In 1998, Nancy Pearl and Chris Higashi, librarians working in the Washington Center for the Book at the Seattle Public Library (SPL), had a brainstorm. Challenged with a grant to develop new audiences for literature, they were intrigued with the power of books to unite diverse audiences. With that in mind, they expanded the book club concept to…

This article features the Pierce County Library System (PCLS) in Tacoma, where new services are changing the way customers experience the library. PCLS is comprised of 17 branches, two bookmobiles, one Explorer Kid's bookmobile, serves 509,000 people, and has 234,000 cardholders. The evolution of customer expectations and needs motivated the…

Describes the Pacific Northwest Conspectus Database, a regional resource assessment tool which includes information about library collections in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Use of the database by academic, public, and special librarians to better manage their collections and to coordinate planning and purchasing with other…

Few public buildings, and no libraries, have ever received the sort of acclaim that Seattle's central library garnered even before it opened in May 2004. "The Seattle building is thrilling from top to bottom," wrote Paul Goldberger in "The New Yorker." Herbert Muschamp, in the "New York Times," agreed: "In more…

Few might think there is much of a connection between acting and librarianship, but Chance Hunt says his acting career in Los Angeles provided him with skills he uses today as a youth services librarian, from programming with kids to representing the library at citywide meetings. Hunt oversees system-wide services for children and teens at the…

Judy Nelson thinks it's important to understand what the community wants for its young people, "which means lots of listening." We need to give taxpayers more good reasons to support libraries, she says, and the community's problems and unmet needs are opportunities for libraries to be an integral part of the solution. One problem Nelson…

This article details the work of Sally Lancaster of Everett Public Schools in Washington. Sally Lancaster may be an educator by training, but she knows the value of libraries. As assistant principal of Alternative Programs for the Everett Public Schools, Lancaster led a statewide battle that not only saved the criteria for school libraries in the…