Riddle
is moving forward with a plan to reopen its library and even check out books.
The
smaller branches that were once part of the Douglas County Library System shut
down April 1, victims of the financial crisis faced by county government. While
the county’s Library Futures Task Force continues to search for a long-term
solution, many cities have come to the conclusion their best bet, at least for
now, is to take charge of their own libraries.
Previously,
libraries had been told by the county they could reopen, but only as reading
rooms. Under that model, county-owned books would remain with each branch, but
would have to be read on site and couldn’t be checked out. The county would no
longer provide a computer catalog.
But
Riddle began looking into a way around that. It’s been investigating smaller
computer catalog services it could contract with on its own, and it sought an
intergovernmental agreement with the county that would allow it to provide its
own catalog and resume checking out books.
Monday,
the Douglas County Board of Commissioners approved Riddle’s proposal.
Rita
Radford, director of library services for the Riddle City Library, said Monday
she anticipates Riddle will become a model for other cities that want to reopen
their libraries but aren’t satisfied with the reading room approach.
Radford
said Riddle will be able to use the county’s computers, scrubbed of the
county’s software, and acquire catalog software of its own. The city, which
owns the library building, will provide internet and Wi-Fi service.
Radford
said most of the other library branches have expressed interest in following
suit. Riddle is forging ahead with the approval of its city council, which is
eager to have the library reopen.
Riddle’s
reopening is planned for 3 p.m. June 6, and a full slate of summer programs for
kids is in the works. It includes a gardening program with Master Gardeners,
story telling, music, a Peter and the Wolf musical presentation, a puppet show
called “Dogs to the Rescue,” and a rock painting “extravaganza.” Family events
will include a pre-solar-eclipse party and a professional magic show.
“It’s
going to be a lot of fun,” Radford said.
The
library has a list of about 40 volunteers, who will keep the library open five
hours each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Radford
is a volunteer herself, though she was formerly a paid library assistant.
“It’s
a passion for me. I just love the library and I want to see it continue and be
a help to the community,” she said.
Radford
said she’s very thankful Riddle received the go ahead to work toward checking
out books.
“The
reading room is a cute little idea, but it doesn’t serve the public very well,”
she said. “Very, very few people have the time to sit down and read at the
library. Most of them would rather go home and read in their pajamas.”
Three
libraries — Reedsport, Oakland and Sutherlin — have reopened already, and
several more plan to reopen this summer. The Reedsport branch, now called the
Reedsport Public Library, has also requested an agreement with the county that
would allow it to check out books. At this time, though, it can’t afford the
cost of a cataloging system, according to City Manager Jonathan Wright. Both
Oakland and Sutherlin have begun local book collections so that some books can
be checked out.
The
Roseburg branch remains open until the end of the month.
Unwilling
to see their libraries die, community members and city leaders in those towns
were ready to reopen virtually the day their libraries closed down. They had
dozens of volunteers signed up to staff their libraries. In Sutherlin, for
example, where the library shutdown lasted a single day, a team of 50
volunteers has signed up to keep the library open as many hours as before
closure. While they aren’t checking out the county-owned books, they’ve
collected several hundred of their own that they are checking out. Reedsport
plans to put its own regional district up for a vote this November. Riddle,
which plans a June reopening, and Reedsport are working on obtaining catalog
systems so they can check out the county-owned books at their branches. These
cities have become examples that others, including Roseburg, should seriously
consider following.
Libraries
in some communities remain closed, awaiting some action from the county. It’s
their patrons who have suffered from that miscalculation, and if Roseburg
doesn’t move very quickly, their library patrons will suffer as well. A
community without a library is a poorer, and ultimately a dumber one. Roseburg
owes it to its citizens to give them what they voted for — a library whose
doors remain open. We hope to see a solid plan for how to do that emerge as
soon as possible.
Sutherlin,
Oakland and Reedsport have been more proactive. They’ve opened their libraries
again as reading rooms, by using all-volunteer staffing, and Riddle this week
gained permission from the county to pursue obtaining its own cataloging system
so it could check out books once it reopens in June.
Sutherlin,
Oakland and Reedsport libraries have already reopened, with intergovernmental
agreements (IGAs) signed with the county. The IGAs are necessary because while
all the cities outside Roseburg own their library buildings, the county owns
the books. Sutherlin is open the same hours as before the branch closures, with
volunteer staffing, while Oakland is open on Fridays. Reedsport has even
gathered enough money to keep a paid librarian, at least for the next three
months.
Yoncalla
has signed an IGA to reopen as a “reading room plus,” as has Riddle. The “plus”
allows these libraries to check out books if they acquire their own catalog
systems. Riddle plans to reopen at 3 p.m. June 6. Glendale is close to getting
an IGA signed. It plans to reopen in the summer, and have a bookworm mascot,
and a summer reading program. It’s short on volunteers and money, but plans to
publicize its grand opening with a poster campaign and a Fourth of July parade
float. Myrtle Creek has an active group of 50 volunteers and has formed a
nonprofit to raise funds. It hopes to have the library reopened by July 1.
Winston
and Canyonville do not yet have plans to reopen their libraries. Winston
leaders are concerned about a shortage of volunteers.
Drain
has scheduled two community meetings at 7 p.m. May 25 and 2 p.m. June 3 at the
Drain Civic Center, 205 West A Ave. to determine what residents want to do
about the library. The city has had offers of financial donations, but is short
on volunteers.
Riddle had their grand-opening and library kick off the day that
Jeanie passed away. Jenna and I had gone to the library on the first as
she had a dentist appointment and we were already in the area anyway. She
signed up for the summer reading program though she is already doing one
through school and will be doing one through Myrtle Creek.I was told I could sign up for a library card
but that it would cost eight dollars (as we don’t reside in Riddle) We’d like
to incorporate Myrtle Creek, Canyonville and Riddle to operate together and
thought I would weigh it out.
Roland told me to go ahead and get a card so that I could check
out some audio books to listen to on the road.I wish he had gone to pick them out himself.He always ends up making an audio book
purchase as I don’t do well with selection – not that there was much to choose
from.Mostly Nora Roberts collection
which I just didn’t think he’d be interested in.
Myrtle Creek's summer kick off does not start until July
3. At this point we don't even know where that will be as the city has
not made a commitment for location. But I will save that for another post.Oh, we’re not done.There is and will be more.
As
mentioned in this post,I thought
Highway 140 was quite beautiful at some parts and quite scary at others.The idea of a 50 foot drop and no guard rails
is rather creepy.But that is the way
Roland wanted to go - and he was driving.
I
thought 140 seemed scarier driving north than it did driving south - which is
ironic, as the drop is on the south/west side.The drive didn't seem quite as long, either.But Denise and I had taken I5 through Medford
because she wanted to see the temple.I
just had Roland go by way of Highway 138
to Highway 97 where you can choose to go north up through Bend and over through
Boise, or you can drive down south to Lake View and Winnemucca.
The
Nevada route is only about 30 minutes faster than going through Idaho -
provided there isn't any construction or other barriers that might interfere
with the normal route, but going south requires a lot more traction and winding
- which I somehow didn't believe our car could handle.But it did.There were many who'd been praying for our safety and we made good
timing, I think.
Jeanie
passed away on the 6th and our plan was to leave on the 7th.It was Jenna's final week of school and she'd
been planning on dressing up for each day.She'd been looking forward to her final week of school this year and to
watch her 8th grade friends graduate.She cried when Roland told her that she would not return to school.
I
was appalled at Jenna's behavior - obviously thinking more about the
inconvenience of her own plans than for thinking about her brother and the
grief that he may be suffering.Death is
rarely convenient for any of us.I did
talk Roland into allowing her to go to school one last time.We still needed to go to Roseburg to get a
rental car and bring it back to the house in order to pack it up.There is ALWAYS a delay when Roland plans
things.Wednesday was an early day, and
we could check her out even earlier if we needed to.There was no sense for ALL of us to go to
Roseburg, and I didn't want to watch Jenna idling any time that she could have
spent at school.
We
had made arrangements to pick the car up between 8:00 and 8:30.We were contacted by the rental company just
before we left the house.We were told
the car would not be available until later and that they would contact us.We had planned to go to Roseburg on some
other errands - the delay of the rental would make things easier - I thought.Roland could do all the driving and we
wouldn't have to worry about the second car.
The
rental company never called back, and so we decided to just go there.There had been five people waiting for rental
cars.All the cars that were supposed to
be available were still out - all the cars that were on the lot that looked
like they might be available had expired tags.We had tried other options, but are actually limited in Roseburg and
didn't want to gamble on driving another 90 miles to a larger city if we might
encounter the same problem with another rental car company. We still didn't
have a car when Jenna returned home from school and so said a major prayer and
ended up taking our own.
The
GPS was taking us through Sutherlin, but I knew we could get through on 138
which was in the opposite direction.We
probably wasted a half hour driving back and forth before we finally got on
route.Our daughter-in-law, Carrie,
commented that our disability of getting out of Oregon sounded like the makings
for a sitcom.
Roland
said he would return through Boise and Bend.
We passed many orange barrells.
No workers or slowdowns - probably due to the wind - except for after
crossing the border from Idaho into Oregon.Loose gravel caused us to slow down.Tar was being poured ahead.There was actually a utility truck with its flashing lights that led the cars in
either direction - I think it was at least a mile long.I'm not exaggerating.It wasn't bad.It had been the only slow down of the entire
trip.
Once
we got to Hines, we stopped at a Dairy Queen to have lunch.
Two
years ago this month, we were contacted by a property rental with
availability.I have a friend who had said
she'd be driving to Newport the following day.I talked her into leaving a day early so that I could ride with her and
she could take me to my destination.
Two
years ago we parted ways.After securing
the rental, Denise dropped me off at the gas station where I planned - and
eventually did catch a bus.I was
somewhere between Boise and Salt Lake June 6, 2015 when my brother called to
let me know of my Uncle's passing.
Facebook
memories have provided memories of the trip and of Uncle Ross's passing.My daughter-in-law Jeanie passed away exactly
two years later.She is the third child
of her mom and dad to pass away within the last eight years.All three children were each been 32 of age when they passed.All three children died in June.
After
the funeral, Jeanie's mom had invited everyone to their house for
"refreshments" - it was more like a potluck meal. Jeanie's dad announced that Jeanie's mom might
have to leave as her father is in the hospital with cancer and was taking a
turn for the worst (although leaving your mortal body is sometimes really not
the worst - though that is often how it's expressed) but she was still there
when it came time for us to leave.
Roland's
sister and husband grilled Jeanie's parents to make certain that Biff would be
alright.They seemed satisfied which I
was grateful because it helped back up my own thoughts which I had tried to
relate to Roland (I am much better at sorting my thoughts out on paper than
verbally in my head).We came home
without Biff or Ally - which is fine.I
truly believe that Biff needs his space right now that Roland unintentionally
might not allow.Biff has to cope at his
own pace - not anybody elses.His
in-laws have at least been through this before.
Biff
didn't know that it is proper to ask
others to participate with the funeral - assigning them pall bearer or for
prayer or whatever.Randy, Tony and
Roland all fulfilled their roles without question. None of them knew they were involved until they saw their names on the program.
We
listened to a program on the way home.The speaker was relating an experience where a man had been away from
his family for three years."Three
years is a long time"Jeanie and
Biff were married three years ago in April."Three years is not a very long time".
I
don't dislike Jack-in-the-Box but I can't say I'm an avid fan of their
food.Jack-in-the-Box does not exist in Salt
Lake, and so the only time I've been is while vacationing on the west coast and
it just happens to be convenient.We've
been to the one in Roseburg a few times, but not very often, which makes me
wonder how it is we had even ended up with three antenna balls.Jenna and Roland like them because it somehow
makes our car easier to spot.Well, I
don't have radar eyes and if it is smaller than the tire, it is not big enough
for my non-observant eyes to spot.
The
wind blew each day during our trip except for the Friday we went to Wheeler
Farm.That day was hot.I suppose if I had a choice, I would take the
wind.I don't guess it would have
mattered.I would have probably felt comatose
either way.Roland says it takes 10 days
to acclimatized.I'd forgotten about the
adjustment we had gone through during those first couple of weeks after we had
arrived in Oregon.Must just have an
effect on older people however.Jenna's
body certainly didn't seem to notice.
It
just feels so weird to me that after having lived in a state for over 50 years
that I would need a longer time to adjust to being there than my vacation time
would allow.Who would have believed I'd
be wiped out so quickly?In addition to
dry throats and fatigue, I was experiencing heat rash.That was a new one for me.
Our
first day on the road landed us in the small town of Lake View.The wind was blowing really hard.
I asked the waitress if it was normal.She seemed a little freaked about it when she
answered,
"NO!Not even in March.That's when we get the most wind.But nothing like this!"
I don't
think it was windy when we'd gone through Nevada.But it wasn't as hot as I think of Nevada as
normally being. Although it was windy in Salt Lake, it wasn't as windy as it had
been during our travel.Especially on
the return back to Oregon.Once the rain
stopped, Roland was hanging onto the wheel trying to keep the car on the
road. I asked him if he felt like he was driving through the eye of the storm. He said yes.
Tractor Trailers (another name for
Semi-Trucks or 18wheelers; a name I actually never understood until watching
them moving with the wind) would pass us by and the "trailer" part
would be swinging all over the road.
I saw a
green mile sign that was bent in half (couldn't even read how far apart what
towns they were as the information was upside down)
I think
the face of our first Jack antennaball
we had just faded in the sun.But Roland
claims that the wind blew them off sometime during our travels.
Biff works as a security guard He gets bored patrolling and calls us often. Just a week and a half ago he mentioned an upcoming weekend getaway. His in-laws were planning on taking him, his wife, and the baby.
Biff had looked forward to Spending Time in the pool with Jeanie and Ally. He had made arrangements for getting the time off from work. He was home when Jeanie fell. He couldn't get to her quickly enough. The autopsy showed that she had a clot in her lung. Perhaps that is what caused her to fall. We had planned to visit with family members in Utah the second week in August. We have two granddaughters turning two that month. Carrie had called Jeanie on a Monday to ask if she wanted to celebrate the girls' birthdays at the same time before our return to Oregon. The following Monday we were all at Jeanie's funeral. Biff held Ally over the casket for one final view. Ally held out her arms and called, "Mommy" one last time. I watched Ally watch the lid being closed over her mother.
"As a result of
declining timber receipt and dwindling reserve funds the Board is tasked with
making very difficult decisions to ensure that basic public safety needs and
other essential services for the community are met." stated County
Commissioner Chris Boice.
Those
are the last words found on the Douglas County Library home page.The web page may appear to offer more options, but they are no longer linked to
anything.It's a dead page.
This
was the caption on November 30, 2016 Charlotte Herbert wrote the following
letter to the News Review Editor:
Stop the talk, vote for the library
" How can anyone think library
supporters have not thoroughly explored ALL funding solutions? Library staff
and supporters have been thinking about alternative funding for 20 years. Ever
since 1996, when repeated budget cuts made our libraries fall below minimum
standards.
"Can we use volunteers?
Josephine County now funds and operates its four branches by relying on many
volunteers. This is so unworkable that both staff and volunteers are now
planning a May 2017 ballot measure like ours. Can cities pay more? Not one city
has stepped forward in the past five years to help Douglas County run the
library. Can't donors step in? We have donors, but they do not fund operations,
just "extras," like new books.
"The Save Our Libraries
Committee has boxes of research on libraries and how to fund them. They've done
countless interviews. They've held countless public meetings . . ."
To add to that concern, this was
posted on November 19, 2016: "Once upon a time, we were so dedicated to improving our community
that we as a county banded together to form a single library system. It was
well funded and fully staffed by professional librarians. The branches were
open often enough that people could visit them regularly. And a beautiful new
library was built to house the Roseburg branch, in part thanks to generous
donations from the Ford family.
"It
was emblematic of a time when we looked forward, planned for the future,
invested in our kids, valued learning. "It’s
a good story, yes? But it may turn out to have a very unhappy ending. The
voters’ rejection of a library district this month, we may well be facing the
demise of the Douglas County Library System. "Since
you are reading this editorial right now, we assume you are generally in favor
of literacy."
On November 30, 2016 Carisa Cegavske, Senior Staff Writer
for The News Review wrote:
"There were
tears from a Glide teacher who said she “just can’t believe people failed” a
library district measure earlier this month, and cheers for the father of a
home-schooled girl who raised money for the library through a bake sale."
It's not that voters were opposed to keeping libraries opened so much as it
was against paying even more in taxes.Evidently the city of Sutherlin had already opted out before the bill
was proposed.Property taxes were/are
too high before the bill. There was
talk about Reedsport possibly joining forces with Coos County, which seemed to
make sense in my mind.It always
appeared to be disjointed whenever I looked at the map
It
actually takes less time for us to get to Coos Bay than to Reedsport - not that
I've ever been to Reedsport.I was told
that it is over a two hour drive.
“The Reedsport
library is one of the most important places in Reedsport.” [says Reedport's librarian
Sue Cousineau]
Cousineau is also optimistic.
“The Reedsport library will be here one way or another because the people in
this area care so much about their library.”
Cousineau will stay on through April to help volunteers set up their reading
room. Then, after 13 years running the Reedsport Library, she’ll be out of a
job.
I provided a link
for this next article in this post
MYRTLE CREEK — The Myrtle Creek branch of the Douglas County
Library System closed its doors Thursday.
In its final hours, library patrons read and talked, used the
computers and collected books, as a documentary film crew from San Francisco’s
Serendipity Films moved around them, gathering stories for a film on the
history of the American public library and the challenges those libraries face
today.
And the challenges in Myrtle Creek and Douglas County are very,
very real. The county government, strapped for cash, announced it would be
unable to fund the county libraries through the end of the year. A November
ballot measure that would have created a library district tax to keep the
libraries opened was rejected by voters. Subsequently, the closure dates were
announced — April 1 for the 10 rural branches and May 31 for the main branch in
Roseburg. A task force has been convened to seek a long-term funding solution.
Meanwhile, library boards, city councilors and a host of book-loving
volunteers are scrambling to fill the breach in Myrtle Creek and other cities
around the county.
There’s been a library in Myrtle Creek in some form for 105 years,
and quite a few town residents say they have no intention of giving it up.
Already, 35 volunteers have signed up to work shifts at the library and they
plan to reopen it on July 1.
On Thursday, the prevailing mood at the library was sadness.
Karen Rivera, mother of 12-year-old Jaime Rivera, wiped away tears
as she talked about what the loss meant to her and her daughter. It was hard
enough adjusting to a small library open only part-time after they moved here
from Salt Lake City a couple years ago. She and Jaime were reading the book
“Zillah and Me” together Thursday. They’ve been reading together since Jaime
was born.
“I’m really bummed,” Karen Rivera said. “The library offered a way
for us to get together, to feed our minds. We’ve always been a poor family, and
being able to go to the library programs has given our family something to do for
free.”
“Being able to borrow books from the library to gain information,
that was awesome,” Jaime said. “Now this is going to be ripped away from us,
and it sucks.”
This wasn’t Marilyn Brouillard’s first rodeo, though. Brouillard,
longtime volunteer and incidentally the mayor’s wife, lived in Redding,
California, almost 30 years ago when the Shasta County Library System closed
down.
Back then, her son checked out a collection of books beginning
with the words “The Last.” On Thursday, Brouillard copied his example.
She checked out 10 books with titles like “The Last Star,” “The
Last Sin Eater,” “The Last Battle,” and “The Last Apocalypse.”
She doesn’t know if she’ll get to read them all before the final
book return date of April 25.
“I just never thought I’d go through this a second time,” she
said.
She said she’s impressed, though, by the number of people who have
signed up to volunteer.
Myrtle Creek Librarian Hannah Merrill is out of a job, but said
she tried her best to make the library’s last day a happy one for the people
who love it. She said she plans to return to school to get an English degree,
and would like to become a fiction editor.
“I’ve always had a love for books,” she said.
Connie Earp wondered where the children would go. The library is a
source of knowledge for them, she said, and she loves watching their little
faces light up during story time.
To have that disappear, she said, “it’s just the saddest thing.”
Five-year-old Jameson Bury clutched a book about dinosaurs as his
mother wondered what they’d do until the library reopened with an all-volunteer
staff in July. His mother said she visits the library every week with Jameson
and his little brother.
“I can’t read library books for story time any more,” Jameson
said. Asked if that made him feel sad, he nodded.
“I’m really depressed about it,” Melissa Bury said. “They’ve grown
up with this library. It’s someplace we really love to come.”
Carissa had already left when the Myrtle Creek Library board members held their final meeting (see here) On April 30, 2017 News Review gave us this story headline:
WINCHESTER
— Umpqua Community College is inviting the public to visit its library. As
Douglas County commissioners move forward with plans to close the county’s sole
remaining library in Roseburg, UCC wants the community to know its library is
still an option for people who love books.
“We
just want the public to know they still have a place to go and check out
books,” McGeehon said.
The
library is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 a.m.
to 5 p.m. on Fridays. The library is not open on weekends. For more
information, call 541-440-4640. HBO put out this news segment video:
Some cities have been working at creating a library or at
least offering a reading room strictly staffed by volunteers.The city of Riddle has continued to fund
their building.As Jenna had a dentist
appointment in Riddle about a week before we went out of town, we stopped by and she signed up for their
summer reading program - even though Myrtle Creek will also be sponsoring a
reading program in addition to Coffenberry Middle School.
I grew up in the Midvale East 4th ward
(Church boundary) and each year the members would drive to storm mountain for
an annual bbq dinner and ward party.There were always a variety of activities offered to each age group -
though the teenagers (for the most part) would forego any planned activity and
try their hand at hiking to Doughnut Falls - and often succeeding.
Before Kayla was born, the location had
changed from Big Cottonwood Canyon to Wheeler Farm - which actually was a
shorter drive and more family oriented, but not totally a big hit with the
teenagers.We hadn't taken into account
that Wheeler Farm was a safer and more practical area overall.
I have seen this photo attached to two blogs; I don't
know who to give credit to for taking it. I think it's
a great representation but I will remove the picture
if the artist asks me to.
I think I appreciated it more after I
became a mother.I have many scrapbook pages
of Jenna and Wheeler Farm all from different years.Her most favorite thing to visit was (and I
think still is) the farm equipment.
On Friday, Randy had suggested that
spend some time there as it is free and it would perhaps help Biff to cope and
move on.It was the only overly warm day
we had this last week.It was the only
day when the wind wasn't blowing.
Tony and Rochelle had been unwilling or
unable to meet us as her brother was getting married the following day and then
moving out to Pennsylvania.Bittersweet
memories of when Tony and Rochelle moved to Texas right after they were
married.
in addition to the tractors, Jenna has always had her picture
taken as she looks through window in the clubhouse
closeup of her and the two nieces who accompanied us
There were many things I hadn't seen before including this;
Jenna was in Granite School District the entire time we lived in Utah
