Newsletter of the Timberland Regional Library District
TRL faces hard decisions
ahead due to budget cuts
March was an eventful month
for Timberland Regional Library.
Patrons and staff were asked for their
suggestions throughout the month to
help the library district reduce the $2.5
million shortfall in their 2010 budget.
With the gap between expenses and
revenues growing, TRL asked people via
town meetings in every county and with
surveys on the website and in libraries
what ideas people had to raise revenues,
cut costs and what library programs and
services they value most.
TRL Executive Director Jodi Reng said,
“We appreciate the hundreds of people
across our five counties who gave us
their suggestions. It’s comforting to
know in these hard times that so many
people are willing to work together
because they see the value of the public
library in their communities.”
All suggestions are being researched
and considered. In addition to changes
What you’ll find inside
Inside
• Great Reads
• Adult Winter Reading concludes
• Family Read Aloud continues
• News about library buildings
Back Cover
• Reference & information services
• Reference databases on
schools and careers
• Internet sites for hard times
already implemented, the TRL
administration will deliver a set of
recommendations to the Board at the
May 27 Board meeting in Montesano.
Recommendations the Board decides to
implement could begin in 2009, while
some decisions may not begin until
2010.
Hundreds of suggestions have been
received. A sample of those ideas being
studied include:
• Reducing library open hours
• Seeking more grants and sponsorship
dollars to pay for district reading
programs
• Increasing donations
• Lowering the number of holds and
items that can be checked out to lessen
workload
• Staff furloughs
Spring 2009
The TRL Board of Trustees developed
a set of principles they will consider in
making difficult choices to close the gap
in the budget. Those principles include:
Serve each community — Mobilize staff
and resources to respond to the needs of
TRL’s communities.
Provide access to information — 
Continue to deliver free access to library
materials and resources in all service
points (in library, online and by phone).
Service is essential — Staff delivering
great service is our most important asset.
Equity — Decisions will consider all
libraries and administration across the
entire district.
No stone is unturned — Look at every
option to increase revenues and cut
expenses. All ideas are worth exploring
and no amount is too small to be
considered.
We’re in this together —  From the
Board to the staff to the patrons we all
must be prepared to sacrifice.
Plan for the future — Adopt decisions
that sustain the library district in
current and future financial challenges.
TRL will keep the library website
updated with new information related
to budget cuts and will announce
decisions when they occur. Look for
information in your local Timberland
library, and an article on the TRL
website and in the next issue of Today’s
Library arriving this summer.
Large Print Books
Rest your eyes: books in large type.
Life Beyond Measure: Letters to
My Great-Granddaughter
Sidney Poitier
Actor Sidney Poitier shares his
thoughts on courage, love, personal
advice and faith in the future in this
collection of sage letters.
The Forbidden
Beverly Lewis
Young love comes under pressure
when Nellie, a member of the “new
order” Amish faith, and Caleb,
whose family follows the old order,
are forbidden to marry.
Tree of Smoke: A Novel
Denis Johnson
Ten years in the writing, Johnson
won the 2007 National Book
Award for Fiction with this
monumental and compelling epic of
the Vietnam War.
Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey
Through His Son’s Addiction
David Sheff
A heartbroken father tells the story
of his son Nic’s descent into drug
addiction, how both coped with
disappointment and David held on
to hope.
Nonfiction
How We Decide
Jonah Lehrer
A fascinating look at the science of
decision-making and how it can help
us make better choices.
The Ascent of Money
Niall Ferguson
Chronicles the ups and downs
of finance from its origins in
Mesopotamia to the modern world’s
most recent upheavals.
Food Matters: A Guide
to Conscious Eating
Mark Bittman
The “Minimalist” columnist outlines
an environmentally responsible
eating plan.
Timberland Programs
Adult Winter Reading program concludes
Timberland Regional Library’s 12th annual
Adult Winter Reading program wrapped
up on March 14. Grand prizes were drawn
on March 20 for 14 lucky readers from
among the 1,113 participants who turned
in lists of the 14,510 books they read
between January 2 and March 14.
Still Time to Take Part
The merriest reading program of all
Spotted recently in Timberland libraries:
Dr. Seuss and Beverly Cleary’s pals, The
Cat in the Hat, Horton the Elephant,
Ramona Quimby and Ralph S. Mouse. All
were celebrating the Timberland Regional
Library Family Read-Aloud program with
children and parents.
The program opened March 2 with Dr.
Seuss's Birthday/Read Across America
Day and closes on April 11 with another
nationwide reading initiative, Beverly
Cleary's Birthday/D.E.A.R. Day (Drop
Everything and Read). Each Timberland
library in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason,
Pacific and Thurston counties is giving
out free Read-Aloud kits and hosting one
or more read-aloud events. Some events
have taken place; 15 more are scheduled
for April.
Grand prize winners are now making
plans for getaways to Washington resorts
or tucking into baskets full of books and
treats for readers. Timberland branch
libraries also awarded additional prizes
locally. Businesses and Friends of the
Library groups donated all of the prizes.
Parents have been sharing the pleasures of
picture books, reading favorite children’s
classics with the family, and joining in
the general wackiness of reading aloud
together throughout all the rooms, nooks,
crannies and spaces of their homes, all for
the purpose of connecting reading and
learning with family fun.
“Everyone wins the program’s biggest
prizes — the lifelong educational benefits
and emotional bonding that result from
great times reading together,” said Youth
Services Coordinator Ellen Duffy. The
other prizes:
• Five grand prizes, donated by Target
Stores and Scholastic Books: a backpack
or suitcase filled with books will be
awarded to one family in each of TRL’s
five counties. Entries must be received
at a Timberland library by closing on
Saturday, April 11. Grand prizes will be
drawn on April 17.
• Hundreds of books and other prizes
provided by local reading foundations,
Friends of the Library groups and
businesses are being given to children
at local library branches throughout the
program.
For more information, contact your
local Timberland library or go to
www.TRL.org.
 Focus on Facilities: News about library buildings
Ilwaco Timberland Library
On March 21, the temporary Ilwaco
Timberland Library closed and library
employees started packing up and moving
the library back into its permanent
location in the renovated Ilwaco
Community Building.
Ilwaco construction
The library will reopen at 158 1st Avenue
North at 10 a.m. Monday, April 6. Library
staff will welcome the community back
to a larger, completely renovated library
with more computers, better wifi access,
new carpet and paint, updated furnishings,
more books and a shared meeting
room — a first for the facility.
A grand opening event will be held at
3 p.m. on Saturday May 2 as part of the
annual Long Beach Peninsula-wide
Loyalty Days events.
Library features and benefits
• 1,000 square feet more space
• Two additional Internet computers, new
computer furniture, and more games on
the children’s “kpac” computers
• More electrical outlets for laptops
• Upgraded heating and lights, new carpet,
windows and paint
• New, fully-accessible restrooms
• 1,200 square-foot shared meeting room
for library programs
• A mural in the children’s area by
renowned muralist Dorothy Danielson
• 500 new books, CDs and DVDs
• Three parking spaces for the disabled
(one more than before)
Even facing the hard work of moving a
library, Library Manager Kristine Pointer
expressed her eagerness to open the doors
of the spacious, light-filled new facility to
the community.
Ilwaco Timberland Library Hours
Monday 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.
Tuesday 10 a.m.– 8 p.m.
Thursday 10 a.m.– 8 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m.– 5 p.m.
Permanent address and telephone number
158 First Avenue North, Ilwaco
Mailing   P.O. Box 520
  Ilwaco, WA 98624
(360) 642-3908
Olympia Timberland Library
Grand Reopening Event
As Olympians reveled in the Olympia
Timberland Library grand reopening
celebration on January 16, it was evident
how much they’d missed their library
during its remodel closure. Waves of
people flowed in and around the library’s
central atrium as groups performed for
all ages and varied musical tastes. The arts
were rounded out by a cartoonist who drew
caricatures and interactive improvisational
theater. “It was a great event. The library
was packed and everyone was having
fun,” said one participant. The event was
sponsored by the Friends of the Olympia
Timberland Library.
More Nonfiction
The Last Stand of Fox
Company: A True Story of U.S.
Marines in Combat
Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
The story of the Marines who
found themselves surrounded and
outnumbered by Chinese forces in
North Korea in 1950.
For young readers
A selection of 2009 award winners
The House in the Night
Susan Marie Swanson and Beth
Krommes
Illustrations and easy-to-read text
explore what makes a house in
the night a home filled with light.
Caldecott Medal
We Are the Ship:The Story of
Negro League Baseball
Kadir Nelson
The story of Negro League baseball
from its beginnings in the 1920s
through the decline after Jackie
Robinson joined the majors in 1947.
Coretta Scott King & Sibert Awards
A Curse Dark as Gold
Elizabeth C. Bunce
17-year-old Charlotte struggles
to keep the family's woolen mill
running after her father’s death.
When a man who can spin straw into
gold appears, she must decide if his
help is worth his price.
William C. Morris Award
The Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens is a normal boy,
except that he has been raised by
ghosts and other occupants of the
graveyard. 
Newberry Medal
Selected by Timberland
Regional Library selectors
  Jackie Marquardt
  Kim Storbeck
  Jean Padovan
 Ask a Librarian! Central Reference Service
Internet picks from your librarians librarians are available
Hard Times Reference & information
704-INFO (4636)
More and more people are turning to libraries during these hard economic
times to use computers and other resources. Librarians have listed links to Outside the Olympia area: 1-800-562-6022
web sites on Job Hunting and Careers in the Internet Resources directory on www.TRL.org
the Timberland Regional Library web site, www.TRL.org. Central Reference hours*
The Washington State Library is also compiling job-related online Monday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
resources to help people look for jobs, develop a resume, practice Tuesday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
interview skills, file for unemployment and more. To get started, go to Wednesday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
www.secstate.wa.gov/library/libraries/projects/HardTimesLibraryUsers.aspx Thursday 9 a.m.–9 p.m.
(A link will soon be on the TRL web site.) Friday 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Three sections provide links to the following kinds of information:
*Except holidays
• Employment Resources:
developing job-finding skills, Reference Databases on Schools and Careers
finding employment and filing
for unemployment. Whether heading for college for the first About Timberland Regional Library’s
• Economic Information time or thinking about a new career, these Reference Databases
including resources for databases will help you decide and prepare. To provide vital resources for personal
people facing foreclosure and Find them online at www.TRL.org under and professional research, Timberland
information on economic Reference Databases: Schools & Careers. Regional Library subscribes to online
recovery plans. • LearningExpressLibrary  Interactive reference databases for library users.
• Technological Resources for standardized test preparation for the Regularly updated and checked for
learning how to use the civil service, firefighters, law enforcement, accuracy, they include full-text articles,
computer, from the most basic military, nursing, real estate, teaching, encyclopedias, dictionaries, auto
skills to learning how to use U.S. citizenship, GED, school entrance manuals, test practice, and information
programs such as Excel, Word exams and more. on a variety of subject areas.
and Access. • Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans All databases are available in
• WOIS  Career Information & National Timberland libraries, and most are
Today’s Library Editor Schools & Scholarship Center: available from home through the TRL
Leanne Ingle Washington state information about web site, www.TRL.org. For access
Timberland Regional Library civilian and military occupations, from home, you will need your library
Communications Department educational programs, and schools. card number.

Timberland Regional Library

nonprofit org
415 Tumwater Boulevard SW us postage
Tumwater, WA 98501 paid
olympia, wa
permit # 78

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