Twilight inspires Sequim reader
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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It was a sunny afternoon, with summer's freedoms waning fast, but there Powless was, inside the Sequim branch, surrounded by computer screens and tomes of all sorts.
Yes, he surfed some on the library's free Internet connection, but added: "I'm going to get a book called Twilight. I heard it's good."
That would be Stephenie Meyer's huge hit novel set in Forks.
And Twilight is only the first of four best-sellers about Bella Swan and her boyfriend, the pale yet hot Edward.
Powless is the kind of visitor Keitha Owen, manager of the library at 630 N. Sequim Ave., wants to lure into her lair.
She also seeks very young children, adults of all ages and local authors.
Owen's fall plans reflect that fact.
In September, Owen and her staff will add four new story times: for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and families.
"We'll have them once a week from September through December," she said.
"Another thing we're cooking up is adult programming: We'll have one or two programs a month."
Computer classes for adults also will be offered at the library, beginning with a "computer basics" session in September.
County reading project
In October, the Sequim, Forks, Clallam Bay and Port Angeles libraries will participate in the Clallam County Reads project, which aims to have Clallam teens and adults rediscovering one book together: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Discussions of the novel and screenings of the 1962 movie starring Gregory Peck, among other events, will fill the month.
"I've been listening to it in the car," Owen said on Friday.
All four Clallam libraries have multiple copies of Mockingbird in many formats: print, large print, audio, Spanish and Braille.
On Nov. 8, writers from Sequim, Dungeness and environs will gather at the first Local Authors' Fair at the Sequim branch.
The event is open to 20 authors, who can obtain applications on the North Olympic Library System Web site, www.NOLS.org.
The deadline for authors to apply and submit copies of their books is Sept. 17.
Details about the fair and all other library events — story times, classes — will be posted on the Web site, Owen said.
Also in November, library assistant Martin Ralls will start a book discussion group for adults.
And what are the admission prices?
"Libraries don't charge," Owen said.
Events, library cards and Internet surfing are free for all.
Clallam Bay to reopen
At the other end of the county, another library will reopen after a five-week closure and nearly five months of construction.
The Clallam Bay branch is slated to open its two new wings on Sept. 8, library system director Paula Barnes said on Friday.
The branch, on state Highway 112, will be three times the size of the old one and will have a covered ramp for people with disabilities.
The library system and the Friends of the Clallam Bay Library pooled their resources to construct the 3,872-square-foot building for $582,623.
Sequim face-lift
The Sequim branch, at 26 years old, will have what Barnes calls a "face lift" later this year.
She'll meet with Buffalo Design, architects who specialize in libraries, on Wednesday to continue planning that project.
The system and the Friends of the Sequim Library will invest $388,000 in remodeling the library's interior; Owen hopes to seek contractors' bids in October and have the work completed by January.
But the librarian has already done her own preliminary makeover, by rearranging shelves, tables and the new-book display to make the Sequim place more inviting.
And when Barnes saw this on Friday, she said she was so impressed that she said, "we're just going to cancel the face lift."
That was a joke, though Barnes said Owen didn't find it that funny.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about Clallam County Reads, which will focus on To Kill a Mockingbird beginning in October, see www.nols.org., or phone a local library.
Last modified: August 24. 2008 9:00PM