Board of Trustees

Denise Williams, President

Teri Bundros, Vice-President

Betti Alves, Secretary

Amy Dougan, Treasurer

Other board members:

Lobertta Gwin

Judy Johnson

Jenna Chaffin

Friends of the McKinleyville Library P. O. Box 2612 McKinleyville, CA 95519-2612 Contact person: Amy Dougan Phone 707-839-4565

New schedule New time for children's story time. Story Hour, the library's program for young children and their parents and older siblings has been moved to Wednesday at 1 PM.The branch hours are noon to 5 PM Tuesday and Friday, noon to 8 PM Wednesday, 10 AM to 5 PM Thursday and Saturday. Please note that because of extreme staff shortages, it is possible that a branch might have to remain closed if regular staff can't make it and a substitute can't be found. Who are we? The Friends of the McKinleyville Library are people from all walks of life who support our library. By paying modest yearly dues, members provide the working budget which allows us to fund our activities, including the costs of fundraising for our medium and long-range goals. We purchased the initial collection of music CDs and a display rack for them and other media, the power-assisted door opener and a people-counter to track how many patrons use the library. Not everyone who comes in checks items out; the counter helps to quantify the library's service to the community. The CD rack The Friends bought these new paperback racks and a newspaper rack for the library in 2008. We also purchased a copier to replace the worn out one in the library work room. Short-term goals We routinely pay for newspaper and magazine subscriptions, craft supplies and facilities fees for children's programing, extra copies of popular books and other materials and items such as a new paper shredder and open sign. We have recently donated matching funds to purchase large-type materials. We encourage the McKinleyville Branch Manager to come to us when the library needs something the county can't provide. In addition, we raised $3,000 in 2004-05 and again in 2005-06 to help defray the cost of utilities for the library building, which is owned by the McKinleyville Community Services District (MCSD.) Like the library system, the district was left in dire financial straits when the state diverted local money. The community responded generously to our book sales and Beer and Books fundraiser, allowing us to ease the shortfall a little for the district. Mary Kay, from the Board of the Friends of the McKinleyville Library, presents this year's check to the MCSD. Photo courtesy of McKinleyville Press Click here to go to our membership form to print out and mail in. By the Numbers In 1984, the McKinleyville Library checked out 14,789 items, in 2005-06, it checked out 40,958. The Summer Reading Program for children drew 97 participants in 1984, last year 298 took part -- that's more than the Eureka Main Library or any other branch. library worker Amy Dougan, Branch manager Sunny Fallingrain, and library worker Carol Waller A Brief History of the McKinleyville Library Our library has been in several locations around town, including a previously residential building and a space in the shopping center. It was housed in a corner of the McKinleyville High School Library in 1984, and the 15 hours it was open each week had to be scheduled around school hours. The current building is small, but it's a big step up. Not sure what to read? Reading shouldn't seem like punishment. If it does, you're selecting the wrong books. Here are a few suggestions: &  Ask the library staff for recommendations. & Ask friends and family what they are reading and why. & Pursue an interest by looking for biographies of your favorite celebrity, nonfiction books about a hobby such as quilting or woodworking or books about the natural history of Humboldt County. * Many popular movies and television shows are based on book; check out the original source for more depth. w  If a book seems too overwhelming, try a magazine on a subject that interests you. w  Join a reading group or start your own. Groups can be as simple as two people reading the same book and discussing it or as elaborate as you like, but they encourage you to try different books than the ones you are used to. w  Visit a web site devoted to books. One of the most complete is www.bookreporter.com. It has everything from reviews and author biographies to bestseller lists, awards, reading group guides and other features. The Booksense Bestseller list is available on-line at www.bookweb.org/indiebound/bestsellers. Once you have the title and author of a book you'd like to read, you can use the computerized catalog to see if our system owns it. Books from anywhere in the county system can be ordered and picked up at the McKinleyville library. See the library staff or visit www.humlib.org for more details. Is one book better for you than another? Don't bet on it. Developing a love of reading is more important than subject matter. Visit our list of more reading suggestions, including the New York Public Library's "Books of the Century," and a list of our local Reading Groups' choices.

Updated January 26, 2012