Newsletter of the Timberland Regional Library District
TRL seeks authority to restore
funding to maintain library service
Timberland Regional Library (TRL)
Board of Trustees will ask voters in a
special election in February 2009 to
restore the library levy rate on property
taxes to 50 cents per thousand dollars
of assessed property value to maintain
library services.
Why is TRL asking for a levy increase?
Several factors have contributed to a
loss of funding, making it impossible to
maintain library services at current levels.
TRL receives 89% of its revenues from
property taxes. Most of the balance
of the library’s revenue comes from
taxes on harvested timber. Due to a
recent law that limits the library to a
1% annual increase in property taxes
combined with a steep decline in new
construction and timber harvests, a gap
has developed between available revenue
and TRL’s operating expenses. In 2009
this gap is estimated to be slightly more
than one million dollars. This requires
TRL to pull dollars from its dwindling
reserve fund.
TRL’s 2007 Operating Expenses
Capital Expenditures 2.3%
Books & Materials 15.7%
Public Services 59.6%
* Includes selecting and buying materials, processing, delivering holds
to patrons’ libraries, borrowing from other library systems and mending.
winter 2009
How much will it cost to maintain How does TRL compare in its taxing
library services at the current levels? amount and authority with other
TRL will ask voters in the five-county taxing jurisdictions?
district to restore funding to no more Library districts collect among the
than 50 cents per thousand dollars smallest percentage of total property
of assessed property value (In 2009, taxes. Fire, police and several other
TRL will receive 32.92 cents per agencies receive a higher percent
thousand). For example, a homeowner of taxes available. The graph below
with a $200,000 home currently pays illustrates how property taxes are
approximately $68 annually for library distributed among several agencies,
services. With the levy increase the including the minimal amount TRL
additional cost would be less than $34 receives in comparison to other taxing
more each year. entities.
2008 Property Tax Distribution
TRL’s Board of Trustees has expressed
concern about the burden of property
taxes on homeowners and does not County 26.5% Schools 28.5%
(roads & current expense) (bonds and M&Os)
intend to increase the tax levy to the full
50 cents authorized. TRL will only tax
what is necessary to maintain current State 22.1%
library services.
Has TRL reduced spending? Hospitals 5.4% Cemetery 0.2%
Emergency services 2.4% Library 3.7%
Yes. TRL took the following steps to
Cities 6.9%
reduce costs:
Fire districts 4.3%
• Implemented a hiring freeze
• Eliminated positions from the 2008 What services does Timberland
budget, saving approximately $200,000 Regional Library offer?
• Reduced the substitute and temporary TRL provides information and resources
Administration 8.6%
in the form of books, magazines,
Support Services* staff budget (used for illnesses, vacation
13.8% newspapers, reference materials, CDs,
and outreach efforts of front-line
DVDs, and downloadable audio books,
employee and support staff) saving
music and video. TRL also offers job
more than $100,000
resource centers in each library for
• Eliminated Sunday hours at eight
people to prepare resumes, research and
libraries and the Telephone Reference apply for jobs.
Center, expected to save over $150,000
• Reduced the 2009 budget for new TRL delivers services, including access
library materials by $162,110 to computers and the internet, a website
to search, reserve, and renew books
continued inside

For young readers
Gully’s Travels
Tor Seidler
Gulliver, a lhasa apso, lives in luxury
until his beloved owner falls in love
with a woman who is allergic to
long-haired dogs. Gulliver learns a
new life with a family in a cramped
home in Queens. age 7–12
Highway Cats
Janet Taylor Lisle
After befriending three kittens who
were thrown off a truck, street cats
Khalia Koo and Jolly Roger discover
the kittens have special powers that
might save their beloved cat town.
Ages 8–12
Bad Kitty Gets a Bath
Nick Bruel
A humorous look at the challenges
of trying to give a cat a “real” bath
with soap and water. Includes
fun facts, glossary, and other
information. Ages 6–10
Non-Fiction
The Oxford Project
Peter Feldstein & Stephen Bloom
Feldstein photographed most of the
residents of Oxford, Iowa in 1984.
Twenty years later he photographed
as many of them as he could find.
Intertwined with the photographs
are 100 interviews by Bloom.
Alphabet Juice
Roy Blount, Jr.
A celebration of letters and their
combinations as used outside of
their “proper” applications.
The Wordy Shipmates
Sarah Vowell
Vowell revisits the Puritans who
settled in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony and discovers that they were
not always what they seemed.
Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell identifies the qualities of
successful people, posing theories
about the cultural, family, and
idiosyncratic factors that shape
high achievers.
continued from front
online and trained library staff available
to help people find the information they
seek. In addition to these services, TRL
provides programs, events and activities
for children, teens and adults.
How many people use TRL services?
Many TRL locations are the most visited
public building in their communites.
In 2007, more than 300,000 people had
TRL cards, TRL locations were visited
almost 2.7 million times, and trained TRL
staff answered more than 500,000 reference
questions. The TRL website was accessed
over 3 million times and cardholders
borrowed almost 5 million items.
A new Harris Poll, released in September
2008, showed that 68% of Americans hold
a library card (up 5 percent since 2006)
Never too young or old:
Reading programs for all
Adult Winter Reading
There are two great reasons to wrap up
in a warm blanket and read through
a pile of good books — chilly weather
and Timberland Regional Library’s 12th
annual Adult Winter Reading program.
The program provides an opportunity to
participate in a relaxing community-wide
activity and have a chance to win prizes.
Just read five or more books or listen to
five or more audio books between January
2 and March 14. For each set of five books
you finish, write the titles, authors and
short descriptions on an entry form and
return it to your Timberland library by
March 14.
Grand prize drawings will be held on
March 20. Additional local prizes will
be awarded at various times during the
program. Your business community and
the Friends of your Timberland Library
have provided all the prizes. Participants
must be 18 or older and have a current
Timberland library card. Visit your local
library for forms and complete rules.
Information and printable forms are also
available at www.TRL.org.
and in‑person visits to public libraries rose
10% in the same two-year period.
What would happen if the ballot
proposition failed?
If by public vote the ballot proposition
failed, TRL’s Board of Trustees would need
to make further spending cuts that could
result in fewer open hours, reduced staff
and possibly the closure of some libraries.
Where can I obtain more information?
For more information or questions about
the library ballot proposition, call toll-free
1-800-562-6022 or within the Olympia
area call 360-943-5001 during business
hours. You may also check out the TRL
website at www.TRL.org or email TRL at
comments@trlib.org.
Set aside those grown-up books you read
for Adult Winter Reading and reach for
some fabulous illustrated picture books
and beginners’ chapter books. TRL’s annual
Family Read-Aloud program begins with
Dr. Seuss’s Birthday on March 2. Read in
the morning, read in the evening, read
in the basement, the attic, the bathroom,
the bedroom—read in every room of
your house. It’s fun, it brings the family
together in a warm and loving way, and
it encourages children’s love of reading
and success in school. When the library’s
program ends for the year on April 11,
(The day before Beverly Cleary’s birthday),
also known as Drop Everything And Read
(D.E.A.R.) day you’ll have had so much
fun, you’ll keep reading and keep your
house a read-aloud house.
Look for program information, materials
and activities at your library and on
the TRL website in the second half of
February.

Make your money work for you, your
family, and your future. Your Money:
A Guide to Reaching Your Financial Goals
is a complete course on smart investing
now available in all Timberland libraries.
TRL developed three formats so you can
get the information regardless of your
schedule. There are print editions at the
libraries you can copy as needed, a free
CD with PDF files to take home for your
home computer, and an Internet edition
accessible at www.TRL.org.
Your Money is funded by a grant from the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
and the American Library Association.
Timberland Regional Library’s 40th Anniversary
People at all 27 Timberland libraries and 5 Timberland cooperative library service
locations celebrated TRL’s 40th anniversary on December 9, 2008 with cake, stories of
their favorite library memories and commemorative 2009 calendars.
Focus on Facilities: News about library buildings
The Vernetta Smith Chehalis
Timberland Library
The magnificent new public library that
donations built was celebrated with music
and magic by hundreds of delighted
Chehalins on October 18. The building is
so distinguished that the City of Chehalis
considers it the heart of the planned
Chehalis Renaissance.
Timberland Read Together
In October the legendary Ursula K. Le
Guin read from her novel A Wizard of
Earthsea at two theaters and Book-It
Repertory Theatre performed its original
adaptation at four libraries. Both stopped
before the end of the story to spare
those who hadn’t yet read the book. The
audience response? “No, don’t stop yet!”
Timberland Regional Library’s fourth
annual Timberland Reads Together one-
book program guided thousands in
reading the same book as a community.
Timberland Reads Together 2008 was
paid for by a grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read.
The library is named the Vernetta Smith
Chehalis Timberland Library in honor of
the mother of former Chehalis resident
Orin Smith, the new library’s chief donor.
Most of the funding was provided by
private donations large and small.
Olympia Timberland Library
The Olympia Timberland Library opened
December 15 after a major interior
remodel. New carpet, fresh paint, new
service desks and furniture create “a burst
of sunshine in the library!” as Library
Manager Cheryl Heywood put it.
The City of Olympia owns the building and
replaced the carpet as part of the facility’s
scheduled maintenance. The majority of
the funding for other improvements came
from interest on library bequests and
private donations.
A grand re-opening celebration is planned
for Friday, January 16, from 5:30 to 9:30
p.m. People can enjoy free caricature
drawings, an improv theater presentation
and several local musical groups.
Fiction
In the Woods, a novel
Tana French
In 1980s Dublin, a detective
investigating a new case finds he
is also involved in a 20-year-old
unsolved mystery. Both take place
“in the woods.” Try the talking book!
The Given Day: a novel
Dennis Lehane
Just after World War I, Boston
is recovering from the Spanish
Influenza pandemic and dealing
with the rise of unionism,
culminating in the Boston Police
Strike of 1919.
The Uncommon Reader
Alan Bennett
A humorous fictional account
of what happens when Queen
Elizabeth II finds a London Library
bookmobile parked at Buckingham
Palace. The fun begins when the
Queen gives in to her bibliomania!
The Monsters of Templeton
Lauren Groff
Willie Upton goes home to
Templeton, N.Y. to recuperate and
begins a genealogical journey into
the life of her family and her town
that reveals amazing secrets.
An Irish Country Doctor
Patrick Taylor
A newly graduated doctor goes to
a rural Irish village to work with
an older colleague and discovers
that the practice of medicine is only
partially about treating the body.
Selected by Timberland Regional
Library Youth, Nonfiction and
Fiction selectors, Jackie Marquardt,
Kim Storbeck and Jean Padovan.
Need Information? Have Questions?

Ask a Librarian! Central Reference About Timberland Regional Library’s Reference Databases
Service librarians are available Reference Databases
Over 50 licensed reference databases are
for Investors
Reference & information Timberland Regional Library has
available on the Timberland Regional
704-INFO (4636) just introduced Your Money, A Guide
Library website. These reference
Outside the Olympia area: to Reaching Your Financial Goals, a
databases are regularly updated and
1-800-562-6022 comprehensive course on smart
checked for accuracy. They include full-
www.TRL.org investing for beginners and anyone who
text magazine and newspaper articles,
needs to fill in their knowledge base
Central Reference hours* encyclopedias, dictionaries, directories,
to build and protect their investments.
Monday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. auto manuals, almanacs, standardized
These four reference databases also
Tuesday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. tests such as the GED and SAT, and
provide investing information.
Wednesday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. information on specific subject areas.
Thursday 9 a.m.–9 p.m. • Morningstar Investment Research Center
All can be accessed from Timberland (stock and fund information)
Friday 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
library computers. From work or home • TheStreet.com, which includes Weiss
Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
computers, you’ll need your library card
*Except holidays Ratings of banks, savings and loans,
number and PIN.
thrifts, and insurance companies
• Business & Company Resource Center
Follow Your Money: Internet picks from your librarians Company profiles, brand information,
rankings, investment reports, company
histories, and journal articles
Here are a few websites to help you make informed decisions about your
personal finances and investments. Find more at www.TRL.org under • Reference USA
Internet Resources: Business, Investing. Information on U.S. and Canadian
businesses
www.dfi.wa.gov www.finra.org www.investopedia.com
The Washington State FINRA is an Investopedia offers Find these databases online at
Department of Financial independent regulator tutorials and information www.TRL.org under Reference
Institutions (DFI) for securities firms doing to beginners and Databases: Business.
regulates state chartered business in the U.S. The experienced investors.
financial services and website offers financial It includes an extensive Today’s Library Editor
provides education to information with articles, dictionary of acronyms Jeff Kleingartner
protect consumers from interactive tools, alerts and investing terms. Timberland Regional Library
financial fraud. and other resources. Communications Department

Timberland Regional Library

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

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