilmembers Burgess, Harrell and Licata and vote for Option A to restore the 330 weekly service hours to keep our libraries open normal hours in 2010.

OPTIONAL:  I use the XYZ neighborhood branch for XYZ. OR Share a more personal message about why your neighborhood branch is important to you.

On Nov. 2, Seattle City Councilmembers began discussing four options to partially restore the 5% reduction in the endorsed Library budget. None of the options will prevent another one week furlough in 2010, but the best choice, Option A, does preserve Library hours in your neighborhood branch at their current level and prevents the loss of 27 Library staff positions.

The proposed hours reduction would mean that Beacon Hill, Broadview, Capitol Hill, Columbia, Delridge, Fremont, Green Lake, Greenwood, High Point, International District / Chinatown, Madrona-Sally Goldmark, Magnolia, Montlake, NewHolly, Northeast, Northgate, Queen Anne, South Park, University, Wallingford and West Seattle would be closed on Fridays and Sundays, plus operate at reduced hours – all year.

Thank you Seattle Neighborhood Blogs and their readers for all your support and dedication to your neighborhood library branches.  Please ask your Seattle friends and family to join you in this final email campaign to save neighborhood branch library hours.

The Seattle Public Library: A World Class Site — in More Ways Than One! November 7, 2009

Thanks to a grant from the Friends, the Seattle Public Library expanded its web site earlier this year to include more information for its patrons who speak Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, and to add information in Somali and Amharic.  To reach these new web pages, go the Library web site and see the Audiences column on the right hand side of the page.  The Library staff compared the number of Web pages that these audiences used from March 2008 – October 2008 versus March 2009 – October 2009, and were delighted to see significant increases in usage as follows:

Spanish:  2,003 to 9,761 web pages used

Chinese:  3,041 to 10,114 web pages used

Vietnamese:  1,038 to 8,168 web pages used

Russian:  1,364 to 8,632 web pages used

The Friends are able to make grants like these from donations, revenues from the FriendShop, and proceeds from the Book Sale, so we’d like to share these thanks with all of you who support the Friends and the Seattle Public Library:

Gracias a los Amigos de la Biblioteca Pública de Seattle por proporcionar los fondos para el sitio Web de la biblioteca en idioma español (Thank you to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for providing the funds for the Library’s Spanish language Web site).

衷心感谢Friends of The Seattle Public Library为扩建图书馆中文网页提供经费。 (Thank you to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for providing the funds for the Library’s Chinese language Web site).

 Xin cám ơn Thân Hữu của Thư Viện Công Cộng Seattle đã cung cấp ngân quỹ cho trang Web tiếng Việt của Thư Viện (Thank you to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for providing the funds for the Library’s Vietnamese language Web site).

Благодарим Общество друзей Публичной Библиотеки Сиэтла за предоставление финансовых средств для веб-сайта Библиотеки на русском языке (Thank you to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for providing the funds for the Library’s Russian language Web site).

Mahadsanid Saaxiibta Maktabada Dadweynaha ee Seattle bixinta kharashka lagu soo saaray horudhacan Maktabada (Thank you to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for providing the funds for this introduction to the Library in the Somali language).

ለሲያትል የህዝብ ቤተ መጻፍት ጓደኞች ለዚህ የቤተ መጻህፍት ማስታወቂያ እርዳታ ገንዘብ ስላቀረቡ ምስጋናችንን እናቀርባለን። (Thank you to the Friends of The Seattle Public Library for providing the funds for this introduction to the Library in the Amharic language).

How the Mayoral and City Council Candidates Stack Up on Library Funding November 3, 2009

For information on how the Seattle City Council candidates responded to our questions on Library budget issues, see the FSPL website for the 2009 edition of our newsletter.  

We didn’t receive responses from mayoral candidates Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn in time for newsletter publication, but here’s a link to a Seattle Times article about their positions.

Call to Action! Please email undecided Councilmembers now to save library hours November 3, 2009

Councilmembers Burgess, Harrell, and Licata are championing a restoration of 1.2 million dollars to the 2010 budget which will keep our libraries open next year with the same operating hours we enjoy this year.

Unfortunately none of the options Council put forward will stop our libraries from closing for a one week furlough, but we think a one week closure is more than enough.

We want no further cuts to hours but we need your help convincing undecided Councilmembers to vote for Option A, restoration of many hours the mayor’s budget caused our libraries to cut in 2010.  Join the final call to action in support of neighborhood library branch hours
 

Please send this email message and urge friends and family to send it too.

 
TO: sally.clark@seattle.gov; jan.drago@seattle.gov; tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov; richard.conlin@seattle.gov; jean.godden@seattle.gov; richard.mciver@seattle.gov

CC:  tim.burgess@seattle.gov; bruce.harrell@seattle.gov; nick.licata@seattle.gov

SUBJECT:  $1.2 Million Restoration of Library Funds

TEXT: Dear Councilmembers Clark, Conlin, Drago, Godden, McIver, and Rasmussen,

Please join fellow Councilmembers Burgess, Harrell and Licata and vote for Option A to restore the 330 weekly service hours to keep our libraries open normal hours in 2010.

OPTIONAL:  I use the XYZ neighborhood branch for XYZ. OR Share a more personal message about why your neighborhood branch is important to you.

We urge you to restore current service hours October 27, 2009

At tonite’s Budget Hearing, Friends of The Seattle Public Library board member, Tony Provine, noted that “In many parts of Seattle, libraries serve as community centers, meeting places, job resources, social service centers, public education facilities, and much more. They provide safe havens for at risk youth and offer homework assistance for students. They provide shelter and internet communications for the impoverished. They are anchors in each of their communities.” He told Council that the rise in use, over the last 8 years, contrasts with a comparatively stagnant budget. The current operating hours, such as Mondays and Tuesdays opening at 1 pm, are a result of reductions in 2002. “The proposed cuts would reduce (current) service hours by 23% overall and would result in reductions of 37% at several branches. With 21 branches limiting access to 35 hours a week, residents who rely on the Library in these communites would be affected disproportionately. The effect of these cuts will undermine our neighborhoods, communities and the entire City of Seattle,” he said. “The Friends of The Seattle Public Library urge you to restore $1.2 million  to the Library’s budget to allow the Library to continute to operate all of its branches at their current service hours.”

Vice President of Friends of The Seattle Public Library presents 2000 petition signatures October 27, 2009

Johnson-Fong sorts the petitions

Jennifer Johnson-Fong presented 2000 petition signatures gathered on Facebook and from The Friends of The Seattle Public Library petitioning drive at branch libraries. She said, “Tonite I’ve brought you petitions from: Northeast, Ballard, West Seattle, Wallingford, Greenwood, and Broadview libraries. My experience while collecting signatures has been consistent. I speak to people who use their neighborhood branch for a variety of reasons and I speak to people who depend on their neighborhood branch either for access to public computers that they can get no where else or for access to the free WiFi. Out of 26 branches and Central 21 neighborhood libraries are proposed to be closed Fridays and Sundays and only open 35 hours a week.” Johnson-Fong closed by asking Council to help all the branch libraries that would be impacted by restoring library hours.

Seattle Free School classes take place during the very hours that may be cut October 27, 2009

Clare Cronkleton, a facilitator at Seattle Free School and organizer of “It’s Sew Fun” at the Ballard library, spoke to Council asking them to reconsider cuts to The Seattle Public Library. “As community members that promote the sharing of information and resources, we are proponents of the same principles guiding the mission of libraries,” she said.”Free school is able to exist because of accessible resources like The Seattle Public Libraries. Our classes, which now range in size from 5 to 120 students, take place during the very hours that are now under consideration for being cut.” She told Council that the library is, “a symbol of resourcefullness, creativity, and ingenuity–the very traits that should be encouraged in times of shortfall.”  On behalf of the thousands of Seattle Community members who have participated in some way or another with the Free School she asked Council to reconsider cuts to library hours.

A city in which you cannot go to the library is no city at all October 27, 2009

Susan Adkins, Seattle Public Library Foundation president, relayed the words of Sue Nevler, Executive Director, E.B. Dunn Historic Garden Trust, who wrote, “As an active and committed library patron I am compelled to plead that you do not make these most damaging cuts of funds to our Seattle Library system. Just last year my husband, George Nevler, was honored posthumously for his participation in the Libraries for All campaign. An ardent reader, he visited all branch libraries, save one, before he died unexpectedly at age 50. Our two boys, one with a diagnosis of autism, are both avid readers. My hope is that their futures, though now diminished by the absence of their father, will continue to be shaped by the wealth of knowledge available to them in the sacred space of their library. I ask you to please reflect and do not make these severe cuts which will have a profound impact on the many citizens of Seattle who have their own unique stories tied to their library.”

She also quoted award winning author, Richard Farr, “every citizen needs libraries. More important still: every child who grows up in a great and (even today) wealthy city deserves a community that would simply be too ashamed to consider library closures as a budget fixing option.”

“Please,” he wrote, “for the sake of the city itself, let’s be too ashamed to do this. Do not cut the library’s budget. That Seattle “aspires” to be a “world-class city” is very nice, but the stark reality is this: as everyone has known since the Babylonians, a city in which you cannot go to the library is no city at all.”