This is the last week to get things done at the library before budget cuts force the entire library system to shut down until after Labor Day. The Ballard Library (5614 22nd Ave NW) and all other Seattle Public Libraries will close on Monday, August 30th and reopen Tuesday, September 7th.
During the closure most library services will be unavailable:
* No materials will be due and no fines will be accrued.
* The last day to check out Library items before the closure is Sunday, Aug. 29.
* No book drops will be open. Do not leave books and materials outside Library locations during the closure. Book drops at branches that are open on Sundays, which includes Ballard, will close at 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29 and reopen at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7.
* Limited access to the online catalog. Patrons will be able to search the catalog and check their Library record but will not be able to place holds on items. No staff will be working to process the thousands of books and materials that customers normally put on hold.
* Limited access to the website (www.spl.org). The online calendar, databases, downloadable books and media, digital special collections, podcasts, SPL Mobile app and blogs will be available, but other online information and features will not be available. No staff members will be working to maintain the site or troubleshoot problems.
* No Library computers will be available. You will not be able to reserve a computer for the week the Library system is closed.
* No access to Wi-Fi.
* No book group kits will be sent, received or returned during the one-week closure. Kits will be sent to libraries as usual on the last Wednesday of the month, Aug. 25. Kits not available then will be sent as soon as possible after Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6.
* No programs or events in Library meeting rooms.
* No TeleCirc, the Library’s telephone circulation service.
* No Quick Information telephone service.
* No Text a Librarian, e-mail a librarian or chat with a librarian.
* No Mobile Services.
* No parking in Library garages. The Central Library, Capitol Hill Branch and Ballard Branch garages will be closed.
Uh oh, the city mismanaged funds again, better raise taxes!
don't worry barney,
the bums are on furlough as well.
Aren't hobos on permanent furlough?
Maybe if the city didn't have to defend itself from lawsuits brought by the Ballard Chamber of Commerce – of which this blog is a member – there would be money to keep the libraries open.
But no, our taxes are being used to fight lawsuits against the Missing Link. Thanks, MyBallard!!
Let's get rid of all the elected officials. Let's elect a bunch of republicans who can then shuffle all the money to their rich pals leaving no money left for libraries, or better yet…let's get some real libertarians in there who can privatize the libraries into for profit businesses which none of us will afford so they'll close too.
Yep, those are great ideas. Let's get on that right away.
Then again we could always do the sensible thing and impose a 1% income tax on the millionaires and billionaires. You know, those people who have profited heavily from our society with workers educated at public expense, roads to bring their goods to market, police to protect their businesses and mansions, hospitals to keep their employees and servants healthy, you get the idea. The very wealthy and successful among us, or not so much among us, have benefited more than a lot of them care to admit from the taxes we all pay, so why not help keep up the infrastructure and society that they depend on?
Extremists describing extremists……..oh goody. This is why the center rules.
MyBallard and many of its readers are anti-bike. Just read other threads and you will see that many posters threaten bikers with bodily harm but the Geeky Swedes would never remove those posts. I guess threatening to commit a crime is okay, it's just accusing someone of one that is not.
Thinking you're a 2-wheeled ***hole on is neither a threat nor a crime…..unless you're a paranoid 4 yr old I guess.
BTW, I cycle everyday.
I follow the laws of the road. Just read the forum posts Dave and you'll see what I mean. I know you would rather just name call me without knowing anything but assuming I am an a@@hole. Feel free to name call me, just don't threaten to steal my bike, to run me over or to kick me. Perhaps you are the idiot who shoved me while rode on the BGT this summer because “you are sick of bikers”.
IT'S NOT A BIKE TRAIL!!!!
Hmm, then why does it have lanes for pedestrians AND bikers? Is that not what those little bike pictures mean???!!!
pinky…i read and post on this site regularly and i've never seen “posters threaten bikers with bodily harm”. never. not once. unless the geeky swedes are removing those posts before i see them? but you say they're not, so i'm confused…
myballard has not once taken a stance on the missing link, not once. what you and pho are doing is guilt by association. guess what, there are BCoC members who don't agree with their support of the lawsuit. but they agree with the other 99% of the things the BCoC does so they continue to be members. as someone posted earlier, not one BCoC member has rescinded their membership as a result of the laswuit. not one. because they realize that, after the proper environmental review that the SDOT should have known they would have to do, the trail will get built and life will go on in ballard.
enough already. i will suggest it once again and once again it will fall on deaf ears. if you want to cause change, go out and gather signatures on a petition to the BCoC to drop the lawsuit. but none of you will do that because it's too much work. instead, you'll whine about this web site that you regulary read and post on.
Again with the name calling. I'm not lazy, I am an involved community activist who works to be the change I wish to see. I don't resort to insulting or threatening others to make my point. Read the string about riding on the Ballard Bridge where a poster says, “Missing your bike, look under my car” among other things or the thread about whether or not riding on sidewalks is legal (it is) or bikes using crosswalks, all of which have threats to harm bikers or their bikes. Unless they've been removed since I last saw them, the Geeky Swedes have never removed one of these posts.
I don't whine either, that's wasted energy. I will continue to serve on advisory and community boards where I can impact and effect change through leadership and consensus building.
I don't hear the pedestrians Bitching about the missing part
didn't call anybody names. i'm just repeating what pho and others have said about my suggestion(s) to gather signatures on a petition to the BCoC. they won't, because it's “annoying” and too much work…their words, not mine
you're the one who called MyBallard and the people who own/run the site “anti-bike” without any evidence to support that claim. as I mentioned, I have never seen Geeky Swedes once express an opinion on this site about the trail and the lawsuit. you just assume they are anti-bike because of their membership in the BCoC. point me to an editiorial or any other article on this site where Geeky Swedes have said that they support the lawsuit and are against the trail. please show me an example.
I'll repeat what I already said. There are BCoC members who don't agree with their support of the lawsuit. but they agree with the other 99% of the things the BCoC does so they continue to be members. as someone posted earlier, not one BCoC member has rescinded their membership as a result of the laswuit. not one.
exacly what advisory and community boards do you serve on that are trying to get the lawsuit dropped and the trail built?
Huh, I thought this was about libraries. KCLS libraries will be open during this time if you would like to go to a library during the SPL closure.
Jgibson, to some of the spandex minions everything is about the bike trail. It's tiresome.
Pinky – the Swedes respond to requests from My Ballard users to remove posts if there is a valid reason.
I believe it is correctly described as a multi-use trail, which means it is not exclusive to bike use or pedestrian use. Some people use it for both.