King County Library System Director gets to know her new territory

Lisa Rosenblum speaks to library staff
Photo courtesy KCLS

Lisa Rosenblum, appointed as director of the King County Library System on January 16, 2018, reports on her second month in the job to the KCLS Board

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February presented many opportunities for making connections.

Washington State Librarian Cindy Aden and I met and she educated me on the structure of the Washington State Library (WSL).

We talked about how KCLS can partner with WSL on future key initiatives and we both feel that KCLS, as the biggest library system in the state, has a lot to share with other libraries and needs to be at the table sharing best practices.

I also met with Seattle Public Library’s City Librarian Marcellus Turner and was given a tour of Seattle’s Central Library. I plan to meet on a regular basis with both the directors of SPL and Pierce County Library System.

I also sat down with KidsQuest Executive Director Putter Bert to discuss ways to keep our long-standing partnership going. KidsQuest Children’s Museum is a hands-on, interactive children’s museum next to the Bellevue Library that encourages learning through play with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, art and math.

KCLS patrons can use their library cards to get free passes to KidsQuest and two other kid-friendly museums — the Bellevue Arts Museum and the Washington State History Museum.

I also attended a meeting with Burien’s City Manager, City Attorney and Interim Police Chief to discuss patron behavior issues at the Burien Library and afterwards toured all six libraries in the West Region: Boulevard Park, Burien, Greenbridge, Tukwila, Valley View, and White Center.

As I approach the end of my second month, have visited staff in five of our 12 library regions. I am learning about the unique characteristics of each of our libraries and have enjoyed exploring the different communities we serve throughout the county. I will continue to make headway meeting staff, patrons, and constituents in the weeks ahead.