Discover Great Reads at Home & at the Airport
Take a stroll in your community this summer and discover colorful, larger than life sized book covers. A gallery of of 270 book covers in 15  communities brighten up exterior and interior spaces, including sites in Black Diamond, Burien, Crossroads (east Bellevue), Duvall, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, North Bend, Renton, Vashon Island and Woodinville. Tour brochures are available at all community libraries and online at Take Time to Read.
Take Time to READ will be prominently featured on Concourse B at the SeaTac Airport during the summer months. Quick Reads shelves and comfortable chairs will entice you to stop by, sit down and pick up a book or magazine to read while waiting for your plane.
 And, this summer, via Facebook, you can connect with librarians, ask for reading suggestions and request a 'surprise me' title. Participating patrons who live in the KCLS service area will receive readers advisory advice via email, Gift of Time cards and a Starbucks coffee card in the mail, thanks to the KCLS Foundation.
Take Time to READ is a multi-year multi-part initiative of the King County Library System. The goal of the program is to increase reading of all kinds, in all formats, all across the county. Take Time to READ is sponsored by the King County Library System Foundation.
 KCLS March Madness Reading Event
King County Library System has a March Madness bracket all its own, a competitive yet friendly Global Reading Challenge. This year's program drew 1,900 4th and 5th graders on 272 teams from 53 schools in 18 school districts.
It all starts with the forming of teams at schools in the fall, followed by local and regional challenges, culminating in the Grand Challenge event in March. Students worked together to read 10 books then quiz each other on questions, facts and story content. Each team includes students of all reading levels. KCLS librarians select the books and create the questions for the 'battle of the books.'
The books were donated by the King County Library System Foundation and the Stocker Foundation. This year's list included: Home of the Brave, Katherine Applegate Shakespeare's Secret, Elise Broach Lemonade War, Jacqueline Davies Shredderman: Secret Identity, Wendelin van Draanen The Gollywhopper Games, Jody Feldman Escaping the Giant Wave, Peg Kehret The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg How to Steal a Dog, Barbara O'Connor Thin Wood Walls, David Patneaude Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
The Grand Challenge event featured teams from: Lake View Elementary School, Auburn School District Samantha Smith Elementary School, Lake Washington School District Grand Ridge Elementary School, Issaquah School District Parkside Elementary, Highline School District
The Lightning Readers, a team of fourth grade students from Issaquah's Grand Ridge Elementary School, claimed the trophy.
The seven team members read often, studied hard and held practice sessions. For the final event, one student said, "I think the parents were more nervous than us."
A reward to all four finalist teams was the opportunity to meet guest author David Patneaude, who spoke about his book, Thin Wood Walls, which deals with the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. |
 Save the Date: Literary Lions Gala
March 23, 2013
The 20th Annual Literary Lions Gala will be a literary feast featuring more than two dozen talented Northwest authors, the enthusiastic book reviewer Nancy Pearl as emcee and keynote speaker Dennis Lehane.
Since his first novel, A Drink Before the War, won the Shamus Award, Dennis Lehane has published eight novels that have been translated into more than 30 languages and become international bestsellers: Darkness, Take My Hand; Sacred; Gone, Baby, Gone; Prayers for Rain; Mystic River; Shutter Island; The Given Day; and Moonlight Mile. He is also penned short stories and the play, Coronado. Three of his novels–Mystic River, Gone, Baby, Gone and Shutter Island–have been adapted into award-winning films. His tenth novel, Live By Night, will be out in October. |
 Literary Legend: Rosemary Theresa Wood
Rosemary Wood always admired the King County Library System. Whether she was using the library to do genealogy research or find books on gardening, she took full advantages of the resources offered to her at the Bothell Library. When she passed away in February, she made a gift to the King County Library System Foundation by way of a charitable bequest.
Rosemary was born in Tacoma and attended the University of Colorado where she received a bachelor's degree in Sociology. During her career, she worked at Boeing and earned her pilot's license. She studied art and was a talented watercolor artist and created beautiful craft items such as ornamental boxes. She was also passionate about gardening.
It truly was her dream to give back to the Library System for all the years she enjoyed the benefits that were provided to her. And her legacy will live on by way of her bequest for many years to come.
You can be a Literary Legend as well. Literary Legends is an honorary organization that recognizes the generosity of individuals who include the King County Library System Foundation in their estate plans or who have made another type of planned gift.
Rosemary requested that her donation be used to benefit the Bothell library and you can designate your bequest to a specific program or library as well. Please contact Cindy Sharek so that you are assured that the KCLS Foundation can fulfill your wishes for your legacy gift.
Cindy Sharek, Director of Major and Planned Gifts, cjsharek@kcls.org or 425-369-3225. |
 KCLS Adds to Graphic Novel Collection
KCLS was selected for the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Prize for Libraries at the recent American Library Association Conference. Will Eisner was an American comic writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded.
The prize includes all books nominated for the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the entire Will Eisner backlist of titles, a $2,000 voucher for KCLS to buy additional graphic novels and an another $1,000 stipend for KCLS to hold comics-related or author events. The prize includes more than 100 titles and is valued at about $4,000.
Dylan Flesch, a University of Washington student pursuing his Master of Library and Information Science degree, won the prize drawing and selected KCLS as the recipient. Dylan grew up in Tukwila and was a regular patron at the Foster Library.
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Take Time to READ
Free Book Lover's Diary!
KCLS Foundation Annual Report Available Online