NOTES BETWEEN FRIENDS

October - November 2003

TIMBERLAND LIBRARY HIRES NEW DIRECTOR
The Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees recently announced that it has appointed Jodi Reng of Worthington, Minnesota as the next Director. She will begin November 3. Ms Reng has 18 years of library experience including 13 as director in multi-branch library systems. The most recent position is Director of the Plum Creek Library System in southwestern Minnesota. Prior positions were all in Washington State. (Taken from Timberland Library news release. For more information see TRL Web Site: www.trlib.org).

NEW BOARD MEMBERS APPOINTED
Helen Keiser and Larry Bauman have been appointed as new board members to replace Jennifer Elden and Evelyn Walseth. Helen is a retired librarian. She has been helping the book sorters prepare for the sales and assists Irene Osborn price and place rare books on E-Bay. Larry was previously on the Board, developed the Friends web site and set up the continuous book sale shelves in the Library. Jennifer will continue volunteering on a project basis.

IN MEMORIAM
Jackie Williamson, long time board member and volunteer, died at her home near Olympia on October 8. She was on the board for 20 years. During those years she was frequently chair or co-chair of the book sales and was secretary when she requested to be retired from “active duty” in April 2002. Memorials may be sent to Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library, 8th & Franklin, Olympia, 98501. Indicate on the check that it is for the memorial. The board will select an appropriate memorial for the library.

TIMELINE By Winnifred Olsen
2000-The remodeled library was dedicated on Nov. 4. A program featured lively music, puppetry and a magician. Friends provided cookies. Historical exhibits were displayed in the front entrance, the main lobby and meeting room. Some of the material, created with the help of the Olympia Historical Commission became a permanent exhibit in the public meeting room.

COMING EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY

Friends Board Meeting Changed to November 4
The next Board meeting has been changed from November 11 to November 4 due to the Veterans Day Holiday. The Library will be closed on the 11th. The Board meeting is open to anyone interested in the activities of the Friends. It meets at 10:00 a.m. in the Library meeting room.

Page Turners
The selection for November 7 is “Fall on Your Knees” by Ann Marie MacDonald, a saga of five generations of a Nova Scotia family. “Atonement” by Ian McEwan is the selection for December 5. A 13 year-old English girl provides suspect testimony that sends her sister’s boyfriend to prison. She spends the rest of her life tyring to atone for this mistake. The book ends with a literary confession.

The Mad Scientist and Reading Explorers
The Mad Scientist is back on October 29 from 4:00-4:45. This is a fast paced science presentation that will entertain and teach kids from 5 to 12. Reading Explorers, a book discussion event for ages 9-12, meets from 7-8 p.m. on November 18 and again on December 9. These events are sponsored by Friends of the Olympia Library. Registration begins on October 27 for the Mad Scientist. Reading Explorers registration begins one week prior to the event. Register at the Youth Services Department of call 352-0595.

Kindermusik For Book Babies on December 8
A program designed for babies 6-24 months will be presented December 8 from 2:00 to 2:20 p.m. This program incorporates research on early childhood development into multi-level activities. The baby must be accompanied by an adult.

Read Aloud Month
November is “Read Aloud Month” for families. A family member can pick up a “Read Aloud House” poster, stickers, booklist and reading record at the Olympia, Lacey, or Tumwater libraries. Then families read aloud together for 20 minutes a day in any room in the house and place a sticker in their ‘Read Aloud House.” When families bring back their completed reading records at the end of the month they will receive a medallion to complete their poster. According to the Fall Events Calendar, families who participated last year loved the program.

Fall Youth Events
The September-December calendar describes events for infants, children and teens at the Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater libraries. Pick up a copy at any of the libraries or check the TRL web site, www.trlib.org.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER BOARD MEETINGS

· A total of 1,542 signed up for the summer reading program of which 518 achieved their reading goal; 133 people attended nine story times; 454 people attended 12 programs for pre-school, families and teens; 32 youth volunteers gave 435 hours of work.
· Funds were approved to support library and staff needs.
· Cheryl Heywood, library manager, led board members on a tour of the library. She noted that new or upgraded shelving funded by Friends has enabled the library to create a new and more visible space for foreign language books and to move the new book shelves to a less congested area for patrons who want to browse the new books.
· Cheryl announced that a new staff member, Sara Pete, will be staffing the adult and youth desks. Her main responsibility will be adult programs.
· Number of paid memberships is down, (see President’s Corner).
· Timberland Regional Library recently received a $50,000 federal grant targeted to encourage service to the Latino community.