by Ralph Nichols

Burien City Council members will receive a report at tonight’s meeting (7 p.m. Feb. 7) that could have long-term implications for the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries.

The King County Library System’s (KCLS) 2011 North Highline Library Service Area Analysis (council agenda PDF file here, see page 45+) will be presented by director Bill Ptacek and Jennifer Wiseman, public services project manager.

This report will also be presented and discussed at the March 3 North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting.

In addition, surveys on library use will be conducted in both English and Spanish in these two service areas this month and in early March. The results will included in an update at the March 29 KCLS Board meeting.

No presentation or development of recommendations for future use or merger of the libraries is scheduled for the March meeting.

But odds are good that anything Ptacek and Wiseman say that even hints at a possible merger of the two North Burien libraries will meet with opposition from White Center and Boulevard Park residents.

Funding for a new White Center Library and improvements to the Boulevard Park Library was part included in a bond issue approved by King County voters in 2004, which is paying for new and renovated facilities throughout the KCLS service area.

That bond issue included construction of the new Burien Library, which opened in June 2009.

The report to be presented tonight shows that all libraries in the study area, with the exception of Kent, “exceed the System cost of $4.42 per circulated item. In contrast, half of the libraries in this study have a lower cost per visit than the System cost per visit at $8.38 per visit.”

It also projects the greatest percentage of population and total household growth will occur in Boulevard Park and Burien, followed closely by White Center.

“The proportion of the population living below poverty level is greatest in … White Center, SeaTac, Des Moines and Boulevard Park,” it continues.

And use of the “White Center and Boulevard Park libraries is concentrated to patrons in the immediate neighborhood,” while “the Burien Library is a destination library that draws people from throughout the area, including South King County and Seattle.

Might the White Center library branch end up merging with Boulevard Park's?

The report also notes “a high concentration of schools” near the White Center and Burien libraries.

Likely a finding of special interest to advocates of keeping both libraries open is a statement that “with limited public transportation routes, and only two points at which to cross underneath it, State Route 509 presents a geographical divide in the North Highline community.”

The Library Service Area Analysis will be used to determine “where libraries should generally be located in a given area and the size of the libraries to ensure an equitable distribution of library resources….

“[I]t is important to note that KCLS is a regional service provider. Library locations must provide optimal service to the largest number of residents within the entire KCLS service area, which takes precedence over political boundaries.”

Even before Burien annexed the southern portion of the North Highline unincorporated area last year, KCLS had expressed the intent to merge the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries into a new building.

This preliminary move generated strong opposition from patrons served by the libraries in both communities.

The Seattle City Council has declared its intent to seek a November 2011 annexation election for the remaining unincorporated North Highline area, which would cut into the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries’ services areas.

But in January, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s budget office submitted a report to that council indicating that the city is in no financial position to proceed with annexation for the foreseeable future.

That cast doubt on whether Seattle will ever act to annex North Highline – and appeared to open the door to a possible Burien annexation of the area.

Lucy Krakowiak is a member of both the Burien City Council and the KCLS Board, and has stated previously that she recuses herself from discussions involving Burien libraries.

It’s Back! Our beloved Tsutakawa Fountain has been installed in its new home inside the Burien Library!  Next time you visit the library be sure to have a look.

Please note that water volume for these first few weeks will remain low so that water levels can be tested and adjusted:

The re-installed Tsutakwa Fountain is located on the library's 1st floor – inside the library proper (not in the lobby) in the southwest corner, behind the stairs going up to the 2nd floor.

DID YOU KNOW?

• STARS Workshops – Fall 2010: Parents, Teachers and Child Caregivers are Invited to FREE Early Childhood Workshops?STARS (State Training & Registry System) is a career development system for those who work in child care, early education and school-age care. King County Library System offers free child care workshops for continuing education.

PROGRAMS OF INTEREST:

• Halloween Festival of Stories @ the Burien Library: Saturday October 30th at 11am. Ages 2-8 with families. In conjunction with Discover Burien’s ‘Boo in Burien’ which begins at 12noon along 152nd Street in Burien. Come in and hear tales of black cats, a humbug witch and trick-or-treating found in stories and songs.
• Halloweenie Jellybeanie @ the White Center Library: Wednesday October 27th @ 7pm. Presented by Alleyoop! Ages 3 & older. Hear some ‘not so scary’ stories and songs

Visit our website at http://www.kcls.org/programs/index.cfm for a complete list of all programs and events.

All King County Libraries will be CLOSED Thursday November 11th for Veteran’s Day.

BOOK REVIEW:

Books by Tana French: ‘In the Woods’, ‘The Likeness’, and ‘Faithful Place’

If you enjoyed Swedish author Stieg Larsson’s ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ series (or are still waiting for your copy!) you will be happy to discover Irish author Tana French.

French’s 3 novels ‘In the Woods’, ‘The Likeness’, and ‘Faithful Place’, though not a true series,  are all centered around the lives and stories of the Dublin Murder Squad.

Well written and complicated French’s novels are as much about the crime being investigated as they are about the Detectives trying to solve them.

In ‘The Likeness’ undercover cop Cassie Maddox bears an uncanny resemblance to a murder victim, this ‘likeness’ enables Detective Maddox to  impersonate the victim in hopes of uncovering  who wanted her dead.  Erie and suspenseful the reader is constantly on edge, expecting at any moment that the murderer will discover the imposter.

In ‘Faithful Place Detective Sergeant Frank Macky (who first appeared in ‘The Likeness’) is involved with a murder case that literally brings his personal skeletons out of the closet.

‘In the Woods’ features Detective Maddox along with her partner Rob Ryan whose childhood experience of abduction and murder comes back to life in a fresh but very familiar case.

Family relationships, past and present come together in all of French’s novels.  French’s characters are complex and well developed, the reader enjoys a truly three dimensional portrait of the personal and psychological side of life on the Murder Squad.

- Marilee A. Cogswell

Marilee A. Cogswell is the Manager of the Burien Library.

Two honors for design recently have been accorded the King County Library/Burien City Hall building, which opened last June.

The three-story centerpiece of downtown Burien has received an award for “outstanding” masonry design – and LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Gold is the Green Building Council’s second highest standard.

A commonly-used standard to assess environmental sustainability, the LEED achievement recognizes the city’s use of green building principles that benefit the public.

The central location of the facility at SW 152nd St. and 4th Ave. SW – easily accessible by foot, bike, bus or car – was a primary factor in the rating by the Green Building Council, as was the preferred parking created for low-emitting vehicles such as hybrids and for carpool drivers.

Detail of frosted glass in city council chambers.

In addition, during construction the builders diverted more than 89 percent of waste generated on-site from the landfill, and chose to purchase “green power” from renewable sources. Energy-efficient lighting and low-water plumbing fixtures were used throughout the facility.

LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance.

It promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The 58,000 square foot library/city hall building received the “Commercial: Government” category award in the 2010 Masonry Institute of Washington Excellence Awards in Masonry Design.

Its masonry, natural stone, glass and metal exterior “is designed to expose [its] programs and internal activities to passersby and to complement activities in the adjacent 1-acre park,” noted the award from the Masonry Institute.

Ruffcorn Mott Hinthorne Stine designed the building, which anchors Burien’s Town Square. The library occupies the first two floors, with city hall on the third floor. City council chambers are in a shared meeting room on the first floor.

by Ralph Nichols

Burien City Council members will receive a briefing at tonight’s regular meeting (7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22) on the King County Library System’s (KCLS) process for siting libraries.

The presentation will be made by Bill Ptacek, director of the King County Library System, and Denise Siers, director of KCLS Public Services.

And odds are good that they will hear an earful during public comments at the beginning of the meeting from North Highline residents – many of whom will become Burien residents on April 1 – concerned about the future of the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries.

The Library Service Area Analysis will also be discussed at the KCLS Board of Trustees monthly meeting at 960 Newport Way NW in Issaquah on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 5 p.m. The document can be accessed here (as a PDF file).

That meeting will include the trustees’ quarterly public forum, during which library patrons can speak on matters of concern for more than the three minutes usually allowed for each person, and library siting is expected to be a key issue for discussion.

Funding for replacement or expansion of both the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries was part of a bond issue approved by King County voters in 2004, which is paying for new and renovated facilities throughout the KCLS service area.

That bond issue included construction of the new Burien library, which opened last June.

But Ptacek signaled last fall that he might be backing away from what library patrons voted for in 2004, when former King County Executive Kurt Triplett offered to sell Puget Sound Park to the KCLS.

Ptacek indicated at that time that the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries could be closed and consolidated in a new library building at the park site – a preliminary move that generated strong opposition from patrons served by the libraries in both communities.

KCLS Director Bill Ptacek.

Burien City Council members and City Manager Mike Martin strongly objected to a sale of the park because it is located in southern North Highline, which will be annexed by Burien on April 1. New county Executive Dow Constantine agreed and last month announced that Puget Sound Park will be transferred to the city as part of annexation.

Since then, however, the proposed KCLS Library Service Area Analysis has left White Center and Boulevard Park residents still ill at ease about the future of their community libraries.

Rachel Levine, a member of the White Center Library Guild, recently noted that the siting process is based too much on numbers and not enough on people. Her remarks pose a contrast to Ptacek’s statement in his director’s report for Tuesday’s meeting:

“It was a surprise to hear that the City of Seattle plans to pursue the annexation of the North Highline area. This would extend the current City limits all the way to 112th street. If this occurs, the Greenbridge Library would be in Seattle and the Boulevard Park and White Center libraries would be close to the boundary. Obviously this development would have a major impact on the service area analysis KCLS has planned for the area,” he wrote.

“We are meeting with the Burien City Council on February 22 to discuss library services in the North Highline area that will annex to Burien and will use that occasion to present the current draft of the Library Service Area Analysis Policy. KCLS will use that process before taking any action on library services in the area.”

Burien City Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak, who is also a member of the KCLS Board of Trustees, told the other council members on Feb. 8 that the library board will not be discussing the status of these two libraries until the question of which city, Seattle or Burien, annexes northern North Highline is resolved.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of our fine bookworms out there!

Can you believe it’s almost 2010? (and isn’t that the “Year We Make Contact“?)

Please note that all King County Libraries will be closed on Thursday, December 24th and Friday, December 25th for the Christmas Holidays.

Also, all King County Libraries will also close at 5pm on Thursday, December 31st for New Year’s Eve and remain closed on Friday, January 1st 2010, New Year’s Day.

DID YOU KNOW?
The Burien Library Guild is now sponsoring the ongoing book sale at the Boulevard Park Library. Bring your donations of gently used books to the Boulevard Park Library, all sales collected from this book sale will be used to sponsor programs at the Boulevard Park Library.

The Burien Library Guild continues to sell used books in their ongoing sale at the Burien Library as well.

The Guild is also selling ‘Book Lover’s Calendar’ 2010 for $8 each at the Burien Library – a great bargain and a wonderful gift!

The King County Library System selection department has put together a list of the Best Books of 2009 - check it out here.

PROGRAMS:

Burien Library:

• Opera Preview : Verdi’s  ‘ll Trovatore’ presented by Norm Hollingshead
• Wednesday December 23th beginning at 7pm
• Sponsored by the Burien Library Guild
  Visit http://www.kcls.org/events/opera.cfm for a complete list of Opera Preview times and locations.

• Holiday Magic, for children ages 5 and older.
  Thursday December 31st beginning at 11am
  Sponsored by the Burien Library Guild.

White Center Library:

• Fiestas – Early Literacy Parties in Spanish
  December 10th & 17th 6:30pm-8pm
  The ‘Fiestas’ are workshops designed for Spanish-speaking families to prepare their children for Kindergarten. Las ‘Fiestas’ son talleres disenadow para los padres hispanos que preparan a sus hijos para el Kindergartern
  Sponsored by the KCLS Foundation

Visit http://www.kcls.org/programs/ for a complete list of programs throughout the library system.

BRANCH LOCATIONS:

• Burien Library – 400 SW 152nd St Burien (206.243.3490)
• White Center Library – 11220 16th SW (206.243.0233)
• Boulevard Park Library- 12015 Roseberg Ave S (206.242.8662)
• Greenbridge Library -9720 8th Ave SW (206.762.1682)

BOOK REVIEW:

“My Dream of You” by Nuala O’Faolain

When middle aged travel writer Kathleen de Burca returns to her native Ireland to research a scandalous love affair between a landlord’s wife and an Irish peasant during the potato famine she finds herself examining her own desires and needs as passion comes to her in the form of a married man.

The story is both an historical account of Irish history and a contemporary novel.

Wonderful, sad, uplifting.

Fiction.

Until next time…see you in the stacks!

Marilee A. Cogswell is the Manager of the Burien Library.

by Ralph Nichols

Burien City Council members had their first face-to-face discussion with a representative of the King County Executive’s office on the divisive issue of Puget Sound Park at their Dec. 7 meeting – and they didn’t blink.

Following a lengthy – and amicable – exchange of views with new Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett, the council agreed to delay once again setting March 2 as the formal date for annexing the south half of the North Highline unincorporated area.

City lawmakers made it clear to Jarrett that they consider the latest attempt by King County to sell the park – which was in the works before Executive Dow Constantine took office on Nov. 24 – a breach of trust.

And they remained equally adamant that Puget Sound Park, located at 1st Ave. S and SW 126th St. in the unincorporated area, is a county asset that rightfully should be transferred to Burien with annexation.

Jarrett appeared before the Burien council at the request of Constantine, who sent his regrets at not being able to attend the meeting. Prior to his election as county executive last month, Constantine represented Burien, North Highline and West Seattle on the King County Council and served as council chairman this year.

“We’re all in a place that we would really choose not to be,” Jarrett told the Burien council. “Our goal in all this is to be good partners and to reach an accommodation that meets the needs of both” the city and county.

Puget Sound Park is located on the land that once housed Puget Sound Jr. High, near the intersection of 1st Ave South and SW 126th.

Constantine, who in the past has strongly opposed efforts to sell Puget Sound Park, “is constrained by prior action of the [county] council,” he continued.

Before leaving office, former Executive Kurt Triplett included in his 2010 county budget an anticipated $600,000 from a planned sale of the five-acre park to the King County Library System. This one-time revenue is expected to pay for maintenance of county parks in unincorporated areas next year, Jarrett said.

Constantine had nothing to do with putting revenue from the sale of Puget Sound Park into the new budget and, Jarrett noted, “Dow did slow the [sale] process down” by asking Triplett not to act on a letter of intent with the library system.

Triplett complied with that request and, Jarrett said, the time to exercise the letter of intent has now elapsed.

However, Constantine presided over the county council meeting on Nov. 23 – the day before he was sworn in as executive – when it unanimously approved a $5 billion county budget for 2010.

“The Council has crafted a budget that protects public safety [and] keeps parks open in the unincorporated areas,” Constantine said following that vote.

Earlier this year, he wrote then-Executive Ron Sims, strongly objecting to any sale of Puget Sound Park for low-income housing, which was under consideration at that time.

Constantine also told the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council that the property should remain a park and should go to Burien if annexation took place.

King County Library Director Bill Ptacek has expressed interest in the library system acquiring Puget Sound Park and consolidating the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries, which would be closed, in a new facility at that location.

City Councilwoman Rose Clark told Jarrett it is “really reprehensible that at the 11th hour [before annexation] – 11:30 almost – the county says, “Oh, by the way, we’re going to sell the park and use the money for parks in other areas … and not tell you about it until the [county] council has voted” on it.

City Manager Mike Martin says that annexation won’t happen until Burien gets this park as part of the deal.

“To do that is a disservice to the Highline area,” Clark said. She then asked if the only way to keep other county parks open “is to take this park from Burien?”

Jarrett said that since anticipated revenue from selling the park is already in the new county budget, if the park is not sold cuts would have to be made or a source of replacement revenue would have to be found.

Nevertheless, he added, “We want to work with you. We want to be partners. We want to stop unilaterally actions by the county.”

“We would welcome that,” Clark replied.

Later, Jarrett said he and Constantine want to settle the park issue “in a different way. We just want to do this in a way that meets the needs of both sides.”

Clark insisted that as city and county officials discuss this matter, all meetings should be public, involve the city council and not just staff, and be held in Burien, which is a more convenient location than downtown Seattle for local citizens with a direct interest in the park.

Mayor Joan McGilton emphasized the important of parks in bringing the diverse cultures in Burien together. “We have [no parks] on the city’s east side,” she said.

And Councilman Gordon Shaw observed that the pending action by King County “proves the old adage that ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ … the whole thing doesn’t feel right.”

Burien officials learned about Triplett’s attempt to sell Puget Sound Park just days before the city council was scheduled to set March 2 as the formal date for annexing much of the North Highline unincorporated area – and just days before Triplett left office.

The city council then put the setting of an effective date for annexation on hold – and City Manager Mike Martin has declared that annexation won’t happen until Burien gets this park as part of the deal.

During public comment prior to the council’s discussion with Jarrett, Russ Pritchard, representing the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, noted that the council has twice voted unanimously to oppose the sale of Puget Sound Park.

Yet, Prichard said, the county is now attempting to sell the park without first receiving public comment.

Will this be the site for another new library?

Burien resident Ed Dacy said “a park is a jewel, and that “sale of a park, even for a library, should not happen without an extensive public hearing. What else are they [the county] trying to sell in the back room?”

Dacy also said City Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak, who also is a member of the King County Library System board of trustees, “must recuse herself” from voting on this park-or-library issue “due to a conflict of interest.”

Krakowiak later said while she wears two hats, she represents the city first and as a library system trustee recuses herself from votes involving Burien.

Rachel Levine, a member of the White Center Library Guild, said the pending sale of Puget Sound Park and possible closure of that library took them by surprise.

White Center was promised a new or expanded library through the library bond issue that was approved in 2004, Levine said. And the library, which “gets lots of use” with many patrons arriving on foot or bicycles, remains essential to the academic success of many Evergreen High School students.

“We can’t let go of the social network of our community,” she added. “We’ve already lost the Evergreen Pool – for the moment.”

Pat Price of Boulevard Park said residents there from students to the elderly “really need their library … we can’t find this acceptable to close two libraries to build one.”

North Highline resident Liz Giba said “to take away libraries from two communities that need them … is an ugly, ugly approach. We need libraries that are accessible … [and] the county told us this park would be saved.

“It’s time for King County, please, to treat us with a little bit of respect. We’ve been working for annexation for a long time. This is the latest step by the county to make it more difficult.”

City council members also agreed to delay adoption at Monday’s meeting of an amended budget for 2010 that would reflect both revenue and expenses associated with annexation. Instead, they will vote on Dec. 14 on a revised budget that does not include annexation unless the park issue is resolved before then.

So…what do YOU think? Please take our Poll, or leave a Comment below…

by Ralph Nichols

King County Executive Dow Constantine, whose first full day on the job was Monday (Nov. 30), reportedly plans to meet with all interested parties before deciding the future of Puget Sound Park.

The King County Library System recently entered into a preliminary agreement with former Executive Kurt Triplett to purchase the park from the county in a deal brokered through county executive’s office.

But Puget Sound Park is located at 1st Ave South and SW 126th Street in the unincorporated area of North Highline that is to be annexed by Burien early next year. And City Manager Mike Martin said last week that annexation won’t happen until Burien gets this park as part of the deal.

Burien and North Highline officials knew nothing about the pending sale of the park to the library system until Nov. 20th (read our previous coverage here).

Frank Abe, Constantine’s director of communications, told The B-Town Blog on Nov. 30 that “one of the executive’s first action items will be to sit down with all the parties involved and to understand their concerns….

“Before taking office, Executive Constantine asked the previous executive (Triplett) not to take action until he could talk to everyone, and no action was taken” on a possible sale of the park, which is now on hold.

Constantine likely will meet with Burien Mayor Joan McGilton and Martin, King County Library System Director Bill Ptacek, and North Highline Unincorporated Area Council President Greg Duff, among others.

Abe said Constantine wants to “figure out what’s best – especially for the people of Burien.” Constantine represented Burien, North Highline and West Seattle on the King County Council until his election as county executive in November.

He added that Deputy County Executive Fred Jarrett has emphasized “we want to be certain the county doesn’t do something that’s arrogant or one-sided” where Burien is concerned.

Click image to download PDF of Dow's letter.

Triplett’s stealth attempt to sell the park – initiated by the county and discussed with library system officials without informing the city or, apparently, library system trustees – prompted Burien council members at their meeting on Nov. 23 to postpone official annexation of North Highline, which tentatively was set for March 2.

Burien officials and North Highline residents hope that Constantine will intervene to block the sale, thus allowing Puget Sound Park to go to the city as part of annexation. And a Jan. 28, 2009, letter from Constantine to the North Highline Council, following a meeting he had with Triplett, may give them reason for optimism (download a PDF of the letter here).

At that time, while Burien lawmakers continued to deliberate the annexation issue, Triplett had identified Puget Sound Park as a county property that might be used for affordable workforce housing.

“Park property is hard to come by and especially dear to any community,” Constantine wrote the North Highline Council. “Any proposal to sell park property must receive the highest level of scrutiny and public discussion….

“Any specific proposal for Puget Sound Park would also need to be similarly presented for community review.

“Given that Puget Sound Park is located in the city of Buren’s Potential Annexation Area, I urged the Executive’s representatives to include Burien officials in any future discussions.”

“We expect to have that park,” Martin said following the Burien council’s postponement of setting a date for formal annexation. “No annexation deal will be done until we get that asset.”

King County Executive Dow Constantine

And McGilton sent a letter to Constantine requesting his “direct intervention in this matter.”

Burien City Councilwoman Rose Clark, in remarks during the Nov. 23 meeting, called Triplett’s “eleventh-hour” attempt to sell Puget Sound Park “reprehensible.”

Councilman Gordon Shaw called the move “very, very bad government…. I’m very disappointed with King County. The (North Highline) residents have said before they don’t want the park sold.

Shaw added that the timing of the revelation of the proposed park sale “gives (the city) a really good opportunity to work with Dow in a new collaboration and to get away from the dictatorial attitude the county has had toward Burien in the past.”

Shortly after the August election, when residents of the southern part of North Highline approved annexation by Burien, Triplett proposed mothballing King County parks to reduce county general fund expenses by $4.6 million.

Constantine quickly responded, opposing Triplett’s plan to cut funding for the parks in unincorporated areas.

“Parks are important to the health and quality of life of everyone in the communities,” and closing them would be “short sighted,” he said.

All King County Libraries will be Closed Thursday, Nov. 26th for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

DID YOU KNOW?

The King County Library System offers a variety of databases to help you with everything from business information and directories to homework help.  See our featured database at http://www.kcls.org/databases/

Testing & Education Reference Center:
Get ready for the big tests in your life – AP, SAT, GED, MCAT, and civil service – with practice tests, ebooks, and planning advice from #1 names in college and vocational prep, Peterson’s and ARCO.

BOOKS & READING:
Visit http://www.kcls.org/booksandreading/index.cfm for a list of books we recommend, new books, and book club resources.

PROGRAMS:

Literary Feast
LOCAL AUTHORS Cliff and Nancy Hollenbeck will be at the Burien Library Saturday, Nov. 21st  from 2pm- 4pm.

Northwest authors Cliff and Nancy Hollenbeck will visit the Burien library on Saturday Nov. 21, for a book-reading and signing event. The best-selling local authors are featured in the book, “Literary Feast, The Famous Authors Cookbook,” which is a compilation of 100 food, drink and dessert recipes from scores of well-known authors and writers.

Singing Thanksgiving at the Burien Library Wednesday, Nov. 18th at 10:30am! Presented by Harmonica Pocket
. All ages welcome.
 Celebrate the holidays with American Folk tunes including Over the River and Through the Woods, Turkey in the Straw, and This Little Light of Mine. This dynamic musical duo will have everyone singing and dancing along.

Rock! Rock! Rock! at the White Center Library Wednesday, Dec. 2nd at 6:30pm! Presented by Rowbes.
 Ages 2 and older welcome.
 This original children’s rock concert is performed by some crazy puppet musicians. 
Rowbes is better known as Dewy the Dog from Story Time with Dewey and Sketch: Season 2.

Visit http://www.kcls.org/season/ for a complete list of all upcoming library programs!

Why Can’t You Behave? Ideas for Handling Misbehavior at the Greenbridge Library Saturday, Nov. 21st at 1pm

Presented by Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed., Priceless Parenting, LLC
 – Learn ways to set effective limits, deal with adult-child control issues and use positive techniques for dealing with issues like tantrums, tattling, begging at the store and bedtime. 
Provides 2 hours STARS credit in Child Guidance.

BOOK REVIEW:
‘Wild Swans; Three Daughters of China’ by Jung Chang.

From turn of the century China through the 1980s Chang traces 3 generations of women.

Her grandmother, born in 1907, was a concubine as a young girl, her mother was a Communist party member and official, and she was a member of the Red Guards in the late 60s.

China’s evolution from a feudal society to present day told through the experiences of one family brings to life the incredible hardships and successes that have shaped the country.

Non-fiction, and definitely worth a read!

Until next time…see you in the stacks!

Marilee A. Cogswell is the Manager of the Burien Library.

Summer is here dear Readers, which means it’s time to slather yourself with gobs of SPF750, cover your nose with zinc oxide, then find a shady spot and read a great book borrowed for FREE from your brand new library!

DID YOU KNOW?
All of the public-use computers in the King County Library System are being updated to Microsoft Office 2007! Visit our webpage for tutorials on all Office 2007 software here.

TEENS & SUMMER:

• “Read Three, Get One Free Summer Edition & Video Book Review Contest” is going on! Be sure to get your entries in by August 31st to be eligible to win fabulous prizes, like a laptop computer and cool Flip Video cameras! Check out our website to get all the details and entry forms here.
• Study Zone – keep your brain tuned up for school! Burien Library Wednesdays this summer beginning at 3:30pm.

PROGRAMS:

• The Summer Reading Program for elementary and preschool kids is underway. There are lots of free and fun programs coming to a library near you. Check out ALL KCLS Summer Reading Programs on our website here.
• “Up Up & Away” – spellbinding scientific experiments for ages 4+ at the White Center Library Tuesday July 21st 2pm, Sponsored by the White Center Library Guild.
• “Create a Puppet” – come and build your own puppet for ages 3+ at the Boulevard Park Library Tuesday July 28th 11am.
• “Rock Out with Recess Monkey” – blast off with imaginative rock n’ roll – all ages at the Burien Library Wednesday July 22nd 11am.

FOR ADULTS:

• Master Gardeners at the Burien Library every Wednesday beginning at 5pm and Saturdays beginning at 11am in the lobby.
• ESL (English as a Second Language) Tuesdays & Thursdays through August 16th at the Burien Library, class starts at 6:00pm, presented by Highline Community College.

BOOK REVIEW:
“Marco Polo, from Venice to Xanadu“ by Lawrence Bergreen: Marco Polo has fascinated readers since his ‘Travels’ first appeared for European readers in the 13th century.

At the age of 17, Marco Polo’s travels began when he accompanied his father and uncle to the court of the infamous Mongol leader Kublia Khan. Essentially held captive by Kublia Khan for over seventeen years, Marco served as an emissary for the great Khan during his ‘coming of age’ years. Marco kept a journal of his travels and years later collaborated with Rustichello da Pisa to compile ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’. Many revisions and additions were made to the ‘Travels’ over Marco’s life time, the original manuscript did not survive.

Though many did not believe much of what Marco Polo claimed to have witnessed (some still don’t), Bergreen, in this most recent book, uses 19th and 20th century Chinese scholars to verify many of facts and events that Marco Polo claimed to have witnessed. An extremely readable and fascinating book that most vividly brings to life the fabulously wealthy and powerful Kublia Khan.

This biography is available on CD too, which makes it not only worth a read, but worth a listen as well!

‘Til next time, we’ll see you on the beach with a great book (and plenty of sunscreen)!

Marilee A. Cogswell is the Manager of the Burien Library.

Thursday (July 2nd), we received the following email from a BTB Reader named Jessica, inquiring about the 1972 George Tsutakawa fountain at the new library, which has been recently removed:

Hello,

Yesterday I visited the beautiful new Burien library and noticed the fountain in front was missing. I know it made it in the move as I had previously saw it at the new location.

When I asked one of the librarians what had happened to the sculpture she said it is currently in storage but was unsure as to why.

With the community so boisterous about one particular bronze sculpture I can’t imagine why they are not up in arms to protect the lovely G rated George Tsutakawa Fountain.

Is there not enough room in Burien for more than one sculpture?

Or perhaps someone complained about the environmental impact of the base of the sculpture being too small and thus causing a small amount of water to be wasted.

I thought if anyone could get to the bottom of this it would be the B-Town Blog.

Thank you,
Jessica

So we contacted our “Empress Of Information,” Marilee Cogswell, Manager of the Burien branch, who said:

Yes, it has been removed temporarily – we are looking at alternative sites for it as it was getting a bit too much attention (trash, coins, and climbing) in that space.

It was decided to pull it out and store it before any real damage happened.

We are looking at a couple of alternatives..one inside the building and one outside.

I don’t have a timeline, but will keep you posted.

George Tsutakawa's "Rain Fountain No. 2" used to be inside a protected courtyard.

The original installation of this fountain was in an inner courtyard of the old library, which was protected from human interaction.

The new location was not, hence the concerns and subsequent removal.

When we took the photos early Thursday evening three young boys were playing around in the fountain’s base, empty of everything but rocks.

“I think they moved it ‘cuz kids were playing on it,” said one young man who was literally inside the base when asked what happened. Moments later, he found a coin from under some rocks.

Here’s some info on Tsutakawa from the website Art Market Online:

George Tsutakawa dedicated his life to art and the freedom of expression that it granted him. Tsutakawa worked in a number of media, including paint, bronze, and clay. Born in Seattle in 1910, Tsutakawa went to live with his maternal grandmother in Japan from 1917 to 1927. Upon Tsutakawa’s return to Seattle, he began to study art and help with the family import/export business. His time spent in Japan as a child – especially the traditional tea ceremonies performed by his uncle – inform his work, as did the beauty of the Pacific Northwest region and the art of the Northwest Masters. Tsutakawa attended the University of Washington, and received his MFA in 1950.

In 1960 the City of Seattle commissioned George Tsutakawa to create Fountain of Wisdom, for the Seattle Library; this project was the first art commission by the city of Seattle since 1908. Between 1960 and 1990, the artist designed and created over 60 fountains throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. He exhibited extensively throughout Japan, the United States and Canada beginning in the 1950’s. Tsutakawa was awarded many honors throughout his career including the Order of Rising Sun Award, fourth class, from the Emperor of Japan.

In 1972, “Rain Fountain No.2,” made of stainless steel, 6′, was installed at the (old) Burien Library on 4th Ave SW.

We’ll keep you posted as this story develops, so check back often. You can also subscribe to our free RSS Feed here, or get the blog via email here.