Help Us Win $10,000

Everett Public Library is a finalist in the Playaway Picture This Contest, which means we have a chance to win $10,000--if enough of you vote for us at http://vote.playaway.com.

Creative staff members got us this far, with an eye-catching display you may have noticed at our Main Library. If you haven't noticed it, or don't know what Playaways are, it's time to check out the display and check out a Playaway. Playaways are MP3 players with an audiobook already loaded. They're about the size of a deck of cards, and are great for listening while exercising, cooking, gardening, or whatever activity goes better with a book.

The contest ends on December 17, and the library with the most votes wins. If we win, we'll use the money for our Summer Reading Program, to help support a community reading program for adults, and more books for our new teen area. Help us get there--with just a click of your mouse.

Librarians on vacation

I often visit libraries when we travel. All public libraries have much the same mission, but how they carry it out varies a lot. I know I'm not the only librarian who does this, and since we love to share ideas, it's usually possible to get a behind the scenes tour if you want. Or just stroll around anonymously.

This August I went on a a family vacation that was truly amazing. We toured Istanbul, a few Greek islands, and Athens. I saw the library at Topkapi Palace in Istanbul (no books there anymore), the remains of the library in Ephesus, and the site of Hadrian's Library in Athens. My niece is a librarian, too, and she and I made sure we took photos to commemorate our visit.

I like thinking about the long history of libraries. Whether they were built to demonstrate a particular ruler's importance or from a sense of civic pride, libraries have been one way cities and countries demonstrate a commitment to their citizens and to the future.

The photo here is of the library in Ephesus.

Vacation reading

Usually when I go on vacation I take too many books, and I spend a lot of time deciding just which ones to bring along. It would be too depressing to be stuck in an airport with nothing to read--or something to read that I wasn't going to enjoy reading. So I don't take any chances, and end up lugging around more books than I could possibly finish. And yes, I know that some sort of e-reader would be a solution to the problem, but I'm not ready for that yet.

But this year I got it just right. We were going on a trip with several long airplane flights, so I took 4 books. It proved to be the perfect number, and the perfect variety of escapist mysteries and more serious fiction. In case you're interested, here are my favorites:
Eucalyptus by Murray Bail is a tale of love, eucalyptus trees, and the power of stories.
The Ghost by Robert Harris is the political thriller the movie Ghost Writer was based on.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters is a gothic mystery set in post-WWII England that was short-listed for the Man-Booker Prize.

There's Music in the Air

Street Tunes, a project of the City of Everett's Cultural Arts Department, made its debut at the Main Library yesterday with the delivery of an artfully decorated piano. Modeled after a very successful program called Play Me, I'm Yours, Street Tunes has placed pianos from the Transit Center to the Library. A complete list, with a map and photos, is here. This morning I came to work to find a yound man playing beautiful music--at 8 a.m. At noon, an elderly man was entertaining a group of teens, while others sat on the steps to the coffee shop, listening appreciatively. Here are some photos taken right after the piano was delivered, when Van Ramsey, library building caretaker and member of the band The Wild Snohomians, treated us to a tune, and artist Evelia A. Sanchez posed with her artwork.

The piano is here for 3 weeks--play it; it's yours to enjoy.

Spelldown!

October 8 may seem like a long way away, but it's not too soon to start planning how you can participate in the first ever Everett Public Library Spelldown, a spelling bee for grown-ups to be held at the Everett Performing Arts Center. If you're a pretty good speller--or just a good sport--think about getting a team of three people together to participate for the grand prize. We don't know what that will be yet, but at the very least you'll win the admiration of your friends and family!

The entry fee for teams is $100, but there's no charge to come and watch the festivities, and all proceeds go towards the teen space project at the Main Library. We'll have a cash bar with beer, wine, and soft drinks. So get together with friends, family (over 18), or colleagues, fill out your entry form, and start studying the word lists. Or don't study at all, and just come for a good time.

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.