Email to the Editor: Longtime KCLS Patron through Reciprocal Agreement Supports Annexation

One of the first things we did when we moved to Enumclaw, 18 years ago, was to obtain a library card. We passed the summer attending the summer reading programs for children. Over the years our family has appreciated and enjoyed the warm community feel of the staff and library, and my girls have grown up on children’s story times, and summer reading programs.

But as my girls got older we found that the resources at the Enumclaw library were not enough to support school projects, home schooling, special interests, etc. So we have been using the King County Library System (KCLS) for many years; picking up the materials we request online in Auburn, and then in recent years at the Muckleshoot branch. The staff of both of these libraries have been warm and friendly, especially the small Muckleshoot branch.

As I see it, the annexation of the library into KCLS would only be giving us the best of both worlds: having a local branch with warm friendly staff, and having all the resources of one of the largest library systems in the country.

Many of us have been benefiting from KCLS for years, especially since our library’s resources and hours of a operation have been significantly reduced in recent years. The reciprocal agreement with our library has allowed us to do so free of charge for years. Now I think it is time to vote to do our part of supporting KCLS as many of us have taken advantage of it for years.

As has been pointed out, in order for our city to be able to run a fully functional library (full hours of operation, and regularly purchasing new materials) would mean voting to pass a levy of 65 cents per $1,000. The city council will be in a hard place if we don’t pass the annexation, they either have to reduce the hours of operation still further, close the library altogether, or try to get us to pass a levy amounting to the same cost or more to provide fewer services and resources than we would get through KCLS. The most probable would be the reduction in hours, because I doubt there would be enough support from the community to pass a levy after not passing the annexation. As long as the reciprocal agreement with KCLS stands (though that would probably be at risk after refusing annexation), a reduction in hours wouldn’t effect me much, but it will greatly effect those who won’t have much of a voice when we vote; i.e. the young people who don’t have computer access at home to help with school projects and studies, the increasing number of men and women who are so focused on finding a job that they don’t realize that this issue may effect their access to computer sources in their job search, my grandson who may not be able to experience story time, and summer reading programs to enhance his love of reading, and those who rely on the library as their place to experience community and peace.

So I will be voting “yes” to annexation because I’m done taking advantage of KCLS without contributing financially; and for those who have been and will be most greatly effected by the reduction in our library’s operating hours and lack of resources.

Lisa McHugh