THIS SPRING, RAY Steinberg took on an unusual assignment: He decided to stake out the Jefferson County Library from the moment it opened to closing, plus side trips to bookmobile stops.
A retired school librarian who lives in Kala Point, Steinberg wanted to document all the things that go on at the library, both in front of and behind the scenes.
Here is his report of what happens in the library on a typical day:
The morning staff arrives at 8 a.m.
Associate manager Meredith Wagner meets with circulation manager Jeanne Mahan to verify who will cover key positions — circulation desk, information desk and bookmobile.
Clerk Claudia Olney begins checking in books and sorting them like letters in a post office: bookmobile stops, Quilcene schools, Brinnon schools, Home Library.
Sue Marett, a volunteer, sorts magazines.
Doors open
The doors open at 10 a.m., and waiting patrons enter. At the same time, the doors of the bookmobile swing open at its first stop of the day, the Cape George fire station.
A woman climbing aboard asks Greg Turner, who doubles as driver and clerk, for a book about lighthouses. There is not one onboard.
After searching, they discover a book titled The Most Beautiful Villages and Towns in the Pacific Northwest that contains pictures of lighthouses.
Back at the library, parents and preschool children are assembling in the Humphrey Room for preschool story time.
The children sit on the floor on cushions, adults in a half-circle of chairs behind them.
Martha Ashenfelter, youth services librarian, begins by greeting the children with a puppet bunny that enjoys being petted, she informs them.
Martha displays a variety of books, then tells stories and leads songs that have accompanying movements.
Everyone joins in on “Down by the Bay Where the Watermelon Grows,” then the children dance to a song about days; this is stretch-and-bend day.
By the end of story time, the group grows to 10 adults and 15 children. Then, it’s everyone to the back of the room for craft time.
Today’s craft is to make frog masks. The adults assist Martha as glitter, glue and decorations are distributed, and the children use them to decorate pre-cut paper masks.
Not all returns made at the library are books.
Lost dog
Shortly after 11 a.m., an upset woman comes into the library to report that her dog is lost and was last seen on the library grounds.
She leaves her phone number and goes home.
Circulation clerk Jim Nyby goes out to look for the dog, described as small and light brown.
He finds the dog, which is friendly and seems content to hang out in the work area. His owner arrives, and both are happy to be reunited.
At noon, a courier comes in and picks up several bags of books for delivery to the Port Townsend Library. He will return with bags of books from Port Townsend.
At noon, the bookmobile opens its door at the community waterfront park in Paradise Bay, south of Port Ludlow. A light rain is falling.
Turner and clerk Shannon Porter are acquainted with the patrons who arrive through the mist.
Most visitors here live within walking distance of the bookmobile parking area, Turner says.
One patron, Jim, says he wouldn’t visit the library if it weren’t for the bookmobile, which carries approximately 3,000 items, including new best-sellers, DVDs and current-issue magazines that can be checked out.
There also is a computer connection to the main library that allows clerks to issue library cards and placeholds.
After a break for lunch, Turner drives the bookmobile to the next stop, the Village Store in Port Ludlow.
The doors open at 1:30 p.m. James, a bookmobile regular, comments on the diversity of Jefferson County.
He says the only thing people agree on is their love for the Jefferson County Library.
A young mother with three small boys says it’s wonderful that they will have bookmobile memories. She says she won’t take them to the big library until they are older.
Back at the library building, the glitter and glue have been cleared away and the Humphrey Room set up for a public meeting.
The purpose: to gather community input on a proposed expansion of the building.
Ray Serebrin, library director, gives a brief history of the project, then architect Ruth Coates gives an overview of trends in library design.
The best library design, she says, provides for a variety of uses at one time.
Meanwhile, Mahan is approached at the collection desk by a woman who is impressed by the library’s landscaping, especially some yellow flowers.
She asks the name of the plant, and Jeanne pulls out a landscape map kept at the desk.
The patron isn’t convinced it’s the same plant, so Jeanne walks with her to a window where they both can see it.
Now they agree.
Jeanne gives her a copy of a page from Sunset’s Western Garden Book that provides information on the plant. The woman says, “This is the best library. This is like going to the nursery, only better. Thank you.”
Book request
At 3:15 p.m., Nyby and Judith Lucia, outreach service manager, search for a book requested by phone from a man in Port Townsend.
He has left the Port Townsend Library and is on his way to pick up his book.
The book is mis-shelved, but they find it before he arrives.
At 4 p.m., Lucia takes 50 books, donated paperbacks and some discards from the Jefferson County Library collection to the county jail. The delivery takes place once a month and the books are given, not loaned.
In the library, high school pages begin shelving materials that have been checked in.
At 5 p.m., Shannon and Greg return and park the bookmobile, then begin sorting returned books and gathering books for Thursday’s run.
Circulation Clerk Janice Lewis also is sorting books for Thursday. The bookmobile is on the road six days a week visiting outlying communities.
By this time, more teenagers are using computers in the young-adult section, often several on each computer. Ten people are in line to check out materials.
In the evening
By 7:30 p.m., fewer people are in the library, and at close to 8 p.m., it has become so quiet that individual voices can be distinguished.
The pages remind everyone that the library is closing. The computer system automatically shuts down.
Today, 551 people visited the main library and 48 the bookmobile. Seventeen staff, two pages and four volunteers assisted them.
In all, 1,360 items were checked out, 1,157 checked in.
We turn out the lights and exit through the bookmobile garage.
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Jennifer Jackson writes about Port Townsend and Jefferson County every Wednesday. To contact her with items for this column, phone 360-379-5688 or email jjackson@olypen.com.
