SIFF Comes to Everett

I'm a film fan, so I was very excited to hear that the Seattle International Film Festival was bringing a selection of films to Everett this year. I attended the opening night gala on Thursday, which included a screening of Mao's Last Dancer, a question and answer session with the director, Bruce Beresford, and lots of food and wine courtesy of local restaurants. Although I didn't like the film, I think I was in the minority. The audience was enthusiastic, and people really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Last night my husband and I went back to see The Concert, a funny and uplifting story about Russian musicians and politics, and we both thought it was terrific.

I'm looking forward to seeing at least two more films before the Everett SIFF program is over, and I am hoping SIFF will be back next year. Whether that happens or not, be sure to check out the library's film collections. We have a great collection of foreign and independent films.

The Big Read

I can't let May go by and without a post on the Big Read. Perhaps you haven't visited us for a while, or even if you have, maybe you hadn't noticed all those stacks of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried displayed in various places around both libraries, as well as the posters that highlight the book and the events scheduled in Snohomish and Island Counties. After all, I read somewhere that only 12% of all women and 5% of all men (I will resist making any snide comments here) actually read signs. So you might have missed the fact that Everett Public Library and Sno-Isle Libraries are collaborating on the Big Read, a National Endowment for the Humanities program designed to foster reading and book discussions.

We did this last year with Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon. I am much more interested in this year's book selection. The Things They Carried, a novel about the Vietnam War and its aftermath told from the perspective of a group of soldiers who served together, is a powerful book. Unlike the The Maltese Falcon, O'Brien's book lends itself to discussion on many levels--whether your interests are literary, historical, or sociological, O'Brien has managed to make his characters and the situation they find themselves in real and intelligible even to those of us who know little about Vietnam.

We bought over 500 copies of the book in a variety of formats. More than half of them are checked out, including most of our book group sets. I would not have guessed that we could get Everett residents to check out almost 300 copies of the same book at the same time. And it's not even a bestseller, having been originally published in 1990. I hope you'll read the book, attend some of the outstanding programs we've scheduled during the month, and most of all, I hope you'll talk about what you've read, whether at a library event or among friends. It's a great way to connect with your community.

If you like really good bread...

I love fresh-baked bread. Well, who doesn't, right? I don't make it often, but my life, or at least as far as bread baking goes, has changed since reading My Bread by Jim Lahey. I had read about this recipe more than a year ago, but was only recently inspired to try it after talking to friends who make it all the time. Lahey's recipe is no-knead, but it does take planning because it needs at least 12 hours to rise. So I mixed it up one night, and then left it. I was just sure the recipe must have a typo, because it only called for 1/4 teaspoon of yeast. When I looked at it next morning, it looked kind of grey and goopy, and I was afraid my concerns were justified. But I persevered, which meant leaving it to its own devices for about 5 more hours before actually baking it. It would be kind to say it looked less than promising going in to the oven--but it was delicious. That loaf was gone within 24 hours. Time to make another one, and maybe time to checkout some new cookbooks in search of yet more culinary inspiration.

Quoting Keith Richards

It's National Library Week, a time of year when we ask you to be happy you have a public library. There has been a lot of bad news for libraries around the country in the last two years. Libraries are often the first casualities of a bad economy, and the economy has been on the skids for two years now. When I read news stories about libraries cutting staff, cutting hours, cutting materials budgets, and closing branches, I am grateful we have so far escaped any of those fates. It's a sad truth that as people turn to libraries more than ever--whether for help with job searches, free programs for entertainment and education, or free materials for reading, listening, and watching--libraries in many parts of the country are less available and have less to offer than they once did.

But that's not true in Everett, and I am happy to be able to say that our libraries and our staff are providing more service to more people than ever. And we're doing it with the same budget we had last year. We're offering more computer classes, individual computer assistance, and soon, more public Internet computers. Our materials collection is robust,and we're launching our second Big Read project with Sno-Isle Libraries. Baby storytimes are thriving, circulation continues to grow.

I never expected to be quoting Rolling Stone Keith Richards, but I came across this on a list serv, and thought it was appropriate this week, and really, every week.

When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you. The public library is a great equaliser.” Keith Richards

Good Intentions

When I began this blog my intention was to post at least once a week. I don't always make that goal, something you probably know if you read it at all regularly. Recently a colleague passed along an article about food bloggers/diarists--people who are almost obsessive about documenting everything they eat, and doing it every day. Whether you are a fan of the minimalist approach exemplified by Javier Garcia or Nora Sherman's more colorful photos, apparently it's possible to spend a lot of time online looking at what other people are eating.

I know myself well enough to know there's no way I'll ever blog about anything on a daily basis. In fact, I don't even spend a lot of time reading other people's blogs, at least not every day. I guess I read blogs the way I write this one--sporadically. I look at library blogs and gardening blogs, and then life gets busy and I forget to go back. And it's not because they weren't interesting.

I was thinking about how people incorporate technology and the Internet into their lives (or don't) the other day. I was at Best Buy waiting for a computer diagnosis, and talking about smart phones with one of the sales guys. Now, I would love a smart phone, and he was hoping to sell me one. We had a long conversation about various phones and features and calling plans. And then he asked me what I did online--where I got my news, for example. The answer to that is NPR and the newspaper. It feels as if I'm online a lot, but it's usually for a work-related purpose. I guess I still think of technology as a tool, and not as part of my leisure life. Maybe if I get that smart phone, that would change?

Oh, and just in case you're interested, today I've eaten an egg, some toast...

Back from Portland

I have just returned from Portland, Oregon and the 2010 Public Library Association Conference. I went to sessions on strategic planning, developing social software policies, library mash-ups, market segmentation, and how to deal with difficult people (not you, of course). Over the next few weeks I'll be working with staff to implement some of the ideas from the conference--ideas related to safety and decluttering will be the first we'll work on since they don't cost money and pay off for patrons and staff by creating a more comfortable environment. Longer term, we'll be looking at our use of social software, and moving our strategic plan into year 3.

Library conferences always have a large vendor exhibits area, and I came back with pens and pencils, note pads, and lanyards, as well as information about the latest new services and gadgets for libraries. There were even books and authors there, just in case you're worried about technology overtaking the printed word.

I hadn't been in Portland for several years, and I was very impressed by how easy it was to get around using light rail. We used it to get from our hotel to the convention center and back, and to get to a restaurant in the Pearl District--all at no charge. Portland also has great food stores, and we brought back bagels and some fancy chocolates to share with family and staff. And now, back to work.

How I spent my Sunday

Last Sunday was a beautiful day, and I spent it outside pulling weeds and pruning my roses. Until we moved to Washington, I had never lived anywhere where the weeds grow even in winter! Usually I listen to a book when I work outside so I can maximize my "reading" time, but this Sunday it was just me and the weeds--and lots of ideas about what to do differently in my garden this year.

The library has lots of books on gardening and landscaping, of course, but Everett has another great resource for those of us who enjoy gardens--and that's the Evergreen Arboretum. This gem of a garden is somewhat hidden from view, nestled at the edge of the golf course at Legion Park, but is well worth a visit whether you're looking for inspiration or just relaxation. I've been a member for a while, but Friday I am finally volunteering some time to help staff the Arboretum's booth at the Everett Home Show. Stop by the booth on Friday afternoon and learn more about Everett's very own arboretum.