Friday, August 5, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Ewen and the 5 Little Monkeys
Today a mom told me they had just gotten back from driving (3 days!) from Ohio with Ewen!
The Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree rhyme got them through those long miles!
She was very grateful for the rhyme!
The Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree rhyme got them through those long miles!
She was very grateful for the rhyme!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
In Which I Visit the North Seattle Family Center
Wonderful, lifegiving experience of sharing Reading For Fun with small children and their parents at the North Seattle Family Center. I hope to do more with their various groups in the future. The center is 3 blocks away from the library and yet only one family has ever come to the library!
I hared stories about the ocean and the beach--kids enjoyed holding the shells I brought that I had collected in the early 1960's in Florida. They also enjoyed the ocean in a bottle made with colored water and mineral oil and also enjoyed making "waves" from half paper plates and art tissue wavy strips in blues and greens.
Two other hits--Dolphin Hockey Pokey and the book Wave and the book Wow! Ocean!
I hared stories about the ocean and the beach--kids enjoyed holding the shells I brought that I had collected in the early 1960's in Florida. They also enjoyed the ocean in a bottle made with colored water and mineral oil and also enjoyed making "waves" from half paper plates and art tissue wavy strips in blues and greens.
Two other hits--Dolphin Hockey Pokey and the book Wave and the book Wow! Ocean!
In Which I Enjoy Having Children Read at the Library
Two sisters and their cousin have been sitting in the children's area this morning reading books, filling out "I read 10 extra books" forms and decorating their Wall of Fame name tags with a star for every 10 books read. They come lots of days and it is a delight to have them in the library!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
+ culture
Art
Family Life
Food & Wine
Home & Garden
Media
Nature
TheVashonLine
A Cross Cultural Vashon Magazine
The Library and a Life Taking Shape
by Tim Morrison on May 13, 2011 · 1 comment
18
Share
in Family Life
My son turned 18 last winter. He graduates next month. Eighteen years and a mostly grown adult – there is a lot to ponder here! Included in my reflections are thoughts about the role Vashon played in his upbringing, thoughts on how the village helped raise my child.
photo: Sy Bean
In this respect I am grateful to the library. It’s been the kind of experience that makes me glad that I’m not the king of the world. Before Aidan made his library connection I frowned upon the popular music and video selections available for checkout there. At best, media other than books was outside of the primary focus of the library, and at worst, a waste of the taxpayer’s money.
I work in the library space now, and these days, my librarian acquaintances would tell me (in the kindliest terms, as is their wont) that the libraries-are-about-books attitude I held was wrong for classist and elitist as well as what-the-library-is-actually-about reasons. But when Aidan was 11, I was happy with my opinion. And then Aidan discovered Queen.
Aidan has always been a person of passionate commitments. As a toddler it was to his costumes. Then it was Pokemon – I remember a day hike when 5 miles of conversation between us (very one-sided) was about the characters from that menagerie and their special powers and relative strengths. Then it was sports, which was a hard one because although Aidan loved basketball and baseball and poured his heart into them and almost memorized the sports page each day, sports did not love him back. There were strikeouts and turnovers and sad times at the end of the bench, though he did develop a nice looking jump shot.
It seemed unlikely until it happened that music would be the defining passion of his adolescence, because Aidan was the type of child – common among those with parents of my generation (I’ve learned since) – who frequently would tell his mother and I to turn our music down and who maintained a proud disdain of rock and roll.
But one evening at dinner we caught him nodding his head to a Wilco song, and shortly after that he confessed a fondness for the Beatles.
I don’t know how he learned about Queen, but it was at about the same time he learned that he could check music out from the library. The combination was like fire and tinder. The house became a-clutter with cds and then fan books and band biographies. We learned that Brian May, Aidan’s first guitar hero, wrote the Queen classic Bohemian Rhapsody, has a degree in astrophysics, and built his first guitar using wood from an 18th century fireplace. At one point Aidan asked his bemused grandmother: “ask me anything you want to know about Queen”.
Aidan picked up a guitar. When he started picking and strumming he discovered that his love for music was not unrequited, that he could make the sounds he wanted to hear. He found encouraging teachers and band mates and appreciative audiences.
The library fed Aidan’s further musical interests, into the parentally troubling waters of punk and then metal. How, we asked, does this mild mannered boy come by his identification with bands with names like Rancid, Cannibal Corpse, and Carcass, and whose music to us, sounded like one sustained, atonal scream of rage?
The tables were turned: it was our turn to tell him to turn the music down. We built an outbuilding, partly to serve as a practice space. Neighbors tried not to be disturbed by the sounds emanating therefrom, sounds that seemed to alternate between hyena screech and distressed airplane engine.
Sometimes we had to turn the library cd covers upside down when we found them on the music shelf to spare ourselves the disturbing images.
People more enlightened than me will tell you that it is not for the parent to hope and dream, that this only hinders the child by putting someone else’s expectations in the way of something that belongs to them. Parents should take joy in their child’s personhood in whatever way it manifests itself. My better self understands this, but still, I think there must be something deep in our genes that makes us to want things for our children.
I’ve come to terms with this dilemma by wishing abstractly for Aidan and his sister, by wishing for them not this thing or the other, but rather a meaningful, affirming engagement with something, something of their choosing. Engagement, so my theory goes, leads to many of the worthwhile human conditions: curiosity, commitment, challenge, accomplishment, purpose, etc. So, if Aidan’s life-engagement is with death metal (I told myself, swallowing firmly) then so be it.
And the library cds kept coming: bands with names like Warriors of Death, songs with titles like Evisceration Plague.
Then Aidan discovered Frank Zappa, rock musician, avant-garde composer, iconoclast… activist. This was a more intense attachment then those preceding, involving as it did music, video, and books, most of them library-supplied. Aidan and friends performed Zappa’s I Am the Slime at the Red Bike when Aidan was a sophomore. The connection touched his head and heart as well as his musical soul. Frank Zappa’s music formed a bridge to a universe of musical experience that was undreamt of in my philosophy.
Recent selections from Aidan’s checkout list include John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Bill Frizell, John Coltrane, Benjamin Britton, and others. Aidan leaves for college next fall with a desire to continue his development as a classical guitarist, and an eye on a music degree with an emphasis in improvisation.
There is a turn-off coming up in the essay. Perhaps you, reader, see it ahead also. It is the “if not for the library” exit, in which I end by claiming a critical role for the library in Aidan’s journey to personhood. It’s true that in retrospect it seemed the right thing at the right time. It was accessible; it was away from home. If he couldn’t get a ride he could take his bike. With the exception of the one time we helped him out of a jam involving an impressive late-fee balance, he needed no help or guidance. It offered him a world of music and ideas (borrowing the slogan of a local radio station) to discover at his own pace on his own terms, largely unmediated by the commercial urgings that accompany a lot of content on the web.
Though it is appealing, I won’t take that exit. I won’t go there because I look back on the last eighteen years with the same uncertainty, awe and perplexity that I had when I was looking ahead at its beginning. So much contingency, so many influences and experiences, and underlying it all the human self and the mystery of its maturation.
Maybe without the library he would have found another way to feed his curiosity. Through his mentors, maybe, or a neighbor’s record collection, who knows. How did Aidan end up with a musical experience of such depth; how did his sister, for that matter, come by her compassion and bravery? Were they driven to it and bound to create it with whatever life presented them, or was it an accident of time and place, an alignment of circumstances, or was it some complex interplay of nature and nurture, or something beyond those two ambiguously defined categories?
I will not venture a guess. I will simply offer my gratitude. I’ll forego the appreciation and advocacy (until the next levy perhaps) and just say that the library was there for my boy. It fed him. He grew as a result of his connection with it. And I was fortunate to watch it while it happened.
http://thevashonline.com/2011/05/the-library-and-a-life-taking-shape/
Art
Family Life
Food & Wine
Home & Garden
Media
Nature
TheVashonLine
A Cross Cultural Vashon Magazine
The Library and a Life Taking Shape
by Tim Morrison on May 13, 2011 · 1 comment
18
Share
in Family Life
My son turned 18 last winter. He graduates next month. Eighteen years and a mostly grown adult – there is a lot to ponder here! Included in my reflections are thoughts about the role Vashon played in his upbringing, thoughts on how the village helped raise my child.
photo: Sy Bean
In this respect I am grateful to the library. It’s been the kind of experience that makes me glad that I’m not the king of the world. Before Aidan made his library connection I frowned upon the popular music and video selections available for checkout there. At best, media other than books was outside of the primary focus of the library, and at worst, a waste of the taxpayer’s money.
I work in the library space now, and these days, my librarian acquaintances would tell me (in the kindliest terms, as is their wont) that the libraries-are-about-books attitude I held was wrong for classist and elitist as well as what-the-library-is-actually-about reasons. But when Aidan was 11, I was happy with my opinion. And then Aidan discovered Queen.
Aidan has always been a person of passionate commitments. As a toddler it was to his costumes. Then it was Pokemon – I remember a day hike when 5 miles of conversation between us (very one-sided) was about the characters from that menagerie and their special powers and relative strengths. Then it was sports, which was a hard one because although Aidan loved basketball and baseball and poured his heart into them and almost memorized the sports page each day, sports did not love him back. There were strikeouts and turnovers and sad times at the end of the bench, though he did develop a nice looking jump shot.
It seemed unlikely until it happened that music would be the defining passion of his adolescence, because Aidan was the type of child – common among those with parents of my generation (I’ve learned since) – who frequently would tell his mother and I to turn our music down and who maintained a proud disdain of rock and roll.
But one evening at dinner we caught him nodding his head to a Wilco song, and shortly after that he confessed a fondness for the Beatles.
I don’t know how he learned about Queen, but it was at about the same time he learned that he could check music out from the library. The combination was like fire and tinder. The house became a-clutter with cds and then fan books and band biographies. We learned that Brian May, Aidan’s first guitar hero, wrote the Queen classic Bohemian Rhapsody, has a degree in astrophysics, and built his first guitar using wood from an 18th century fireplace. At one point Aidan asked his bemused grandmother: “ask me anything you want to know about Queen”.
Aidan picked up a guitar. When he started picking and strumming he discovered that his love for music was not unrequited, that he could make the sounds he wanted to hear. He found encouraging teachers and band mates and appreciative audiences.
The library fed Aidan’s further musical interests, into the parentally troubling waters of punk and then metal. How, we asked, does this mild mannered boy come by his identification with bands with names like Rancid, Cannibal Corpse, and Carcass, and whose music to us, sounded like one sustained, atonal scream of rage?
The tables were turned: it was our turn to tell him to turn the music down. We built an outbuilding, partly to serve as a practice space. Neighbors tried not to be disturbed by the sounds emanating therefrom, sounds that seemed to alternate between hyena screech and distressed airplane engine.
Sometimes we had to turn the library cd covers upside down when we found them on the music shelf to spare ourselves the disturbing images.
People more enlightened than me will tell you that it is not for the parent to hope and dream, that this only hinders the child by putting someone else’s expectations in the way of something that belongs to them. Parents should take joy in their child’s personhood in whatever way it manifests itself. My better self understands this, but still, I think there must be something deep in our genes that makes us to want things for our children.
I’ve come to terms with this dilemma by wishing abstractly for Aidan and his sister, by wishing for them not this thing or the other, but rather a meaningful, affirming engagement with something, something of their choosing. Engagement, so my theory goes, leads to many of the worthwhile human conditions: curiosity, commitment, challenge, accomplishment, purpose, etc. So, if Aidan’s life-engagement is with death metal (I told myself, swallowing firmly) then so be it.
And the library cds kept coming: bands with names like Warriors of Death, songs with titles like Evisceration Plague.
Then Aidan discovered Frank Zappa, rock musician, avant-garde composer, iconoclast… activist. This was a more intense attachment then those preceding, involving as it did music, video, and books, most of them library-supplied. Aidan and friends performed Zappa’s I Am the Slime at the Red Bike when Aidan was a sophomore. The connection touched his head and heart as well as his musical soul. Frank Zappa’s music formed a bridge to a universe of musical experience that was undreamt of in my philosophy.
Recent selections from Aidan’s checkout list include John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Bill Frizell, John Coltrane, Benjamin Britton, and others. Aidan leaves for college next fall with a desire to continue his development as a classical guitarist, and an eye on a music degree with an emphasis in improvisation.
There is a turn-off coming up in the essay. Perhaps you, reader, see it ahead also. It is the “if not for the library” exit, in which I end by claiming a critical role for the library in Aidan’s journey to personhood. It’s true that in retrospect it seemed the right thing at the right time. It was accessible; it was away from home. If he couldn’t get a ride he could take his bike. With the exception of the one time we helped him out of a jam involving an impressive late-fee balance, he needed no help or guidance. It offered him a world of music and ideas (borrowing the slogan of a local radio station) to discover at his own pace on his own terms, largely unmediated by the commercial urgings that accompany a lot of content on the web.
Though it is appealing, I won’t take that exit. I won’t go there because I look back on the last eighteen years with the same uncertainty, awe and perplexity that I had when I was looking ahead at its beginning. So much contingency, so many influences and experiences, and underlying it all the human self and the mystery of its maturation.
Maybe without the library he would have found another way to feed his curiosity. Through his mentors, maybe, or a neighbor’s record collection, who knows. How did Aidan end up with a musical experience of such depth; how did his sister, for that matter, come by her compassion and bravery? Were they driven to it and bound to create it with whatever life presented them, or was it an accident of time and place, an alignment of circumstances, or was it some complex interplay of nature and nurture, or something beyond those two ambiguously defined categories?
I will not venture a guess. I will simply offer my gratitude. I’ll forego the appreciation and advocacy (until the next levy perhaps) and just say that the library was there for my boy. It fed him. He grew as a result of his connection with it. And I was fortunate to watch it while it happened.
http://thevashonline.com/2011/05/the-library-and-a-life-taking-shape/
Thursday, April 14, 2011
In Which Karen Provides Kindness and Needed Information while Riding the Bus
A little bus story
Body A small thing happened on the bus yesterday that to me illustrated some of the powerful impacts of unkindness and kindness, and how service can be manifested in a way that affects others and connects people.
A scruffy looking guy got on the bus, and he showed the driver a paper with an address on it. The driver said, "I don't know where that is, do you know the cross street?" The guy said no, all he had was the address, 14300 Greenwoood Ave N, and it was the Greenwood Health Clinic. (actually, I don't remember the address or the name, it was something like that). The driver said, in an irritated tone, "Without the cross street, I can't tell you where it is. The address doesn't tell me."
(pause for what the? How can a bus driver not know that an address of 14300 Greenwood Ave N is on, um, let's see, Greenwood and 143rd??)
The scruffy guy sat down across the aisle from me, with a sad and worried look. I said, "Want me to show you where that is on a map?" He nodded, and I pulled it up on my phone, showed it where it was, told him how long it would be before we got there, and told him where he should ring the bell. Took me a few seconds, and his relief was obvious. He thanked me, and said "That driver was no help at all!" And the people around us agreed with him, and gave him validation and sympathy for the unkind treatment he had gotten from the driver (which in my experience is totally an aberration--almost every other bus driver I have encountered knows the city like the back of their hand, and can and will answer all questions, and if they don't know, they will ask the other passengers!)
A little group formed around this small experience, and in no time people were chatting and friendly. The human connection of asking for and receiving service created trust and put a smile on some faces.
I was glad that I could do this small thing, and glad that our training and habits as library staff give us the skills to offer help to anyone anywhere. Just a tiny story, and just a few minutes, but who knows what subtle ripples keep going?
Attachments
Body A small thing happened on the bus yesterday that to me illustrated some of the powerful impacts of unkindness and kindness, and how service can be manifested in a way that affects others and connects people.
A scruffy looking guy got on the bus, and he showed the driver a paper with an address on it. The driver said, "I don't know where that is, do you know the cross street?" The guy said no, all he had was the address, 14300 Greenwoood Ave N, and it was the Greenwood Health Clinic. (actually, I don't remember the address or the name, it was something like that). The driver said, in an irritated tone, "Without the cross street, I can't tell you where it is. The address doesn't tell me."
(pause for what the? How can a bus driver not know that an address of 14300 Greenwood Ave N is on, um, let's see, Greenwood and 143rd??)
The scruffy guy sat down across the aisle from me, with a sad and worried look. I said, "Want me to show you where that is on a map?" He nodded, and I pulled it up on my phone, showed it where it was, told him how long it would be before we got there, and told him where he should ring the bell. Took me a few seconds, and his relief was obvious. He thanked me, and said "That driver was no help at all!" And the people around us agreed with him, and gave him validation and sympathy for the unkind treatment he had gotten from the driver (which in my experience is totally an aberration--almost every other bus driver I have encountered knows the city like the back of their hand, and can and will answer all questions, and if they don't know, they will ask the other passengers!)
A little group formed around this small experience, and in no time people were chatting and friendly. The human connection of asking for and receiving service created trust and put a smile on some faces.
I was glad that I could do this small thing, and glad that our training and habits as library staff give us the skills to offer help to anyone anywhere. Just a tiny story, and just a few minutes, but who knows what subtle ripples keep going?
Attachments
Friday, April 8, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Museum Passport Like SPL's Passport Program
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014670030_museum03m.html
No wait or hassle for passport — to state museums
Like the library passport program in which people could visit libraries and get a stamp on a special passport booklet to show they had been there, a Seattle woman has created a similar museum passport program. She has 23 state museums signed on, where visitors can learn not only about the museums, but get a stamp in their passport booklets.
By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter
PREV of NEXT
JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Carla Humrich put together the 45-page passport booklets containing pertinent information. She also did the graphic design.
Related
Museum Passport Program
• Bellevue Arts Museum
• Burke Museum, Seattle
• Children's Museum of Tacoma
• Edmonds Historical Museum
• Frye Art Museum, Seattle
• Hands On Children's Museum, Olympia
• Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
• Imagine Children's Museum, Everett
• KidQuest Children's Museum, Bellevue
• Maryhill Museum, Goldendale
• Mobius Kids Children's Museum, Spokane
• Museum of Glass, Tacoma
• Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
• Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle
• Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane
• Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle
• Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, Bellevue
• Seattle Art Museum
• Seattle Asian Art Museum
• Skagit County Historical Museum, La Conner
• State Capital Museum, Olympia
• Tacoma Art Museum
• Washington State History Museum, Tacoma
Source: Carla Humrich
Last year, Carla Humrich took her 6-year-old granddaughter to every Seattle public library as part of its passport program, where people could visit each branch and get a unique stamp on a special passport booklet to show they had been there.
"They inspired me," said Humrich, who is launching a similar museum passport program this week. She has 23 museums in the state signed on, where visitors can learn not only about the museums, but also get a stamp in their passport booklets.
"I've always loved museums," said Humrich, an architect. "I started thinking about it last summer and contacted all the museums I could find. I was able to bring it together."
With a $550 grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Humrich printed 1,500 booklets for the museums, most in the Seattle area. Some museums, along with the city, have helped with the printing costs.
She put together the 45-page passport booklets, listing all the museums with information about each one, including hours, price, websites and photographs. "I thought, what a fabulous idea for museums," said Humrich, who, as an architect, said she could do the graphic design of the booklets.
The passport program, which Humrich calls "Awesome Museums of Washington State," will run through December.
Unlike the Seattle library program, Humrich has no prizes for those who fill their passport, other than the personal accomplishment. And there's no museum discount with the passport.
Humrich said she plans to visit all 23 museums, passport in hand, with her granddaughter Jocelyn.
Lori Patrick, with the city's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, said the office decided to help Humrich because its smART ventures program encourages innovation.
"That's exactly what Carla's museum-passport project does," Patrick said. "It was an interesting project because she's a community member making a difference, an individual who has a great idea who can make a difference broadly in the community through arts."
Patrick also praised Humrich's project because it already had moved beyond the idea phase and was ready to go.
Since launching the smART ventures program in 2006, the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs has invested about $188,000 in 218 projects.
Nicky Ducommun, with the Museum of History & Industry, which received 50 booklets Tuesday, said she's excited about the program.
"It gives something to our patrons, a memento of their visit," she said. "And it's fun for people."
Humrich said she always wanted to design a museum, and this was the next best thing. She hopes her passport project might help draw people to museums even in this tough economy.
"In these times, everyone needs our support," she said. "I hope it helps."
No wait or hassle for passport — to state museums
Like the library passport program in which people could visit libraries and get a stamp on a special passport booklet to show they had been there, a Seattle woman has created a similar museum passport program. She has 23 state museums signed on, where visitors can learn not only about the museums, but get a stamp in their passport booklets.
By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter
PREV of NEXT
JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Carla Humrich put together the 45-page passport booklets containing pertinent information. She also did the graphic design.
Related
Museum Passport Program
• Bellevue Arts Museum
• Burke Museum, Seattle
• Children's Museum of Tacoma
• Edmonds Historical Museum
• Frye Art Museum, Seattle
• Hands On Children's Museum, Olympia
• Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
• Imagine Children's Museum, Everett
• KidQuest Children's Museum, Bellevue
• Maryhill Museum, Goldendale
• Mobius Kids Children's Museum, Spokane
• Museum of Glass, Tacoma
• Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
• Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle
• Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, Spokane
• Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle
• Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art, Bellevue
• Seattle Art Museum
• Seattle Asian Art Museum
• Skagit County Historical Museum, La Conner
• State Capital Museum, Olympia
• Tacoma Art Museum
• Washington State History Museum, Tacoma
Source: Carla Humrich
Last year, Carla Humrich took her 6-year-old granddaughter to every Seattle public library as part of its passport program, where people could visit each branch and get a unique stamp on a special passport booklet to show they had been there.
"They inspired me," said Humrich, who is launching a similar museum passport program this week. She has 23 museums in the state signed on, where visitors can learn not only about the museums, but also get a stamp in their passport booklets.
"I've always loved museums," said Humrich, an architect. "I started thinking about it last summer and contacted all the museums I could find. I was able to bring it together."
With a $550 grant from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Humrich printed 1,500 booklets for the museums, most in the Seattle area. Some museums, along with the city, have helped with the printing costs.
She put together the 45-page passport booklets, listing all the museums with information about each one, including hours, price, websites and photographs. "I thought, what a fabulous idea for museums," said Humrich, who, as an architect, said she could do the graphic design of the booklets.
The passport program, which Humrich calls "Awesome Museums of Washington State," will run through December.
Unlike the Seattle library program, Humrich has no prizes for those who fill their passport, other than the personal accomplishment. And there's no museum discount with the passport.
Humrich said she plans to visit all 23 museums, passport in hand, with her granddaughter Jocelyn.
Lori Patrick, with the city's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, said the office decided to help Humrich because its smART ventures program encourages innovation.
"That's exactly what Carla's museum-passport project does," Patrick said. "It was an interesting project because she's a community member making a difference, an individual who has a great idea who can make a difference broadly in the community through arts."
Patrick also praised Humrich's project because it already had moved beyond the idea phase and was ready to go.
Since launching the smART ventures program in 2006, the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs has invested about $188,000 in 218 projects.
Nicky Ducommun, with the Museum of History & Industry, which received 50 booklets Tuesday, said she's excited about the program.
"It gives something to our patrons, a memento of their visit," she said. "And it's fun for people."
Humrich said she always wanted to design a museum, and this was the next best thing. She hopes her passport project might help draw people to museums even in this tough economy.
"In these times, everyone needs our support," she said. "I hope it helps."
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
In Which CiKeithia Appreciates Me
Hi Nancy,
This message is a few days late but I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work coordinating Spanish ST @ LCY. I had a fantastic time meeting families and watching Marco in action on Monday night.
It really warmed my heart to enter a room full of children and parents singing and laughing and I left feeling so excited about these programs! I met an older woman who insisted on filling out the survey because she wanted to make sure the Foundation knew the importance of this work and how it connects people in the community. She shared with me during the course of the conversation that she does even have kids but enjoys visiting story time because she learns so much.
This work would not be possible without fantastic staff such as yourself. You are responsive, creative and an absolute joy to work with. Keep up the good work!
CiKeithia
CiKeithia Pugh
Early Literacy Program Manager
This message is a few days late but I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work coordinating Spanish ST @ LCY. I had a fantastic time meeting families and watching Marco in action on Monday night.
It really warmed my heart to enter a room full of children and parents singing and laughing and I left feeling so excited about these programs! I met an older woman who insisted on filling out the survey because she wanted to make sure the Foundation knew the importance of this work and how it connects people in the community. She shared with me during the course of the conversation that she does even have kids but enjoys visiting story time because she learns so much.
This work would not be possible without fantastic staff such as yourself. You are responsive, creative and an absolute joy to work with. Keep up the good work!
CiKeithia
CiKeithia Pugh
Early Literacy Program Manager
Friday, March 25, 2011
Andrea on the Awesomeness of American Libraries
andrea vagabonderman
A travel blog as I make my way around Southern and Eastern Africa and South America.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Posted by Cass on Facebook and Appreciated by ME!
You become a reader because you saw and heard someone you admired enjoying the experience, someone led you to the world of books even before you could read, let you taste the magic of stories, took you to the library, and allowed you to stay up later at night to read in bed.~Jim Trelease.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Cool Thing at Work by Truc
A Mailbox where kids can mail a valentine to say what they like about the library or a book!
Thanks, Truc!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
In Which We Remember Christy and Her Dream of Library as Community Living Room
‘West Seattle loses another treasure’: Christy Tyson
January 6, 2011 at 9:19 pm
In West Seattle news, West Seattle people
11 Comments
If you’ve been to West Seattle’s Southwest branch library in the past few days, you may have noticed that tribute in the art by its entrance. It is in honor of Christy Tyson, who worked with the branch for more than 15 years. Julie Enevoldsen and Toni Reineke, with help from library staff, put together and shared this remembrance, and the accompanying photos:
West Seattle Loses Another Treasure
You may not have known Christy Tyson by name, but many will recognize her in the attached photo, as she was a fixture at Southwest and High Point branch libraries.
Patrons, volunteers, and library staff are mourning the loss of our
friend–and our Friend. Christy lost her battle with a long illness just minutes into the New Year.
Christy devoted her entire life to the library. In 1991 she became branch
manager at Southwest, and then team leader at both Southwest and High Point until her retirement in 2007.
As manager at Southwest, she worked with library administration and patrons on a pilot project to support the development of branch Friends groups. In 1992, she and neighborhood patrons founded Friends of Southwest Branch Library as a subsidiary group of the Friends of Seattle Public Library.
As team leader, she made a significant contribution to the design of the new buildings at both Southwest and High Point branches.
Her reputation for working with young adults was national. Christy had a special rapport with teens, encouraging young adults not only to participate, but to take active leadership roles (“She listened carefully to what we were saying,” one former teen says), and she kept tabs on their development throughout her life. She was a past president of YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association). As branch manager, she made a special effort to mentor teens and encourage them to establish their own library careers. Three of the Library Assistants currently working at Southwest are in Library School because of Christy’s inspiration.
She took children’s ideas and needs seriously, too, from helping them select just the right book, to making sure they could contribute their visions for the library. (One of her favorites was the idea from a child who wanted bunk beds on the bottom of each book rack!)
Christy was a passionate library advocate. One of her favorite sayings was, “The library is the community’s living room.” It was important to her to maintain the library as a common meeting ground for people of all ages and walks of life.
Christy enjoyed working in West Seattle so much that she bought a house here in the community. She was an enthusiastic gardener and dog-lover, and became involved in preserving and enhancing her new community in the Fauntleroy Creek area.
Our community has lost a passionate and inspired leader.
A celebration of her life will be held at a date to be announced. Donations may be sent to YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) or the Seattle Public Library Foundation.
11 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
I did not have the fortune of knowing Christy, but from this article alone, she sounds like a truly genuine and wonderful person who gave a great deal to her community. My condolences to those she leaves behind.
Comment by Carrie Ann — January 6, 11 9:49 pm #
Christy had a unique ability to recognize and develop potential in anyone ready for personal growth; old or young. She touched my life. I know I’m one of many whose lives are better because of her wisdom and care.
Comment by Sarel Rowe — January 6, 11 11:42 pm #
Christy was one of the people who helped guide my teenage years, and encouraged me to continue volunteering.
I and so many others will miss her terribly.
Comment by Alice — January 6, 11 11:46 pm #
I was so blessed to know Christy and she will be sorely missed. She was a truly lovely woman. Rest in Peace Christy!!
Comment by Cynthia T — January 7, 11 7:34 am #
In addition to her gifted work among us at area libraries, Christy was one of the founding members of the Fauntleroy Watershed Council. She couldn’t pull weeds in Fauntleroy Park but she could lend her wisdom to the making of key decisions – and she certainly did. I told her once that, in my next life, I wanted to be a librarian and she allowed as how she did, too. I hope she got her wish.
Comment by Judy — January 7, 11 8:15 am #
I worked with Christy in planning the remodel and expansion of the Southwest Branch Library. She was clearly passionate about her work and very focused on every detail of the planning. Sadly, when she fell I’ll, she wasn’t able to continue her efforts, but her influence was felt throughout the project. The beautiful library we have today reflects much of Christy’s spirit. She will be missed.
Comment by Pam Lund — January 7, 11 10:50 am #
Christy was truly a guardian angel in my life and I was fortunate to have known and worked with her over the years. I grew up in the High Point neighborhood and saw how much the library had a positive effect on the community over the years. I remember on one occasion in my early youth, I visited the Southwest branch looking for books for an assignment I was working on, not knowing anything about the library. And I fondly remember how attentive and caring Christy was when she helped me – I didn’t leave the library until she had found something for me.
Fast forward 10 years or so, Christy hired me to work at the High Point branch as a library associate and then over at the South Park branch when it first opened. Since then I have gone on to complete my MLIS degree and am still working for the library today. Christy saw something in me no one else did and gave me an opportunity of a lifetime that went on to instill in me a true sense of purpose and direction in my life.
I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for her guidance and support over the years. Thank you Christy, for everything. Rest in peace.
Comment by Daniel — January 7, 11 11:01 am #
Christy hired me as a young adult library associate at Spokane Public Library in 1984. For years I observed her loving magic with the teens who joined the Young Adult Advisory Committee (YAAC) – teens joined who loved to read, loved to share what they were reading, and loved the honor and respect bestowed upon them by national publishers who cared about receiving their input when publishing new books. The Golden Pen Award was given out to favorite authors – Stephen King, Beverly Cleary,among them.
Christy and the YAACs influenced City Hall and impacted budgets that affected the library.
Several teens (now adults) have confided to me that YAAC kept them from taking their own lives because they, among others, were not always accepted among their peers at school yet they found acceptance and support among their fellow readers in the library. There were budding romances and friendships.
Christy was life-affirming and trusting and a joy to be around and try to emulate. None of us could match her of course, but that didn’t matter, she illumined our own self-worth instead.
Farewell, dear Christy. We have loved you. We will always remember you. Tina
Comment by Tina Wynecoop — January 7, 11 12:23 pm #
Christy was an inspiration to so many of us. We have all learned so much, those of us who had the honor of working with her. I remember her at both the Southwest and High Point branches, and the way she always said “hello” to every single person who walked in, from babies to teens to grown-ups (including “senior citizens”) They all got greetings and a cheery smile from her, and they were all made to feel welcomed. We are all the richer, for having known you, Christy. Rest in peace and know that you are remembered!
Comment by k8 — January 7, 11 1:13 pm #
When I took over as the Young Adult Supervisory Library at the Mesa Public Library in Arizona in 1980, I knew I was filling some large shoes. Christy made young adult services happen at the Mesa Library, and also began the YAAC–Young Adult Advisory Committee (later Council)–there. She was charisimatic, vibrant, and very dedicated to teens and library services. She provided the preface for my 2005 book, Library Teen Advisory Groups–one of my favorite memories of writing it was Christy agreeing wholeheartedly to let me use a piece she had written about YAAC and its importance. Christy made her mark on the library world and the hearts of countless teens in Arizona, Alabama, and Washington. She is a treasure that will be sorely missed.
Comment by Diane — January 7, 11 4:40 pm #
I remember Christy well from her many years at the Southwest Branch. She was always the smiling face you saw as you entered the library. She was very kind and patient with everyone and she truly made the library “the community’s living room”. She will be very much missed.
Comment by StanT — January 7, 11 5:42 pm #
January 6, 2011 at 9:19 pm
In West Seattle news, West Seattle people
11 Comments
If you’ve been to West Seattle’s Southwest branch library in the past few days, you may have noticed that tribute in the art by its entrance. It is in honor of Christy Tyson, who worked with the branch for more than 15 years. Julie Enevoldsen and Toni Reineke, with help from library staff, put together and shared this remembrance, and the accompanying photos:
West Seattle Loses Another Treasure
You may not have known Christy Tyson by name, but many will recognize her in the attached photo, as she was a fixture at Southwest and High Point branch libraries.
Patrons, volunteers, and library staff are mourning the loss of our
friend–and our Friend. Christy lost her battle with a long illness just minutes into the New Year.
Christy devoted her entire life to the library. In 1991 she became branch
manager at Southwest, and then team leader at both Southwest and High Point until her retirement in 2007.
As manager at Southwest, she worked with library administration and patrons on a pilot project to support the development of branch Friends groups. In 1992, she and neighborhood patrons founded Friends of Southwest Branch Library as a subsidiary group of the Friends of Seattle Public Library.
As team leader, she made a significant contribution to the design of the new buildings at both Southwest and High Point branches.
Her reputation for working with young adults was national. Christy had a special rapport with teens, encouraging young adults not only to participate, but to take active leadership roles (“She listened carefully to what we were saying,” one former teen says), and she kept tabs on their development throughout her life. She was a past president of YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association). As branch manager, she made a special effort to mentor teens and encourage them to establish their own library careers. Three of the Library Assistants currently working at Southwest are in Library School because of Christy’s inspiration.
She took children’s ideas and needs seriously, too, from helping them select just the right book, to making sure they could contribute their visions for the library. (One of her favorites was the idea from a child who wanted bunk beds on the bottom of each book rack!)
Christy was a passionate library advocate. One of her favorite sayings was, “The library is the community’s living room.” It was important to her to maintain the library as a common meeting ground for people of all ages and walks of life.
Christy enjoyed working in West Seattle so much that she bought a house here in the community. She was an enthusiastic gardener and dog-lover, and became involved in preserving and enhancing her new community in the Fauntleroy Creek area.
Our community has lost a passionate and inspired leader.
A celebration of her life will be held at a date to be announced. Donations may be sent to YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) or the Seattle Public Library Foundation.
11 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post.
I did not have the fortune of knowing Christy, but from this article alone, she sounds like a truly genuine and wonderful person who gave a great deal to her community. My condolences to those she leaves behind.
Comment by Carrie Ann — January 6, 11 9:49 pm #
Christy had a unique ability to recognize and develop potential in anyone ready for personal growth; old or young. She touched my life. I know I’m one of many whose lives are better because of her wisdom and care.
Comment by Sarel Rowe — January 6, 11 11:42 pm #
Christy was one of the people who helped guide my teenage years, and encouraged me to continue volunteering.
I and so many others will miss her terribly.
Comment by Alice — January 6, 11 11:46 pm #
I was so blessed to know Christy and she will be sorely missed. She was a truly lovely woman. Rest in Peace Christy!!
Comment by Cynthia T — January 7, 11 7:34 am #
In addition to her gifted work among us at area libraries, Christy was one of the founding members of the Fauntleroy Watershed Council. She couldn’t pull weeds in Fauntleroy Park but she could lend her wisdom to the making of key decisions – and she certainly did. I told her once that, in my next life, I wanted to be a librarian and she allowed as how she did, too. I hope she got her wish.
Comment by Judy — January 7, 11 8:15 am #
I worked with Christy in planning the remodel and expansion of the Southwest Branch Library. She was clearly passionate about her work and very focused on every detail of the planning. Sadly, when she fell I’ll, she wasn’t able to continue her efforts, but her influence was felt throughout the project. The beautiful library we have today reflects much of Christy’s spirit. She will be missed.
Comment by Pam Lund — January 7, 11 10:50 am #
Christy was truly a guardian angel in my life and I was fortunate to have known and worked with her over the years. I grew up in the High Point neighborhood and saw how much the library had a positive effect on the community over the years. I remember on one occasion in my early youth, I visited the Southwest branch looking for books for an assignment I was working on, not knowing anything about the library. And I fondly remember how attentive and caring Christy was when she helped me – I didn’t leave the library until she had found something for me.
Fast forward 10 years or so, Christy hired me to work at the High Point branch as a library associate and then over at the South Park branch when it first opened. Since then I have gone on to complete my MLIS degree and am still working for the library today. Christy saw something in me no one else did and gave me an opportunity of a lifetime that went on to instill in me a true sense of purpose and direction in my life.
I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for her guidance and support over the years. Thank you Christy, for everything. Rest in peace.
Comment by Daniel — January 7, 11 11:01 am #
Christy hired me as a young adult library associate at Spokane Public Library in 1984. For years I observed her loving magic with the teens who joined the Young Adult Advisory Committee (YAAC) – teens joined who loved to read, loved to share what they were reading, and loved the honor and respect bestowed upon them by national publishers who cared about receiving their input when publishing new books. The Golden Pen Award was given out to favorite authors – Stephen King, Beverly Cleary,among them.
Christy and the YAACs influenced City Hall and impacted budgets that affected the library.
Several teens (now adults) have confided to me that YAAC kept them from taking their own lives because they, among others, were not always accepted among their peers at school yet they found acceptance and support among their fellow readers in the library. There were budding romances and friendships.
Christy was life-affirming and trusting and a joy to be around and try to emulate. None of us could match her of course, but that didn’t matter, she illumined our own self-worth instead.
Farewell, dear Christy. We have loved you. We will always remember you. Tina
Comment by Tina Wynecoop — January 7, 11 12:23 pm #
Christy was an inspiration to so many of us. We have all learned so much, those of us who had the honor of working with her. I remember her at both the Southwest and High Point branches, and the way she always said “hello” to every single person who walked in, from babies to teens to grown-ups (including “senior citizens”) They all got greetings and a cheery smile from her, and they were all made to feel welcomed. We are all the richer, for having known you, Christy. Rest in peace and know that you are remembered!
Comment by k8 — January 7, 11 1:13 pm #
When I took over as the Young Adult Supervisory Library at the Mesa Public Library in Arizona in 1980, I knew I was filling some large shoes. Christy made young adult services happen at the Mesa Library, and also began the YAAC–Young Adult Advisory Committee (later Council)–there. She was charisimatic, vibrant, and very dedicated to teens and library services. She provided the preface for my 2005 book, Library Teen Advisory Groups–one of my favorite memories of writing it was Christy agreeing wholeheartedly to let me use a piece she had written about YAAC and its importance. Christy made her mark on the library world and the hearts of countless teens in Arizona, Alabama, and Washington. She is a treasure that will be sorely missed.
Comment by Diane — January 7, 11 4:40 pm #
I remember Christy well from her many years at the Southwest Branch. She was always the smiling face you saw as you entered the library. She was very kind and patient with everyone and she truly made the library “the community’s living room”. She will be very much missed.
Comment by StanT — January 7, 11 5:42 pm #
Thursday, January 6, 2011
In Which I Meet an Eager Reader
A proud grandmother introduced me to her 7 year old grandson, Dakota, today. I asked him if he would like to help me read a story at story time someday. He said he would. He said, eyes gleaming, that he loves to read since he has been coming here (Lake City Library)!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
One Day of Change Among Many
1/5/2011
One Day of Change Among Many
Thinking of everyone across the system as we each come to terms with changes in our locations, positions, coworkers and supervisors.
Acknowledging the sorrows of partings and the hope in new possibilities, I wish an increasing ease of transition for everyone as the new ways unfold and that we support each other in co-creating The Seattle Public Library of the future.
Posted at 2:56 PM by Nancy Pew
One Day of Change Among Many
Thinking of everyone across the system as we each come to terms with changes in our locations, positions, coworkers and supervisors.
Acknowledging the sorrows of partings and the hope in new possibilities, I wish an increasing ease of transition for everyone as the new ways unfold and that we support each other in co-creating The Seattle Public Library of the future.
Posted at 2:56 PM by Nancy Pew
Thanks and Good Bye from Andy
I just want to let you all know what a pleasure it was serving as your branch manager. We accomplished so much since I began that job including finishing the design process for the new branch and then reopening such a great new building. We then started and continued to support the Talk Time program, absorbed the World Languages Collection, expanded the Homework Help program, expanded the story time offerings and so much more. You all should be very proud of the work you do and the contribution you make to the life of Lake City and our patrons. I know I am.
Andy Bates
Andy Bates
Monday, January 3, 2011
In Which I Perform Library Outreach in the Northwest Hospital ER
Last night I was at the ER with my husband (He is OK!) and fell into converstaion with the registration woman, Jennie. She recognized me from the library and had brought her son to the library and to story times in the past before they moved.
It turns out she may be able to bring her son after childcare to our Wednesday evening story time at 6:30.
I hope way leads on to way and she will be able to attend from time to time.....
It turns out she may be able to bring her son after childcare to our Wednesday evening story time at 6:30.
I hope way leads on to way and she will be able to attend from time to time.....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)