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Resource Report - 43 Timberland Regional Library · Resource Report

0:20
Hello and welcome to Resource Report, where we share
0:22
with you important information about local nonprofits
0:25
and resource organizations that support the community
0:29
we share, produced by Pathways to Agency. I am
0:33
your host, Rainmaker. Today, I am interviewing
0:36
two individuals from Timberland Regional Library.
0:40
Please welcome Interim Executive Director, Andrea
0:43
Heisel, and Regional Manager, Victoria Harmon.
0:58
I am here at KAOS Radio Station with the interim
1:04
executive director of Timberland Regional Library,
1:08
Andrea Heisel, and the regional manager, Victoria
1:14
Harmon. How are you today, ladies? Fantastic.
1:16
Thank you. Doing good. Oh, good. It's so good
1:20
to have you all here. Can you reintroduce yourselves
1:24
and give us your position, and how did you come
1:27
to be here at Timberland Regional Library? So
1:31
my name is Victoria Harmon, and I am the Regional
1:35
Library Manager for the Olympia and West Olympia
1:38
Library. And I have been at the Olympia Library
1:42
for the last year. And before that, I was over
1:47
at Aberdeen, the Aberdeen Library. But I've been
1:51
traveling all over. And I'm Andrea Heisel. I'm
1:56
the interim executive director for Timberland
1:58
Regional Library. I've been with Timberland for
2:00
nine years. I started as the collections manager,
2:04
took over IT during the pandemic, and just have
2:08
progressively moved up the ranks that way. And
2:11
most recently was interviewed and received the
2:15
interim executive director position about four
2:17
months ago. Thank you. And that position came
2:22
into your hands through a lot of the changes
2:26
that we've been seeing. That is correct. Yeah.
2:29
Okay. How are you feeling about being in that
2:32
position within the midst of all of this? It
2:35
has been a journey. And it's been really good.
2:39
I mean, a lot of good things have come out of
2:41
the last four months. So it's been a, you know,
2:45
it's been a really I don't even know how to describe
2:48
the last four months or nine months, really.
2:52
It's been a journey. That is the best description.
2:54
Yeah. We're moving in the right directions at
2:57
this point. I'm so glad to hear that. And so,
3:02
you know, the library is just the library, but
3:05
what kind of organization actually is the library?
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Like, is it it's it's not necessarily for profit.
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Is it a nonprofit? What is what kind of organization
3:14
is the library considered? We are government
3:18
-like. So we are a junior taxing district and
3:21
funded primarily through taxpayer funds. Oh,
3:25
okay. Okay, so it would be considered a government
3:27
organization. Yes, essentially. Oh, okay. Okay,
3:30
thank you for clarifying that. And so normally
3:35
nonprofits... would have a mission, vision, and
3:38
goals, but business organizations do also. I'm
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curious about government organizations. I don't
3:44
think I've ever thought about that before. Does
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the library have a mission, vision, or goal?
3:49
Yeah, we do. In fact, we go through a process
3:53
every four or five plus years of strategic planning,
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and we just completed one, I want to say in... 2025. And
4:03
so we have.. our mission is to connect our diverse
4:07
community to ideas, experiences and each other.
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Our vision, which is, you know, when you think
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of visions like a stretch, you know, we're not
4:14
there yet, but this is where we're aiming for
4:16
is to experience the world of ideas through TRL.
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Our welcoming spaces, diverse collections and
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vibrant partnerships and engaged patrons reflect
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our commitment to creating an equitable future.
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We are a trusted community resource. And then
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our values are about, you know, equitable access
4:34
and intellectual freedom, collaboration, supporting
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diverse communities, perspectives and ideas,
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responsible use of public resources and embracing
4:43
change. I love that so much. Thank you for sharing
4:48
that. And that kind of gives us an idea of, like
4:52
what's... what is really impacted by a yes or no
4:56
vote there, doesn't it? And so what is a little
5:12
history of the Timberland Regional Library? I
5:15
think it's always important to understand the
5:18
backstory. So in 1968, there was a movement to
5:24
create this inter-rural. library district,
5:27
and it was an initiative that the voters voted
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on, so all five counties voted in a majority
5:32
to form this district. So ever since then, we
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continue to have.. you know, our focus is rural
5:40
libraries, but we've had cities annexed to us.
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So the cities of Olympia and Lacey and Belfair,
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there's many cities that have decided that they
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also wanted to be a part of this district and
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share those resources amongst each other. As
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of today, we have 29 branches and five bookmobiles.
5:58
Oh, good to know. Awesome. And so what are the
6:02
counties, county branches, and about those? So
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we're in five counties. So Thurston, Lewis, Mason,
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Grays Harbor, and Pacific. And each county has
6:15
their own collection of libraries that are part
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of Timberland. And in each of those. For Thurston
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County, we have seven libraries. OK, OK, cool.
6:26
And because they're all Timberland Regional Library.
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So there, you know, you can request books across
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the library system. And I'm curious about libraries
6:40
outside of the Timberland Regional Library system,
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because maybe somebody lives. just on the other
6:48
side of Grays Harbor. And maybe their Grays Harbor
6:53
library is closer to where they live than another
6:57
library in their area. I don't know. I'm not
6:59
very familiar with all of Washington. I'm from
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southeast Louisiana, but I'm learning. So this
7:07
is my question is, are there other library systems
7:10
outside of Timberland Regional Library? And do
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y 'all interact with those libraries as far as
7:15
sharing books and patrons and things like that?
7:19
Yeah, we sure do. We have some really great agreements
7:22
across the board with libraries around us. So
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you can get a reciprocal library card with King
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County, with Seattle Public, Fort Vancouver,
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Pierce County Library System. It's on our website.
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So just by having a Timberland library card,
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you can get a reciprocal card with any of those
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folks. expanding your ability to be able to borrow
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you know, physical and electronic materials from
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those libraries and just outside of that we also
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have inter-library loan so you can ask us to find
7:56
something for you that we don't have in our collection
7:58
we'll go out and we'll look and see which libraries
8:00
around the country have it and then based on
8:03
your wish to maybe pay a small fee, or not, we
8:08
will get that item for you and it just comes
8:10
in the mail to us and then we send it to the
8:13
local branch that you want to use and you get
8:15
to check it out. So it's kind of like a donation
8:17
fee. It's.. different libraries have different
8:21
fees for, you know, it just helps them, uh do the
8:25
processing of those things and pay for mailing
8:27
and things like that, so um it's more of a it's
8:30
a process fee essentially um for those libraries
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to be able to do their services and each library
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kind of has their own set of rules around that.
8:36
Oh okay, okay, so some of them are, yeah we need,
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really need that $1 .50, or if you can pay $1
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.50 that would be great, depending on the different
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library. Usually it'll just say they'll lend
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things for free or there's going to be a fee
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of some sort. And as a patron of TRL, you can
8:55
put in the inter-library loan form, like I'm willing
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to spend money on this, or I'd rather you only
9:00
go to people who will loan it for free. And then
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we look in our system for those libraries that
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have those parameters when we make those requests.
9:09
Okay, cool. Thank you for explaining that. Okay.
9:26
Now we're going to get into the services. So
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like, obviously, everybody knows you can go to
9:33
the library and check out books. Most people
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know you can go and access printers and computers
9:41
and scan stuff. But not everybody actually knows
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that. I actually recently had to remind a friend
9:49
that, oh, yeah, you can go down and print. your
9:52
stuff at the library- Wow oh I forgot that, thank
9:57
you! You know so, you know. Well, it's a special
10:01
service, too, with the printing because we offer
10:04
that $20 credit balance for the month. So at
10:08
the beginning of the month, the first day of
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the month, you get $20 for the month. And black
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and white is $0 .10 per page. Color is $0 .50
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per page. We have different size pages. We have
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the 8 1⁄2 by 11. We have legal. We have, like,
10:23
a poster size. And if you go through your balance
10:26
halfway through the month, That's okay. You can
10:28
pay for the rest if you want to. But generally,
10:31
you get $20 a month of free printing. And $20
10:35
goes really far. Yes. It's almost like you have
10:40
unlimited printing. Yeah. Cool. Thank you. I
10:44
was going to ask about that. What other services
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does the library provide aside from We Can Go Get
10:51
Books? Well, I mean, there's so much. You can
10:55
check out books. You can check out DVDs. We have
10:59
DVDs and Blu -rays. We have audio books. All
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of these items you can check out up to 50 items
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at a time. So however you want to do the math,
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you can check out 50 movies if you wanted to.
11:12
Or you could do like 25 movies and 25 books.
11:15
We also have a Library of Things collection where
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you can check out the Discover Passes to go
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to the state parks. Oh, see, and I didn't know
11:26
that! Wow! We have bee backpacks. And so if you're
11:33
interested in bees and you want to learn a little
11:35
bit more, we've got a special backpack to help
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you kind of start on the basics. And then we
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have a fishing rod. There's like a backpack for
11:45
astrology with a telescope. We also have... a
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lot of resources, e -resources. So we have Libby
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by Overdrive. So that's an app that you can download
11:59
onto your device. And you can access electronic
12:02
books, electronic audio books, e -magazines.
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We also have Kanopy. which is another streaming
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service where you can stream movies for free.
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It's got TV shows and movies. We also have a
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lot of newspaper resources. So if you're tired
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of hitting that paywall, you can get newspapers
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for free through the library, either in print
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or online. Wow. Wow. Wow uh and then there's
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also computers. Yes! And... what can you do on
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the computers, and not do on the computers?
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So with our computers you can come on in. All
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of our libraries have computer access. You would
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just need to log in with your library card number
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and password. And then from there, you get up
12:51
to an hour or longer if no one else is waiting
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for access to the computer. But you can essentially
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just access anything online, your emails. If
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you're job hunting, you can apply for jobs. If
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you're looking for benefits and need to apply
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for your benefits, you can do through the library's
13:11
computers. And then also you can access the printer
13:14
and just print directly from our computers. Also, our printers offer
13:20
scanning services. It also offers faxing services. So
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you can fax to people. You can't receive, but
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you can send out faxes. Awesome. Good to know.
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Are there any other special library services
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that we should know about? Well, we've got lots
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of programs, and our programs are so awesome.
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So we have the Community Action Council coming
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out on Mondays from 10 to 12. And So since 1966,
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the Community Action Council of Lewis, Mason,
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and Thurston Counties has been dedicated to disrupting
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the cycle of poverty experienced by the community
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members. And so they come out and you can meet
14:15
with them one -on -one. We also have... really
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fun programs like a drop -in plant swap. We're
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doing that on Monday, September 28th. So if you're
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curious about plants and want to see if somebody
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has something that you want to swap with, you
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can. We have the Discovery Speaker Series. This
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is a fantastic resource, that they come out and
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they talk about different things in the community.
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The one coming up this Thursday is about... the
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bats and how they're important to the ecosystem.
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So if you've ever been curious about bats, we've
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got that happening on Thursday, October 1st,
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6:30 to 7:45. We've got early literacy programming.
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We do a lot of baby story times. We do birth
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to five story times, family story times. During
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the summer, our most popular story time is the
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sleepover story time where the kids can bring
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their stuffed animals and we set them up with
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like a fun little overnight sleepover party.
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And we had cute pictures of that, too. I could
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go on and on about our program. Oh, yeah, that's
15:28
great. You are listening to Resource Report on
15:41
KAOS and my interview with Andrea Heisel and
15:44
Victoria Harmon of Timberland Regional Library.
15:47
After a brief message, we'll be right back. You're
15:50
on the go. You need to know. And sometimes Google
15:53
just won't do it. When it comes to information
15:55
resources for your smartphone or tablet, Timberland
15:58
Regional Library is the app for you. Using LibraryNow,
16:02
you can search the library catalog, download
16:04
e -books and audio books, check your library
16:06
account, check the library events calendar, and
16:08
look up hours and locations. You can even scan
16:10
a book's barcode and see if the library has it.
16:13
For more information on LibraryNow and Timberland
16:16
Regional Library's other mobile services, visit
16:18
trl .org. Welcome back to Resource Report here
16:23
on KAOS. Let's return to the interview with
16:26
Victoria Harmon and Andrea Heisel of Timberland
16:29
Regional Library. Yeah, so it's really like a
16:43
community service kind of situation where you've
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got a lot of different community events and activities,
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sort of like a social service provider meetups
16:54
and things like that. I actually had interviewed
16:57
Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative.
17:00
And the way that ended up happening was I walked
17:03
into the library to deliver my zines and happened
17:07
to see the sign that they had a person there
17:10
to take walk -ins. So that was how I connected
17:16
with them was through the library and them meeting.
17:20
with people there. That's really amazing connection.
17:23
Well, I just want to also mention that all of
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our events are available on our website. So you
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can go to our library's website, click on events,
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and then you can choose which library or you
17:36
could just put in a search for a particular thing
17:39
that you're looking for. Like if you're looking
17:41
for story times, it'll list all of the available
17:44
story times within the county. So you can pick
17:47
and choose which one you want. You can go to
17:49
probably more... multiple story times in a week.
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But yeah, if you're interested in a free programming
17:57
events, activities, go to our website, the events
18:03
page. Oh, that's so good to know. One thing we
18:21
didn't mention is Wi -Fi access. Yes, Wi -Fi
18:25
access. The library provides free Wi -Fi access,
18:28
yeah? Yes. And the range of that extends out
18:33
into the parking lot. I have come and was getting
18:37
ready to go in the library and had parked and
18:40
noticed that the library was not open one day.
18:42
And there were people sitting in their cars being
18:46
in the library Wi -Fi and accessing library resources
18:50
just by being in the parking lot. And I think
18:53
that's just really cool. Yep. No password required.
18:56
Yeah. It's super important, especially in the...
18:59
very rural communities where it might be the
19:01
only place to connect to Wi -Fi. So if you're
19:03
going hiking or you're out on the peninsula and
19:07
you need access to a map, you can at least come
19:09
to our library parking lots and get online to
19:12
figure out where you need to go next. That is
19:15
a safety feature. That is definitely a safety
19:18
feature. And then one of the important things
19:35
about the libraries, too, is your accessibility.
19:40
the different types of accessibility to different
19:43
individuals. Can you talk about that? Yeah, so
19:47
we look at all the different ways we can provide
19:51
services, especially to materials, right? Our
19:55
online collection actually allows people who
19:58
have low vision to be able to, you know, use
20:02
that app Libby to make the font bigger automatically.
20:06
So, you know, we also provide large print format
20:09
in print, but to be able to have that on your
20:12
device and make it as large as you need with
20:14
the dark background. So it's not as hard on your
20:17
eyes. We also have. portable mp3 players called
20:23
Playaways, so again another way for people to
20:25
have access to a resource without even having
20:27
to have their own device we look at. We've partnered
20:31
over the years with an organization based out
20:35
of UW for- it's called WATAP- and those are ways
20:40
people can check out accessibility tools that
20:43
they might need if they're recovering from surgery,
20:45
or if they want to try something out before they
20:47
think about buying it. So we have a whole collection
20:50
of these accessible tools or implements that
20:53
can help people do things, like, you know, have
20:55
like, even eating in terms of like spoons, weighted
20:59
spoons and things like that. Reading devices, devices
21:03
to help them get up and out of their car, or a
21:06
chair. So we have all kinds of resources for folks
21:09
who want a no barrier access to accessibility
21:14
tools. Wow! That's- I had never heard of that. That's
21:18
really cool. What would you say is the level
21:22
of usage with that? Do you have enough devices
21:25
for pretty much everybody, or are there a lot
21:30
of holds and waiting times for a limited number
21:33
of them? What's the ratio for that? I don't have
21:38
the stats right here, you know, that could pull
21:40
up, but it's used well. It's not- I think when
21:44
people find out about it, they use it. And it's
21:47
one of those kind of not best kept secrets because,
21:49
we talk about it. It's on our website. But until
21:52
you need that tool, you don't necessarily think
21:54
about it, I think. So we do have them in some
21:57
of our branches just on display. So people can,
22:00
if they come into the branch, they see that at
22:02
least and they know they can request it. But
22:04
it's also on our website and a variety of, you
22:06
know, we have. blog post about it so people can
22:09
see that information. I want to talk real quick
22:12
about something else Victoria mentioned. She
22:14
mentioned going to our website for the events,
22:16
but you can also sign up for a newsletter for
22:18
your branch. And in those branch newsletters
22:20
that get sent out at least monthly, you'll see
22:22
events that are coming up or special initiatives
22:25
we're wanting to highlight. So that's another
22:27
thing I'd like to talk about for people to sign
22:29
up for those. Oh, awesome. And, you know, talking
22:33
about accessibility, Are there books in Braille?
22:38
We don't have books in Braille, but we can connect
22:40
people to the Washington Talking Book and Braille
22:43
Library up in Seattle and get materials sent
22:45
to and from us. Oh, good to know. Good to know.
22:48
I remember, actually, that's how I first learned
22:52
about Braille was I was maybe about, I don't
22:55
know. eight or nine. And this is in Southeast
22:58
Louisiana. But I had gone into the library and
23:01
I was just wandering and looking around and I
23:03
happened to find some Braille books. And I was
23:06
like, what is this weird code that this book
23:10
is written in? And I went and asked my mom and
23:12
she's like, oh, that's Braille. It's for blind
23:14
people. Blind people read that way. And that's
23:16
how I learned about that- at the library. Yes.
23:21
It's not something most people think about, but
23:24
I think it's important to highlight that this
23:26
too is a Thing. Yeah. And I also wanted to throw
23:30
out there another thing that we offer, is that
23:34
at the library, we do have handicap accessible
23:38
computer stations and so what that means is that
23:41
it's one of those up and down tables so you can
23:46
press a button to adjust the height of it so
23:48
that you can if you needed to use a wheelchair
23:50
you can actually use it for that purpose. Oh that's
23:54
so good to know that's so good to know. Thank
23:56
you. Over by the bathrooms, there's like a billboard
24:12
and you've got.. people can post community stuff,
24:16
events and programs and things that they're doing,
24:19
ads for stuff. And then you also have a billboard
24:23
that shows all the different activities that
24:26
the library is doing. Yeah? Yeah. Yep. So it's
24:30
our community board in the hallway. But then.
24:33
As you're walking toward the bathrooms at the
24:37
Olympia Library, there's these two pillars. And
24:41
one's going to have a community board for adult
24:45
programming and one for children's programming.
24:47
Okay, okay, cool. And then there's like a little,
24:51
some little stands over there, newspaper stands.
24:54
And there's some little free publications that
24:57
you can pick up from different organizations
24:59
too, I think. The recreational, the, you know,
25:05
the, what is it? Recreation. Parks and Recreation
25:09
has a publication that they leave there. And
25:12
then also when we get our voter guides, we can
25:15
get them at the library. And when it's tax time,
25:18
you can go and pick up your tax forms at the
25:21
library. And instruction booklets in English
25:23
and Spanish. Oh, good to know. And then I know
25:28
the AARP will meet at some some of the libraries
25:32
uh the AARP will meet with people there to help
25:36
them with their tax service- that's one thing
25:38
I do. Yeah it's a very popular program. Yeah, and
25:42
I don't think a lot of people know about that
25:44
so that's why I also want to mention. Yeah. Let's now
26:00
move into the reality of the situation regarding
26:05
this levy tax. Okay so I know that it's been
26:10
mentioned in so many places, but I don't think
26:15
it hurts to have information reiterated because
26:19
we want to make sure everybody understands what
26:23
this means. And there are maybe young adults
26:26
that are just coming into understanding all these
26:28
kinds of things. And not everybody understands
26:32
proper terminology for stuff. And one thing I
26:36
have never seen anywhere is explaining what
26:40
actually is a levy tax, first of all, so like what
26:44
a levy lid tax, what does that even mean!? So please,
26:47
let's start with the very basics. Yeah. What is
26:50
a levy, what are we even talking about? Yeah.
26:55
So a levy is a tax that's collected for a specific
26:58
purpose. And in the case of public libraries,
27:01
our public library system is funded primarily
27:03
through property taxes. And in Washington State,
27:07
we are capped at a 1 % growth on those every
27:12
year. And if you have followed inflation over
27:15
the years, you know, we estimate 3 % to 5 % annually
27:19
for inflation growth. And it's obviously grown
27:22
above that for a couple of years in a row. So
27:25
by nature of the way it's funded, there's no
27:30
way for us to keep up with that without asking
27:32
the voters, may we have a levy lid lift? May we increase
27:36
the amount that we can collect from property
27:38
taxes? We haven't done that since 2009. We tried
27:44
in 2009. It failed. But we've gone 25 years without
27:48
the full levy rate that we are entitled to, should
27:52
the voters say yes to that. But we haven't had
27:55
that full 50 cents since 2001. So we're at 22
27:58
cents right now per $1 ,000 of assessed property
28:01
value median. And I also want to throw in that
28:06
the levy... many community services are funded
28:12
through the property tax levies. So this is the
28:16
schools, the fire department, parks, police,
28:19
we're all kind of getting this pot of money.
28:23
And I think one of our co workers, Ryan, the
28:27
way that he had described it was, imagine it
28:30
as a pie. And we all get a slice of this pie.
28:35
And I think what he had said was that when somebody
28:38
goes for a levy lid lift in this pie. And if
28:43
it is approved and they get that lift, that gets
28:50
taken from the other people's portions in the
28:52
pie. But only if it's at the $5 .90 maximum already.
28:56
And that's called pro rationing. So now we're
28:58
getting into the intricacies of tax property.
29:00
So real quick, real quick, the descriptive terminology
29:05
of lid lift. So we're envisioning.. Here is a bucket
29:11
and there's a lid on the bucket and we can't
29:16
put any more in the bucket. So we're going to
29:18
lift that lid off the bucket so it can be filled
29:22
some more. Is that like basically the visualization
29:25
of what that means? Yes. It's so that we can
29:28
collect more than the 1 % where we're capped
29:31
at. Right. Okay. Just making sure that that's...
29:34
crystal clear what that means what we're talking
29:37
about. Yeah. Okay, thank you. Yeah. And that's only
29:40
for a set period of time. In our case the board
29:44
approved going out for a 35 cent total levy rate,
29:48
which is a 13 cent increase from where we are
29:50
now and it's a two -year permanent lid lift which
29:54
means for two full years we'll be at that 35
29:57
cent and then after that it starts dropping back
30:00
down again so The permanent part means it doesn't
30:05
drop all the way back down to 22 cents immediately,
30:07
which is what it would have done if we went for
30:10
the temporary lift, but we asked for the permanent
30:12
so that it goes down slower. We also know, and
30:16
our library colleagues across the state know
30:19
this, that going back to the voters for a levy
30:23
lid lift is part of our just routine for how
30:26
we manage our finances, because it's up to them
30:29
whether or not. We'll receive additional tax
30:33
funds. And so it's up to them about what type
30:35
of library system they want us to be. Thank you.
30:39
I have a question about that 25 year gap. Why
30:55
did it take 25 years to get where we are? Yeah.
30:59
So, you know, 2009, when we went for that levy...
31:05
I wasn't here at that time, but that was also
31:08
like, the housing crisis had happened. Okay. And so
31:11
it was not a super great time in general for
31:15
many, many people. So I think, to be just honest,
31:20
the fear of not knowing whether or not it would
31:24
pass has prevented us from going any sooner than
31:27
what we're at right now. But the reality is,
31:30
that's part of our financial planning. It's just,
31:34
we have to go out and ask. And we know we need
31:36
to do that routinely at this point or at a set
31:38
period of time over the years instead of waiting
31:40
for so long. So I don't want to get into opinions.
32:00
I just want to stick with facts. But it is a
32:03
fact that the libraries have also done a lot
32:09
of different kind of extensive renovations. And
32:12
I have seen opinions online regarding, in different
32:19
publications, regarding, you know, how people
32:22
are feeling about that. Like, were they necessary?
32:26
Whereas, you know, the whole, are we spending
32:31
that money responsibly kind of thing? What's
32:33
it going into? And now we are at this level where
32:37
we need this funding even more. And so... I wonder
32:42
if there are some facts that can help clarify
32:45
those decisions and things like that. You know,
32:51
when we plan for each year annually, you know,
32:55
that is part of the annual ask if we were doing
32:57
any types of renovations on buildings. So that's
33:01
just a fact that I could share. I will say, you
33:05
know, things we've learned over the last year
33:07
is, you know. going back and being that partner
33:10
with each community when we do those renovations
33:13
instead of having, you know, just a very small
33:17
core group of people deciding what's best for
33:19
folks. So that's part of our levy conversation
33:24
is, you know, we are... should this initiative
33:28
be approved, we are working with our communities
33:32
in a much more collaborative way. Leadership
33:35
is totally turned over and we now have a community,
33:39
a community engagement process for renovation
33:41
and remodel. And right now, like we are going
33:44
through with Aberdeen and the city of Aberdeen,
33:48
the Friends of Library of Aberdeen and their
33:50
library advisory board, they have these, this
33:53
amazing fund that is paying for their entire
33:57
building renovation because they are in desperate
34:00
need of a renovation for basically the systems
34:03
inside of that building, like the plumbing and
34:06
the HVAC and the flooring and things like that.
34:08
Those are all going to be replaced through that
34:10
funding, but the process used to get all the
34:13
stakeholders in the room so that everyone had
34:17
input and everyone feels like they're part of
34:19
that. Those decision makings has been really
34:21
great and is now like what we'll use moving forward
34:24
when we do these kinds of renovations. Thank
34:27
you. Thank you for clarifying that. So Works
34:43
in Progress did this amazing article at their
34:46
fundraising event and newspaper launch party.
34:51
And to quote Kylie McQuarrie, one of the writers,
34:55
it was said, "Washington's regressive tax code
34:59
means the levy rate declines over time. Without
35:03
frequent votes to restore rates, libraries can
35:06
legally collect less and less money, leading
35:08
to underfunded, overburdened library systems
35:11
with exhausted, underpaid workers." So I want
35:14
to speak to that a little bit and break some
35:16
of that statement down because there's so much
35:19
in that one statement. And so the quote -unquote
35:23
regressive tax code. So that's something that you
35:27
are referring to there, where you're saying if
35:30
we have the levy lid lift, then if we get that
35:33
fixed rate, but it will go down slowly over time.
35:38
So that's what they're referring to there is
35:41
that people have to come in and vote frequently
35:45
to restore that. And so it kind of, it's like
35:47
a refresh. It's like a video game. It would be
35:51
like a re -up. Yeah. Yeah. So coming back out
35:54
to the voters in a set period of time over the
35:58
next you know however long is we'll we'll go
36:00
back and we'll say we'd like to renew the rate
36:02
where we were at or we'd like to restore it to
36:05
the full 50 cents so um those are that's what
36:09
you'll see from timberland moving forward because
36:11
that's what everyone else around us has been
36:13
doing. And while it may sound like an opinion,
36:17
it really is a fact, because if we look around
36:19
at the state of the situation with the libraries,
36:22
the less and less money being collected did lead
36:25
to underfunded, overburdened library systems.
36:29
And I don't know if everybody is exhausted, but
36:32
definitely underpaid workers, and then the layoffs
36:36
that ended up happening. And fortunately, many
36:39
people were able to return to their work, I understand.
36:43
That is also a fact of the situation. And I think
36:47
one thing to pay attention to here is there's
36:52
a sentiment around the fact of the situation,
36:57
and how we got here. And it kind of leads in
37:02
the direction of if there is a no vote and we're
37:05
not receiving that, to support the libraries,
37:09
I think the reason that some people might have
37:12
for voting no is kind of a value judgment. That's
37:18
what I have seen in a lot of the publications.
37:22
And I think people need to leave emotions out
37:26
of it. I mean, there's what actually is in the
37:31
past, and maybe there were decisions that were
37:34
made where things could have been done better
37:37
to fund. The timing matters too. Y 'all certainly
37:43
can't be blamed for not working on having this
37:48
tax increased in the last 25 years when there
37:52
was a housing crisis. The housing crisis isn't
37:55
your fault. Why do we blame the libraries for
37:58
not asking for funding when they should have?
38:00
Right. Should is subjective, though, you know.
38:06
And so I'm wondering if you can speak to that
38:10
a little bit. So if it passes, we anticipate
38:13
being able to bring back 37 positions, or not
38:18
bring back, but to hire 37 positions and bring
38:20
back staffing and open hours to branches across
38:25
the five counties. And so that's the big one.
38:29
And then also we took a big hit to our collections
38:32
budget in January to help us offset that beginning
38:36
fund balance deficit that we had. So we would
38:39
also be bringing back up the collection expenditure
38:41
so that you have... more access to collections
38:45
and decreased wait times. A lot of people have
38:49
noticed the increased wait times for things.
38:52
So the third thing is doing that facilities maintenance
38:56
in that collaborative process with our communities,
38:59
besides just the bare, like, hey, we have to
39:02
buy a new HVAC system for one of our branches.
39:05
That's not going to be in collaboration because
39:07
we just have to do that, right? But if we're
39:09
doing refreshes, we're doing that collaborative
39:11
process here on out. That's if the proposition
39:31
passes, and if the proposition fails then we're
39:36
looking at decreased open hours, we're looking
39:38
at the longer wait times and the less new materials
39:43
purchased, and then more deferred maintenance,
39:46
which is never a good way to be in terms of maintaining
39:50
buildings, yeah. And a lot of people who rely on
39:55
the services at the library would no longer have
39:59
the access that they had. And in some cases,
40:02
this is, you know, are you homeless today? Or
40:07
are you not homeless today? You know, it's a
40:11
really... I don't think people truly understand
40:14
what this really means for a large population
40:18
of people if it does not pass. And so speaking
40:37
to what a No vote would mean a little further, for
40:42
example, there is the Naselle branch, and what
40:46
is called the EAH or Expanded Access Hours. And
40:50
is that a potential model for what could potentially
40:54
happen at most branches? For the branches that
40:58
have Expanded Access enabled for them, yes, that
41:02
could be a reality should the proposition fail.
41:06
I mean, it will be a reality. for those branches,
41:08
for more of those branches to go to that unstaffed
41:11
model or very, very limited staffing. Naselle
41:16
was able to add some staffed hours back, but
41:19
it's twice a month that they have people there
41:21
for a set period of time. Otherwise, it is totally
41:24
self -service for those communities. And so where
41:27
exactly is Naselle? I Google mapped it and it
41:31
looked like it was a little bit rural, but I
41:33
didn't zoom in too far. Can you talk about that
41:37
a little bit and then also describe what does
41:41
the Expanded Access hours system look like? What
41:45
is going on over there? Sure. So Naselle is located
41:48
in Pacific County. For those of us here in Olympia
41:52
that are driving out to, say, Astoria or Oregon
41:55
Coast, you're going to be driving through Naselle
41:57
to get to Astoria, if you want to think of it
41:59
that way. So it is a tiny little rural community.
42:03
We own the building there in Naselle. So Expanded
42:07
Access, when we installed that, I believe it's
42:11
in 12 of our branches. Those branches that have
42:16
the full expanded access options, you know, it
42:20
was really to supplant the open hours that we
42:24
had staffed there. It wasn't necessarily ever
42:26
intended to be fully unstaffed branches. But
42:30
as we've had to reduce staffing to try to live
42:34
within our means better without this levy lid
42:36
lift, then we've had to explore going to that
42:39
model more. So that's what happened there at
42:42
Naselle. And so it's basically a self -service
42:45
library is what it ended up happening to a degree.
42:48
To a degree. They still were hosting programs,
42:51
I believe, once a week there. So we have programming
42:54
staff will go for a few hours and do a program.
42:57
But it is largely self -service. Yeah. And in
43:12
some ways, it's pretty amazing to have that Expanded
43:16
Access for those communities. Like they can go
43:18
in and have... I've been in there many times where
43:20
there'll be a mom with her child having like,
43:22
a conference call, so they can go in and do work
43:25
when the branch is typically closed. The downside,
43:28
or the one downside, is that you have to be at
43:31
a branch that can give you that Expanded Access
43:34
card All of our branches can do that, which is
43:37
good, but you have to get that special card to
43:40
get into those branches. So unless you can get
43:43
to a branch, and get that card, it's it's a bit
43:45
of a barrier. And it's kind of like the key cards
43:48
that we have here at Evergreen, that you just
43:50
uh, like, present your.. your card on the electronic
43:54
keypad or something like that, and you know like
43:57
Star Trek, now you can enter. Yeah if only we could
44:00
uh you know, teleport. That would be really,
44:03
really great right now. And, you know, there
44:26
wouldn't be someone on hand to necessarily show
44:29
you how to check things out on your own or whatever.
44:34
But I did look at the website for that branch,
44:38
and it did show that there's a way to communicate
44:43
remotely with with library workers. How does
44:46
that work? We have a chat service, and of course
44:51
people can can call, you know, again, if you're
44:55
a person who doesn't feel comfortable using technology
44:57
to begin with, or maybe you don't even have your
44:59
own cell phone, that is a bit of a drawback for
45:03
folks in that in that category, but a lot of people
45:06
do tend to have devices and they do, when they
45:11
get the Expanded Access card, they go over where
45:13
everything is, you know, like here's where you'll
45:15
go if you need assistance with printing. Here's
45:18
how you can get someone to reach out and help
45:19
you. We have an Ask Lib chat service. So during
45:24
those hours of operations, they can just chat with
45:26
someone and get some troubleshooting help. It
45:29
reminds me of the COVID times when we had to
45:32
social distance, and that was very stressful
45:36
for a lot of people, not being able to communicate
45:39
one -on -one with individuals. And this kind
45:43
of reminds me of that to an extreme, actually.
45:47
And that could be a potential future that we
45:51
would see become the norm if the lid lift did
45:57
not pass. That correct? Yeah that is, um if the proposition
46:02
fails, it could be more unstaffed, hours, yeah,
46:05
in these branches. And thank you for clarifying
46:09
all of that. That paints us a little bit of a
46:11
different picture. And are there any other
46:15
facts and information that you would want to
46:18
share regarding um which direction that could
46:22
go in, Yes or No. I think I want to just really
46:25
point out to folks that even if we were able
46:29
to get grants and federal funding and things
46:32
like that, which we are pursuing and have pursued,
46:34
the bulk of our income, our revenue is property
46:38
tax based. So we will continue to have to have
46:44
these conversations in the future. And the
46:47
initiative in 2001 that passed, that created
46:49
that one cap, is all about asking the voters,
46:53
you need to decide what you want to put your
46:58
tax dollars towards. So it's really their choice.
47:01
Thank you. We're going to move on to how can
47:21
people get involved with the library? This hiring...?
47:26
What is that looking like right now? Yeah, great
47:31
question. We're in a hard hiring freeze. So unless
47:34
someone... leaves in a position where we just
47:37
really have to have someone in that position.
47:39
There's no hiring currently. Proposition passes,
47:43
there'll be some hiring, obviously. And then
47:46
I know Victoria has lots of good conversation
47:48
around how other people can help our branches
47:51
with volunteers. Yeah, through the Friends of
47:55
the Library. That's a really great way to go.
47:59
You can fill out an application online and drop
48:03
it off at the library. We also have teen volunteers.
48:21
We have a program called Teen Tech that happens
48:25
twice a month. I think it's like the first and
48:30
the third Friday? You could check the events
48:33
page. But basically, the teens volunteer their
48:36
time to help with tech questions. So people can
48:40
come in with their devices and ask... maybe there's
48:45
like a weird setting on their cell phone that
48:47
they can't figure out how to get turned off.
48:50
Or like if they're looking for something on the
48:52
Internet and they're, you know, troubleshooting
48:57
and whatnot. Teens can help. So we've got like
48:59
a Teen Tutor, Teen Tech program as well. Oh,
49:04
that's good to know. Sharing community feedback
49:25
and voting. How do people do that? Express those
49:30
opinions about the yes, no proposition and how
49:36
do they vote? The website for elections is VoteWA.
49:41
So Vote W -A dot Gov. And y 'all do have those on your
49:48
little flyer pamphlets that you can pick up at
49:50
the library, too. Sure do. And the ballots are
49:55
mailed out... I believe they're supposed to be
49:58
mailed out on the 16th, but I heard through the
50:01
grapevine it might be a little bit earlier, but
50:03
election day is November 3rd. Okay, good to know.
50:07
And if you have any trouble or you don't receive
50:10
your ballot in the mail, you can always come
50:12
to the library and the staff will help you get
50:14
to the appropriate ballot. And I'm going to shout
50:17
out to the League of Women Voters, who we also
50:19
interviewed, and they are very happy to help
50:23
people navigate voting processes as well. And
50:40
so, is there anything else you would like to share?
50:45
No, I just, thanks for having us on. Yeah, thank
50:48
you. Oh, thank you so much. Our Olympia branch
51:04
is located at 313 8th Avenue Southeast. You can
51:09
also call the main desk at 360 -352 -0595 or
51:16
email asklib at trl .org. To find out more or
51:23
discover more about the libraries in the other
51:26
Timberland Regional Library coverage area, visit
51:29
trl .org. To find out more about the ballot,
51:33
visit votewa .gov. Some events included in this
51:39
show have passed since the time of our recording,
51:42
but have been left in to reflect the kind of
51:44
programs offered. That's it for today's Resource
52:00
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52:04
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