Officers and Board 2004-06

President: Wanda Hedrick 352-2867 1st VP (Membership): JoAnn Sterbis 754-7005 2nd VP (Book Sale Coord): Irene Osborn Sec.: Mary Campbell Treasurer: Beth Dubey Board Members: B.J. Brown Larry Bauman Wilma Bullington Jean Finely Mary Flannery Vicky Friend Robert Harris Eileen Keith Georgia Munger Winnifred Olsen Patti Trimm Sally Winslow

Communications Committee Wanda Hedrick: President Jean Finely: Publicity Eileen Keith: Newsltr. Editor JoAnn Sterbis: Mailing Leo Scarpelli: Web Page

Highlights from January and February Meetings

• President Wanda Hedrick announced that Stephen Charak, a local writer, educator and founder of “Young Voices” magazine died. The Board approved a $200 memorial. Wanda read a letter of thanks from Rosie’s Place for the book donation.. The Friends will help to start a library for Fleetwood Manor in downtown Olympia. Books have been donated to Rosie’s Place, a drop-in center for homeless youth.
• Cheryl Heywood, Library Manager, is looking into the possibility of an evening Page Turners. She attended a workshop on “How to Speak and Work With the Mentally Ill.”
• Timberland’s strategic long range plan should be ready by April.
• The library transitioned to the new computerized catalog system, Horizon, on January 17th and 18th. The new system cost one fourth of what the old system cost and maintenance costs will be reduced by almost fifty percent.
• Cheryl discussed an article in the “Olympian” which cited twelve incidents in the library for which the police had to be called. A part time security guard has been hired. He works staggered hours and does not have a uniform and is unarmed. The response has been good. Cheryl pointed out that 1,300 patrons use the library every day for a monthly total of 35,000. Given the number of people using the library, the number of incidents requiring the police involvement is very small.
• Carrie Dye introduced youth services programs for winter and spring. She requested and the board approved $250 to pay for Jeff Evens, a magician, to perform at Evergreen Vista Apartments.
• Beth Church and Frieda Ray, coordinators of RSVP attended the February meeting. They are part of the Volunteer Center. (See article on Page 1).
• The Board approved an order for new book bags. The design and size will be changed.
• Students from The Evergreen College have finished a 10 minute video about the library. The Board will view it at the March meeting.
• There was a big turnout for the February book sale. Thirty new memberships were sold.

ADULT WINTER READING CLUB UNDERWAY
Adults can participate in the Adult Winter Reading Club by reading or listening to five or more books during the period of February 1 to March 31. Participants can turn in a form with the title, author and a sentence about each book and enter a prize drawing. Drawings are held in April during National Library Week. Forms can be obtained and turned in at any of the Timberland libraries. The first four grand prizes include overnight stays at ocean and local area resorts.

PAGE TURNERS FOR SENIORS
New Page Turners book discussion groups for seniors have started at the Olympia Senior Center at 222 Columbia St. NW. and the Lacey Senior Center at 6557 Pacific Ave. SE. The groups are led by a staff member from the Lacey or Olympia Timberland library. The Olympia group meets on the third Tuesday of the month from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The Lacey group meets the third Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. The book for March 15th for the Olympia group is “Girl With the Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier and for the March 16th Lacey group the book is “Brick Lane” by Monica Ali. Call Carrie O’Neill at 586-6181 for further details.

RSVP COORDINATES VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Beth Church and Frieda Ray, coordinators for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) met with the Friends of the Library Board to explain how the organization recruits and places volunteers. One of its main functions is to keep track of the thousands of hours contributed by volunteers. RSVP is part of the Volunteer Center funded by state and local agencies and federal grants. For more information call RSVP at 586-7787.

COMING EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY
Page Turners
The book review for April 1 is “The Long Goodbye” by Raymond Chandler. In this crime novel Private Investigator, Phillip Marlowe, tries to clear his friend of his wife’s murder. The book for May 6th is a memoir by Azir Nafisi named “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” A former professor at the University of Tehran, the author invites some of her best students to attend a secret weekly meeting in her home to discuss great (and forbidden) western literature by such authors as Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Vladimir Nabokov. The “Jane Austen Book Club” by Karen Joy Fowler will be discussed the same day.

Spring Adult Events
Women’s Suffrage in Olympia: Local historian, Shanna Stevenson, will present the history of Olympia women and their struggle for the vote on Saturday, March 26, 2:00-2:30 p.m. Introduction to Genealogy: An Olympia Genealogical Society member will give a beginning genealogy research course on Saturday, March 19 at 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Register beginning March 7 at the library’s reference desk or call 352-0595. Arbor Day Events: Micki McNaughton, an urban forester, will discuss the art of caring for local varieties of trees on Saturday, April 23, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Local Labor History: Representatives of the Labor Education and Resource Center at Evergreen State College will discuss local labor history, Saturday, April 30, 2:00-4:00 p.m.

Poetry Reading and Writing for Adults
All skill levels are invited to bring pencil, pen and imagination to a poetry writing workshop sponsored by the Olympia Poetry Network. The Network is Olympia’s long-standing sponsor of poetry readings and contests. The workshop is Thursday, March 10, 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Programs for Children
Check Timberland’s web site for on-going programs for teens and children,
(www.trlib.org) or call the library Youth Services Department at 352-0595. Many of these programs are sponsored by Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library.