The entire Seattle Public Library system will shut its doors for a week beginning August 31st.The move is expected to save the Library $655,000 of the $1 million it needs to save due to budget reductions. An additional $300,000 in cuts will "include management and administration layoffs, extending the staff computer replacement schedule and reducing the training budget.""The closure will mean salary reductions for about 700 employees who will not be paid, or accrue vacation or retirement benefits during those week."Amazingly enough, the closure also includes the the SPL website. During the closure there will be "No access to the...
Behaving at the Library
The Seattle Public Library wants to get a little clearer about what's cool and what's not when you visit.Reading the press release one is reminded that today's urban libraries are as much social service centers for their communities as they are breeding grounds for literacy.Here are few of the proposed rule changes that will be decided on next week:-Sleeping has always been prohibited but now "appearing to be sleeping" will get you a warning.-You've never been able to come into the library barefoot. Now they want make sure you don't take your shoes off once your inside.-Raising the maximum exclusion...
Hungry For Books? It’s Time for the Edible Book Festival
The Lord of the Rings by Kurt B. Reighley The International Edible Book Festival is held every year around April 1st."This ephemeral global banquet, in which anyone can participate, is shared by all on the internet and allows everyone to preserve and discover unique bookish nourishments. This festival is a celebration of the ingestion of culture and a way to concretely share a book."There are events taking place around the world so get baking and get ready.Seattle's annual contribution, Cook the Books!, takes place this Saturday April 4th at the Good Shepherd Center. Upwards of 100 digestible tomes will be...
More From John Marshall
John Marshall, at center, in this image from the Daily BeastFormer Seattle P-I book critic John Marshall follows up his final P-I story with a piece at the Daily Beast."There are many things that I will miss about being the book guy at the Seattle P-I and one of the most sorely missed will be the chance to give a boost to a book and an author who truly deserved it. During these difficult days for the printed word, they need all the help they can get."
‘The Cedar Branch Chronicle’ by Jocelyn Curry
Seattle: 2007. One-of-a-kind. Sculpture, mixed media; Yellow cedar, watercolor and laser images on paper. Designed specifically for its location at Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers. // For 'The Cedar Branch Chronicle', Curry collected one natural artifact and one man-made artifact during her daily walk. Without any self-imposed rules other than scale, upon returning, a watercolor 'journal-entry' composition was created from these found objects on a uniform 3-1/2 x 7" card. The thirty-one daily paintings are suspended from a dramatic 17-foot long cedar branch found on the shores of Puget Sound near the artist's home. The finished installation is essentially an alternative...