For the Public

I'll avoid any cliches about gifts that keep on giving. Instead, I'll jump straight in and admit that I, like many librarians, am an NPR nerd. I adore NPR for a number of reasons (though I will say that it was Ira Glass who first got me hooked).

Library News The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District will put new library procedures into use January 1, 2010, that are designed to gain timely return of materials. Starting January 1, overdue notices will be sent sooner; patrons who are billed for $25 (lowered from $40) in overdue library materials will be blocked from using other library services such as Internet access; patrons will be able to renew any number of overdue items themselves at libraries and online; and library cards will no longer expire.

The C

Congratulations are due to Lopez Island P

Library News Starting Jan. 1, 2010, the Pierce County Library System is going paperless when it comes to notifying customers about books and materials they’ve requested or reminders about overdue items. The majority of customers already use e-mail or phone as their preferred notification method. Only 17,000 of the Library’s 240,000 customers get notices via the mail. In 2008 the Library sent 85,400 postcard notices for a cost of $28,000. The Library hopes this move to phone and e-mail notices will eliminate that cost.

Whether you are a descendant of the Ruddell family or y

Library News A plan to protect and preserve deteriorating newspaper clipping files in the Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room is currently under way. The project, known as the Newspaper Clipping Preservation Project, targets clippings that have been regularly used by researchers for decades, and remain essential to current and future local history research. Using a $7,000 grant provided by the Pierce County Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission, the library purchased preservation materials.