As she returned home from a busy day of registering people to vote, my neighbor Connie clued me into a surprising factoid: Updating your address falls into the category of “registering to vote” and there is a deadline for this before the upcoming primary election. In fact, it is this Monday, July 9th (If you want to receive a mail-in ballot. Should you miss this deadline, there are ways around it but they all involve talking to county elections people and going places in person which likely means you just won’t vote in the primary). 
I checked out MyVote, our state’s handy little website for voter registration, which lets you check to see if you are registered, at which address you are registered, and even in which elections you have voted. You can update your address online and you can register to vote if you are not already registered. Magic!
Many people ignore primary elections, but if you love our library, you should vote in this election. If the Library Levy passes, our little Wallingford branch will reopen for five hours on Sundays. The furlough week (this year August 27 – September 3) will go away. In-person reference librarians will staff the library once more! And other wonders of librariness will appear thanks to our collective tax dollars! You can read more about the levy and the solutions it offers the Wallingford branch here.
Of course there are other important things to vote on in this primary election, including Governor, State and Federal Senators and Representatives, and the Children and Family Services Center Levy. All worth taking the time to educate yourself about and returning your mail-in ballot. The deadline for postmarking your mail-in ballot, which you should receive soon, is August 7, 2012.
So, take a minute to register or to make sure your address is up-to-date. Your fellow library patrons will thank you for it!
are you saying that in order to vote w emust either register or update out address?
Plewase be very clear.
and that we need ‘our little library’ which has no books?
Why not close it to save expenses and add mor ehours to the Greenlake one? it has books and grown up adult librarians who are courteous, not facebook plunking ratty jeans dressed.
and that we need ‘our little library’ which has no books?
Why not close it to save expenses and add more hours to the Greenlake one? It has books and grown up adult librarians who are courteous, not facebook plunking ratty jeans dressed.
Thanks for this helpful reminder!
Will I have to show my papers in order to vote? What if I don’t have any papers? Am I invalid?
@commonsense, maybe so, maybe no… I appreciate being able to order books online and walk to a library to pick them up. No one library can carry the amount of materials available. I find the the people working in our local library very helpful.
@common sense: In order to vote, you not only must be registered, you must be registered at your current address so that you can receive your mail-in ballot. If you are currently registered at the address at which you live, you don’t need to do anything. If you don’t know if you are registered at your current address, you can check the MyVote website which will tell you that information.
@Chuck: As we now use mail-in ballots, you won’t need to show any papers. But your signature must match the one the county has on file. It’s a good idea to fill out the contact information space on the ballot envelope in case there are questions about your ballot’s validity. That way the county elections folks can contact you.
@common sense: Our library currently has no librarians. I kid you not. We have library clerks who organize the stacks and check out books. If you need a librarian, you must visit the library during certain limited hours when a visiting librarian is there or they will connect you with a librarian by phone from the Wallingford branch. This is one of the service cuts that the levy seeks to restore. Like @Libraryuser, I also have found the clerks at the Wallingford branch to be very helpful. Perhaps if you try showing them some courtesy, rather than forming a bias based on such criteria as “facebook plunking ratty jeans dressed,” then you will find that courtesy returned.
I have always been courtrous to the clerks in the library. I have observed time spent giggling on facebook and gum smacking. I was in a tight situation with one whom I reported to the city librarian and was apologoized to about what happened- her miswording and mismanagement. I observe faded stringy jeans worn regularly, i am grateful I do nto need help there- when people dress unkempt unfortunately it sends a message or bias- whether desired or not whether correct or not.
This Wednesday, 7/11, from 12:30pm – 1:15pm, the Wallingford Community Senior Center is hosting a speaker from the Friends of the Library group to explain the upcoming library levy and answer any questions. All are welcome to the presentation!
Wallingford Community Senior Center
Lower Level of the Good Shepherd Center
4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Suite 140
Seattle, WA 98103
More info: 206-461-7825
Thank you, Kimberly, Norah, et al, for very useful information about the positive impact the levy will have on our Wallingford Branch Library. Being able to walk to our neighborhood branch on a Sunday, and having librarians on site, would be fantastic!
Sorry libraries are a relic of a time before the Internet and kindle. I don’t think they deserve a tax hike.
@Libwhat? — not sure if you’re serious or trolling. Just in case you’re serious: the library provides web access, and lets you check out ebooks to read on your kindle (or other ebook reader). So they are keeping up with the times. And they’ve got a very usable website.
Just because we have the internet and ebooks, why should we have to buy a license to books that we’re only going to read once rather than having a library that we can borrow licenses from? You know, just like in the paper book days?
many people use the libraries. I am against a levy which will simply extend hours and continue to support bookless libraries, pick up points. The pick-up points could become just that- points for pick up and drop off only using fewer staff or clerks and fewer hours. Another idea which I have mad eoften to library admin is to stagger the open hours and days of the neighborhood libraries Grlk, UW, Walfd all have same closed days and times.
I have to chime in as a former librarian…librarians and libraries are about far more than books. A librarian’s job is to assist with the management of and access to information. Given that we are in a time of increasing information, and in fact information overload, librarians (and libraries) are needed now more than ever!
Library Levy Info Session: Friends of Library will be at WCSC on Wednesday at 12:30 for an info session on the Levy. Open to all. Lower Level of the Good Shepherd Center – 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N. – Suite 140
Libraries are very important to my family. As an adult I use it all the time for both fiction and non-fiction books but I generally only just check out 3-4 dozen books a year. My children on the other hand check out 10-40 books every week. I would never be able to purchase the amount they read. I put books on hold online but the librarians also helps us find books for them. My 3 year old often asks the librarians to help him find books on very specific topics. They not only show him where they are but help us put books on reserve. Many schools only allow the kids to check out 1-2 books every week so for us and many other families who love to read and want to encourage reading the library is essential.
@ Lauren and rb above: YES!
My hope is that the upcoming levy will mark a reverse to the disturbing trend of library reductions. In its place, perhaps there will be a shift in attitudes and priorities….and a move toward library expansion, whether in numbers of books, hours, services, on-site assistance, etc.