On any given day, the Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th St., is a cool oasis in the heart of the city.
This summer, the library will temporarily close for remodeling. Exact dates have not yet been determined, but it’s expected that the closure will last about six weeks, from mid-August through September.
“During the closure, the interior of the library will be enhanced with new lighting, carpeting and furniture. Some navigational aids also will be installed to help patrons better find their way through the facility,” said Brooke Fisher, communications/copy specialist for King County Library System.
Temporary services are being planned and it’s anticipated that one of the building’s meeting rooms will be used for pick-up of materials on hold, as well as book returns.
“We also hope to locate a small browsing collection of library materials in the meeting room, as well as a few public computers,” Fisher said.
While the Redmond location is closed, patrons will be encouraged to use libraries in neighboring communities. Information will be posted at www.kcls.org.
Library to bring back reading program
The Redmond Regional Library, with collaboration from Borders Books at Redmond Town Center, will reprise the “One Book, One Redmond, One Summer” program, bringing teen and adult readers throughout Redmond together for discussions of the same reading material.
The book selection for 2008 is Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.”
Andrew McClung of the Redmond Regional Library explained that the book was chosen for its “kid appeal” and also because Alexie “has somewhat of a cult following.”
The author grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and overcame many challenges throughout his life, including a birth defect that often results in severe mental retardation. His health issues caused him to be mercilessly teased as a child and he made a conscious decision to attend a high school off the reservation, where he was the only Indian, except for the school mascot.
Reviewers have compared Alexie’s powerful coming-of-age story “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” to both S.E. Hinton’s classic “The Outsiders” and Frank McCourt’s “Angela’s Ashes.”
Both Alexie and Ellen Forney, illustrator for “The Absolutely True Diary …” will come to Redmond for special appearances in conjunction with the library’s reading program.
“While it’s not a graphic novel, it is heavily influenced by illustrations — there are exactly 60 of them,” McClung noted.
Alexie and Forney will speak during classes at Redmond High School and will also have an evening presentation, open to the public, at the high school’s Performing Arts Center on Sept. 25.
More details about “One Book, One Redmond, One Summer” are forthcoming, but McClung asked that we mention one important difference from last summer’s program.
“We are not going to be able to afford to buy so many copies of the book this year. If people want to help the program out, one way to do that would be to buy a copy of the book, read it at their leisure, and if they don’t plan on keeping their copy, they could donate it to the library so that kids who might not be able to afford copies can get a chance to read it before September 25th,” he suggested.
Mary Stevens Decker can be reached at mdecker@reporternewspapers.com or (425) 867-0353, ext. 5052.
