Podcast appearances and mentions of jim hills

David George Gordon admits he was a bookworm as a child. Is that why the prolific author loves insects, and loves to eat them? Sno-Isle Libraries Check It Out! podcast hosts Ken Harvey, Jim Hills and Jessica Russell sat down with Gordon and chewed the fat about his reputation as “the bug chef.” And they graciously accepted the guest’s gifts, as polite hosts do. Yes. Harvey, Hills and Russell ate bugs. The Seattle-based author of “The Eat-a-Bug Cookbook” and 19 other titles covering slugs and snails, oyster history and Sasquatch research has appeared on many TV shows and headlined national festivals. When Gordon visited Sno-Isle Libraries and laid out plates of edible bugs, the hosts were understandably skeptical. Gordon is used to tough crowds. “In so many ways, this is the food of the future,” Gordon said about insects as ingredients or cuisine. “It’s really good for you. It’s easy to raise. It doesn’t require the gallons of water that go into raising a steak and so on. But our dislike of insects in our culture is so strong, even at insect festivals it’s hard to get people to eat this stuff.” Harvey, Hills and Russell mostly overcame their cultural instincts. They ate kosher, farm-reared locusts, “the official Bible food of John the Baptist,” Gordon said. They ate seasoned chapulines, wild grasshoppers harvested from cornfields in Oaxaca, Mexico. They ate the caterpillars of a sphynx moth, which lays its eggs on blue agave plants, which is where tequila starts. The caterpillar is “the proverbial worm in the bottom of the tequila bottle,” Gordon explained. And they ate protein-rich energy bars. “If I didn’t tell you there were crickets in there, you would never know. You’d be eating the blueberries,” Gordon said. That’s because the crickets are dried and ground into flour, “so we’re not talking about a bunch of goo.” Some of Gordon’s samples went down easier than others. First, the locusts. The legs are removed but not the wings. Each locust is a couple of inches long, so it’s mostly abdomen and head and it looks dramatic. It looks exactly like a big bug. Russell hedged. “There’s something about the way they’re looking at me,” she said. “Hold them by the wings, they’re great handles,” Gordon explained. “Eat the body.” He said to expect the taste of Shredded Wheat cereal. Hills was just as dubious as Russell. “This is gonna be a one-bite thing,” he said before he audibly crunched one down. While Russell and Hills were busy overcoming their nerves, Harvey had already eaten a locust. “I’m taking the wings home to prove that I ate it,” he said. “I have a reputation as a very picky eater. It has a nice taste.” “It tastes like the smell of freshly harvested hay,” Russell said. Next, the chapulines. The three test subjects gave the crunchy critters enthusiastic thumbs up. “Oh, I like that!” Hills said. “I could actually sit around and eat those.” Russell and Harvey liked the caterpillar. Russell described a crispy, salty first blast on the tongue and a perfumy flavor that lingered pleasantly on her palate. “My family will be shocked when they hear that this picky eater did that,” Harvey said. But for Hills, the caterpillar was a bridge too far. “Yeah, I couldn’t do that,” he said. “They look like the big version of the grubs you find in your yard.” The good-natured Gordon wasn’t offended. He knows food that wiggles is not often on the menu. “I didn’t want to eat the locusts,” Russell said. “I feel like they’re looking at me and I’m not quite OK with that. I grew up in Louisiana where we eat some really interesting, quirky things that are not eaten in other places that have become really normal to me.”  

In this final episode of the second season of Check It Out!, hosts Ken Harvey, Jessica Russell, Paul Pitkin and Jim Hills relate their personal holiday dreams and nightmares and dive into library resources that may just help set a tasty dinner table. Hills, not beset by the piled-plate, food-touching phobia, shares that a holiday meal is best perceived as a single entity, the sum of its parts as measured both horizontally and vertically. The description, however, takes Russell back to a time in her life when space between menu items was required and the queasy realization that she may not have moved as far past those days as thought. Russell describes her southern roots by painting the mental picture of deep frying turkey in a Louisiana front yard. “Deep-fried turkey is the best,” Russell proclaims with no dissenters. The pot, she goes on to say, is the same one used for the crawfish boil. “In Mississippi, that (pot) is called a washtub,” Harvey says. Pitkin allows that as a child his family finally rebelled at his mother’s cooking to the point that they chose to have the holiday dinner delivered. From Nordstrom. The Sno-Isle Libraries collection, Russell points out, has thousands of cookbooks and other resources available to help make any holiday celebration memorable. Pitkin, executive director for the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation, points out that there is more to the holiday season than eating. “I encourage everyone to make a year-end donation to the foundation,” Pitkin says, adding that foundation donations support a variety of programs at the Sno-Isle Libraries. “The third-grade reading challenge is coming up,” Pitkin says of the program that includes thousands of students across Snohomish and Island counties. “The reading challenge helps third-graders improve literacy at a time that very important to their development level.” The foundation is also the primary sponsor of TEDxSnoIsleLibraries, which is returning after a hiatus on May 9, 2020 at Edmonds Center for the Arts, Pitkin says. Speaker videos from the 2015, 2016 and 2017 events have been viewed more than 3.5 million times, Harvey says. “The foundation has always been the main sponsor and we could not be more excited that it’s coming back,” Pitkin says. Finally, Harvey offers a peek at what’s coming in Season 3 for the podcast. “We working on getting Everett Community College President Daria J. Willis,” Harvey says. “And, the head of IBM’s Watson project is going to talk to us about artificial intelligence and quantum computing.” And books? What about books? “We are working on a slew of authors, some nationally acclaimed, some just getting started,” Harvey says. Episode length 37:26 Episode links Holiday and winter resourcesTEDxSnoIsleLibraries Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation EvCC President Daria J. Willis IBM Watson Deep-fried turkey recipes Paula Deen Alton Brown John Lovick

Even for the folks whose jobs are to know things about the library, Sno-Isle Libraries continues to amaze and surprise. In this episode, co-hosts Ken Harvey, Jim Hills, Jessica Russell and Paul Pitkin, “Go over the highlights of what we don’t know.” Service Center Hills points out the oddity that while the library district’s Service Center in Marysville serves all 23 community libraries, Library on Wheels and online services, it is not itself a library. Jessica Russell, Assistant Director of Technical Services - Collection Services, says that, yes, all the materials that are in community libraries flow through the Service Center, those items aren’t there for very long. “Our job is to get them out into the libraries and the hands of our customers,” Russell says. Pitkin adds the fact that for visitors and employees alike, the Service Center building can be a confusing place. “You see people wandering around looking lost because the building has been added on to three times. People walking around lost, but trying to not look like they’re lost.” Special days With everything from Peanut Butter Fudge Day (a Pitkin favorite) to special days for vegans, clams and craft jerky, November is more than just Thanksgiving. “Craft jerky?” Russell asks. “You mean, like craft beer?” With the “fall back” to standard time in November, Hills takes an informal poll of the co-hosts for their preferences: Harvey – “Daylight Savings Time all the time.” Pitkin – “Never. I like the darkness. In the summer it just gets ridiculous.” Russell (a recent Texas transplant)– “But, it’s such beautiful light here, so soft. If you ever want to know what it’s like to be a bug under a magnifying glass, go to Texas.” Hills – “I’d keep both. I love summer nights when it’s light until 9:30 maybe 10 p.m.” Harvey (again) – “And if our listeners have an opinion, let us know at checkitoutpodcast@sno-isle.org Title talk “One of the most clicked on things on our website is the ‘new items’ link,” Hills says. “And Jessica is responsible for getting the stuff that’s new in the collection.” Russell says it is actually the work of “the amazing, wonderful, collection development staff.” For a person who sees the world of what’s published, Russell says her personal reading list is currently focused on “regency romance” novels. “There are tons and tons of regency romances,” she says. For Russell, that means downloading from Overdrive to her iPad. “I have become an almost exclusively digital reader,” she says. Still, Pitkin wondered about “regency.” “Is that a publisher?” he asks. The phrase, regency romance” refers to a time period of dukes and other royalty, Russell says. “If you’ve ever watched ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ you’ll love regency romances,” she says. Bookmobile As executive director of the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation, Pitkin says he is always looking for great stories of how library services supported by donations to the foundation are helping customers. “The Bookmobile is just an amazing service,” Pitkin says of the mobile service that is part of the larger Library on Wheels department. Russell said a recent ride-along was inspiring to her. “The depth of knowledge our staff members have of their customers and how they know what customers are looking for is amazing,” she says. Episode length: 34:45

Even Garth Stein cries over his books. “The Art of Racing in the Rain” is well-known to readers and movie-goers as a tearjerker. Stein says he rented space at a Seattle pizza restaurant when he was writing the book. “I’d get to an emotional part and be crying,” Stein says. “People would be like, ‘What’s wrong with that guy?’ Although published in 2008, Stein says the recent release of the movie with Kevin Costner giving voice to the dog character, Enzo, catapulted the book to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. “When that happened, I told my kids they had to call me ‘Dad, Numero Uno,’” Stein says, adding that his demand was summarily ignored. Co-hosts Kurt Batdorf and Jim Hills get behind the wheel in this episode for a drive with Stein through his experiences with cars, racing and writing novels with strong Pacific Northwest and Alaskan settings. Stein also talks a bit about two upcoming releases, a new novel titled, “A Couple of Old Birds” and a graphic novel involving mutant goat people titled, “The Cloven.” While not autobiographical, Stein says all of his novels include some of himself. Stein says he began with screenwriting as a career target, but found he had a “bizarre allergic reaction to it.” Stein then spent nearly 10 years making documentary films. The foray into documentaries helped, Stein says, because his feeling was, “At age 25, I’m not really, as a writer or a person, mature enough to have anything to say.” He eventually came back to books with his first novel “Raven Stole the Moon,” at age 32. An early love for theater also prompted him to write a play for his high school alma mater, Shorewood High School in Shoreline, Wash., just north of Seattle. So where did the car racing in “The Art of Racing in the Rain” come in? Stein and his family had been living in New York for years when they decided to move back to Seattle. He got involved in racing Mazda Miata cars (something Stein and Batdorf have in common). Stein says it was fun, but became a pull away from his family. He had decided to quit racing, would sell his car, but entered one last race. That race ended for him, he says, “Going backward, 100 miles an hour into a Jersey barrier. “We don’t necessarily recognize our own situation when we’re in it,” Stein says. “If I’d had clarity, I probably would’ve said, ‘You know, today’s not a good day to race.’” Episode length: 59:39 Episode links Garth’s official bio The Art of Racing in the Rain A Sudden Light How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets Raven Stole the Moon Sports Car Club of America Spec Miata Granite Curling Club

Carla Hayden, Ph.D, says the Library of Congress is the biggest - the greatest - library in the world. Hayden should know, she’s the Librarian of Congress. And that would make her the world’s top librarian. Hayden visited the Marysville Library on Aug. 1, 2019, along with Congressman Rick Larsen, and then recently joined podcast co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills for a conversation by phone from her office in Washington, D.C. “I really enjoyed my time at the Marysville Library with Congressman Larsen,” Hayden says. While there, Hayden took a turn at reading a book to a group of nearly 100 children. Hayden began her career as a children’s librarian in Chicago. Larsen followed her, reading another book to the children and impressed Hayden with his skills. “He’s very good," she says. Hayden touched on the evolving roles of public libraries. Before being appointed to her role at the Library of Congress, Hayden spent 23 years at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, the nation’s first library system. Hayden helped “The Pratt” explore new ways to serve the city’s residents, even bringing pop-up libraries to neighborhood laundromats. “Convening is a good word to think about libraries and their meaning to the community,” she says. In many ways, Hayden says her leadership at the Library of Congress mirrors the work she has done in Baltimore and Chicago. “The vision was to let everyone know the Library of Congress is for them,” Hayden says. “That would include a student in a remote area, as well as teacher who needs a lesson plan on Thomas Jefferson, and people interested in things like baseball; we have the world’s largest collection of baseball cards as well as the world’s largest collection of bibles.” Carla Hayden is the 14th Librarian of Congress and nominated to the position by President Barack Obama. Hayden is the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library. She is also the first professional librarian appointed to the post in more than 60 years. Prior to her appointment, she was CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. Hayden was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant professor for Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Hayden was library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979. Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003-04. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago. Episode length: 43:16

On July 31, 2018, the first Check It Out! podcast aired was posted. In this episode, co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills, along with podcast producer Debie Murchie, take a look in the rear-view mirror. Together, they share how the podcast came about, remind each other of the growing pains along the way and reminisce about their favorite moments over more than 30 episodes. “Some of our guests are really community heroes,” Harvey says adding that some are celebrities in their communities, some are community leaders and regional leaders. “Coming in, everyone thinks that no one will be interested in me as a person. Maybe what I do or have done, but not me.” Murchie shares that one of her favorite episodes was with Sarri Gilman. “It was about finding your boundaries,” Murchie says. “Being able to say ‘No,’ and knowing when to put yourself first. Yes, help when you can, but sometime need to take a step back.” Hills notes that while in some ways the podcast is an extension of the idea behind the well-received TEDxSnoIsleLibraries series which focused on interesting and accomplished individuals from the community. “I wondered how deep the well would be (for podcast guests),” Hills says. “Now that we’ve done this for a year, I see that the well will never run dry.” Episode length - 43:59 Episode links Episode 34: Following passions for news and education with Lynne Varner Episode 12: The art of breaking glass with Jack Archibald Episode 13: How to talk about depression with Bill Bernat Episode 25: Young adults serving their future and ours Episode 11: Awakening the strength of community with Kathy Coffey Episode 19: Uniting the way with Allison Warren-Barbour Episode 14: Finding boundaries, balance with Sarri Gilman Abe Martinez’ stories: Episode 18, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 28 and Episode 30 Episode 2: Can Amazon really replace public libraries? Episode 15: ‘Finding Fixes’ comes to Sno-Isle Libraries

Chapter 1 Did you know that July 17 is Yellow Pig’s Day? Podcast co-host Paul Pitkin didn’t know either when he brought it up, but you will now. According to a not-quite exhaustive online search, two Princeton math students - David C. Kelly and Michael Spivak – began in the early 1960s celebrating July 17 as Yellow Pig’s Day in honor of mathematics and the number 17, a prime number. The day continues to be celebrated at the Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics, which is headed by Kelly. Why a yellow pig? Even Google isn’t sure, but rumors say Kelly had a collection of yellow pigs. The mascot of the holiday, a yellow pig, has 17 toes, 17 eyelashes and 17 teeth. Closer to home, other fun things happening in July include the literally hundreds of Explore Summer events at all 23 community libraries in the Sno-Isle Libraries district, plenty of community events and summer-fun resources listed online at “A Sno-Isle Summer” and two Hogwarts summer day-camp events at the Granite Falls and Snohomish libraries. And, co-host Jim Hills confesses that he didn't know what he was talking about in podcast Episode 27. Hills said that Spokane’s Bloomsday celebration (which happens in May) is related to all the other Bloomsday celebrations around the world. The non-Spokane, non-May events happen on June 16, which is the day depicted in James Joyce's novel “Ulysses.”  The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in the book. Spokane’s Bloomsday Run is not about the book and also not affiliated with the area’s Lilac Festival, but both happen around the same time in May. Links Explore Summer with Sno-Isle Libraries Harry Potter-themed events at Sno-Isle Libraries A Sno-Isle Summer: Adventure Awaits Events calendar for all community libraries Prime number-related materials in the library collection Ulysses by James Joyce Spokane’s Bloomsday Run Hampshire College summer math program Didgeridoo in the library collection Chapter length: 23:24 Chapter 2 Paul Pitkin is here to have an impact. And, having an impact requires money. Which makes it really fortunate that Pitkin is Executive Director for the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation and in charge of raising money for library programs that have positive impacts on lives and in communities across Snohomish and Island counties. Paul talks about the opportunities that are available through the foundation to build communities. The foundation funds a variety of programs and services that the tax-supported library district cannot, including things such as: Third-Grade Reading Challenge TedXSnoIsleLibraries Bookmobile services Issues That Matter The Nysether Family Collection Children's Services Expanding science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) initiatives through programming, training for both staff and caregivers and community library space enhancements. Videos showing parents how to prepare their children to read early and establish a lifetime of reading and knowledge. Helping improve overall childcare and education by providing STARS training to child caregivers and educators. Providing opportunities with Structured Play kits for children to enhance language and literacy skills. Presenting the Every Child Ready to Rock and Read Concert Series. Other ongoing programs Ready Readers Cultural and literacy programs Leadership development Teen programs Summer learning programs. Links Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation website Issues That Matter TEDxSnoIsleLibraries Third-Grade Reading Challenge Ready Readers STARS training Nysether Family Collection Sno-Isle Libraries Library on Wheels Paul Pitkin LinkedIn profile Chapter length: 23:45

For some longtime Puget Sounders, it’s a treasured memory, an anchor point of local TV culture. For those with, shall we say, shallower roots? It’s the stuff of legend, lore and YouTube. And for Bill Stainton, “Almost Live!” on Seattle’s KING-TV was all of that and more, it was his job. The Snohomish County resident joins Check It Out! podcast co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills in this episode. Stainton brings stories about just how rare the show was and his role as executive producer and cast member. Stainton recalls that “Almost Live!” had such a loyal following that for 10 years, Seattle was the only market in the U.S. that delayed airing “Saturday Night Live” to give the local show top billing. Today, the 29-time Emmy winner is translating the lessons learned from producing laughs every week for 15 years to lessons on how to produce results in the business world. Stainton brought his message to the TEDxStanleyPark stage in 2017 and served as an emcee at the 2017 TEDxSnoIsleLibraries event. Stainton notes that creativity is often about combining existing ideas in new ways, a process that can be planned for and cultivated. And in the process, maybe get a few laughs. Episode length: 1:16:03 Links Bill’s website Bill’s presentation at TEDxStanleyPark 2017 KING-TV interview with Bill “Almost Live!” on YouTube “Almost Live! The Show That Wouldn't Die” book Presidents of the United States of America in the library collection Caspar Babypants website

Chapter 1 – Hmmm, I didn’t know that about … June and July Once they decide who gets to speak first, podcast co-hosts Ken Harvey, Jim Hills, Cindy Tingley and Paul Pitkin have a bunch of fun chatting about what happens during June and July in the Pacific Northwest and what's new at Sno-Isle Libraries. Two new videos posted on YouTube focus on early literacy tips and how to find great books to read. And June and July have official days for lots of things such as dairy, turkey, candy, flip-a-coin, hug your cat, yo-yo’s, doughnuts, chocolate ice cream, VCRs, Juneteenth and lots more including … Bloomsday! In the interest of full disclosure and righting an ill-informed wrong, one of the hosts (shhh, its Jim) noted that June 16 is called Bloomsday in commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writer James Joyce. The date is observed annually in Dublin and elsewhere around the world as the day in Joyce’s novel “Ulysses” of protagonist Leopold Bloom’s first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle. However, the Bloomsday Run in Spokane is traditionally the first Sunday in May, part of Spokane’s Lilac Festival and not tied to Joyce’s book. At all. Ever. But wait, there’s more! Chapter 2 – Hmmm, I didn’t know that about … Kurt Batdorf Kurt Batdorf is a recent addition to the Communications Dept. at Sno-Isle Libraries. Kurt brings 25 years of journalism experience covering communities within the library district across Snohomish and Island counties. Kurt recalls what it takes to sit through a school board meeting where even the school board members are falling asleep. Kurt even acknowledges that, on occasion, a source may have given him “the stink-eye” after a story was published. Kurt’s experience includes being the editor of a local business publication and started his tenure during the recession that affected many local businesses. Kurt also opines on the difficulties facing journalists today working to bring forth facts that inform communities. And some of the things that Kurt didn't know about Sno-Isle Libraries include the Snohomish Library's Hobbitt painting and just how dedicated library employees are to helping others. Episode length: 1:01:33

In this episode, Check It Out! reporter Abe Martinez leads listeners through an interview with Chris Jordan, a Seattle-based photographer and documentarian who created a movie called "Albatross." Jordan's comments come as part of a conversation he had with Jennifer Geist. Over the course of eight trips to Midway Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Jordan used his cameras to document the albatross birds that nest there and their plight as the result of massive plastic pollution in the ocean. Martinez and co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills also discuss Jordan's film and why he was invited to speak at the 2019 Trudy Sundberg Lecture Series events that take place May 3-4 on Whidbey Island. The series is supported by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation. The 2019 Trudy Sundberg Lecture Series events: Friday, May 3, 2019, 7 p.m. Whidbey Island Center for the Arts 565 Camano Avenue, Langley Saturday, May 4, 2019, 7 p.m. Coupeville High School Performing Arts Center 501 South Main Street, Coupeville

Chapter 1 Introduction Check It Out! reporter Abe Martinez chats with podcast co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills about the experience of interviewing Andre Feriante. Length: 06:41 Chapter 1 – Andre Feriante Italian-born and trained in classic flamenco guitar, Andre Feriante talks about his artistic and personal journey. Now a Whidbey Island resident, Feriante is exploring poetry and other creative outlets that are coming together in a fusion of many influences. The process is also opening an awareness of the healing aspects of music. For Feriante, it’s all connected in a profound way that he feels compelled to share with others. Chapter 1 links andreferiante.com Flamenco wiki Andres Segovia music Andres Segovia wiki Henry Rivas (YouTube) Chapter length: 05:38 Chapter 2 Introduction Check It Out! reporter Abe Martinez, co-hosts Ken Harvey and Jim Hills talk about their experiences and connections with Selma Bonham. Length: 06:21 Chapter 2 – Selma Bonham This is a reprise, but well worth a listen. At 93, Selma Bonham has seen a few things. Majoring in geology, she graduated from Penn State University and then earned a Master’s from Stanford in 1949. After 20 successful years in a male-dominated profession, Bonham retired and moved from the East Coast to Mill Creek and became involved with the Friends of the Mill Creek Library. Bonham says her awareness of civil rights began early when her father began hiring persons of color for skilled jobs in the department store where he worked. Later, at Mill Creek, Bonham organized a flash mob at the library to sing in honor of African American Month. Chapter 2 links MLK Day sing-along news item “We shall overcome” sing-along video Northshore Senior Center Selma’s LinkedIn profile Stanford Geological Sciences USGS Geological Survey Penn State University Chapter 2 length: 04:33 Chapter 3 – Book Notes with Brian Haight Brian Haight is a librarian at the Coupeville Library and member of the Sno-Isle Libraries Readers’ Services Team. Haight and other team members create a variety of book lists as suggestions for library customers. In this Book Notes, Haight talks about “The Driver in the Driverless Car: How Our Technology Choices Will Create the Future,” by Vivek Wadwha. Haight describes a future that may see car drivers becoming car riders. He points out that the book is about far more than driverless cars and delves into other implications of new technology. Haight also points out that he found this book on the “new books” shelf at the Coupeville Library, but anyone can go to the online catalog and search for titles published in 2019 and new to the Sno-Isle Libraries collection in the past week, 30 days or more. Chapter length: 04:27

Chapter 1 – “Hmmm … I didn’t know that” Check It Out! podcast hosts Ken Harvey, Cindy Tingley and Jim Hills chat about a grab-bag of subjects, including: Snowmageddon 2019 and how planning gets iffy when it’s raining in Seattle, snowing in Marysville and a whiteout in Oak Harbor. What 32 consecutive years of clean state audits mean for Sno-Isle Libraries and taxpayers. What shifting technologies and consumer choices mean for the future of CDs and DVDs in the library collection. How many items can you check out on your Sno-Isle Libraries card? Getting help finding job, whether it’s at Sno-Isle Libraries or anywhere. Chapter 1 links Sno-Isle Libraries 2019 snow gallery How cold was it? Clean state audits CDs and the music industry Library item check-out limits Get help finding a job Chapter 2 – Susan Hempstead, Sno-Isle Libraries Strategic Relations Manager Susan Hempstead says her title is code for “meeting people where they are.” Hempstead leads efforts to build sustainable relationships with people, agencies and organizations. She says her focus on community and service began as a teen-ager coaching in Special Olympics. A bachelor’s degree in social work led to a Master’s in Public Administration from USC and a love for combining the rigor of government relations with the spirit of philanthropy. Hempstead says key tenets for her are providing access, equity and opportunity. Hempstead talks about her involvement with three projects at Sno-Isle Libraries, including: Capital Facilities Plan TEDxSnoIsleLibraries Mariner Community Campus Special Olympics USC Master of Public Administration Phil Smart Bogalusa, LA 1996 Olympics Torch Relay And, Hempstead shares her advice on a starting point for others considering a similar path: “Start where you are and honor the past that brings you to where you are.”

Chapter 1: Jack Archibald and breaking glass The Pacific Northwest has a growing number of famous glass makers, but Jack Archibald doesn’t count himself as among that group. “I call myself a glass breaker. It has taken me years to accept the mantle of ‘artist,’” Archibald says. Regardless of the title, Archibald has broken and reassembled glass that is now on display in public buildings across the West in the form of stained-glass windows. From his Camano Island studio, Archibald has hundreds of works interacting with light from the Camano Island Library to paired 1,000-square-foot murals, “Escher’s Elevator” and “Paradigm Shift,” at Southern Utah University. Chapter 1 length: 1:03:55 Chapter 1 links Archibald Glass Fire and Glass (documentary) by Anthony Goday Washington State Arts Commission Ed Carpenter Skeeter Daddle Diaries Crab Cracker Camano Art Association Camano Studio Tour Friends of Camano State Park Camano Island Library window Chapter 2: Stewardship Spotlight – The environment, budget and libraries with Brian Rush Sno-Isle Libraries Facilities Manager Brian Rush’s goals are to provide the best possible service while reducing costs and environmental impacts. For Rush, that means reviewing everything that relates to the 23 community libraries and the service center. As an example, Rush was able to increase the frequency that buildings are cleaned while saving the library district more than $100,000 all while shifting to certified green products and processes. By looking at the waste stream coming from the libraries, Rush was able to divert a substantial percentage from landfills to recycling services. Chapter 2 length: 4:44 Chapter 2 links Cedar Grove Facilities pros at Sno-Isle Libraries Snohomish Library project Episode hosts Ken Harvey is Communications Director for Sno-Isle Libraries. Ken brings broad professional experience from his service with Community Transit, Sound Transit, the city of Reno, Nev., and several positions in radio and TV.       Jim Hills is the library district’s public information manager, a storyteller who claims to still have some ink in his veins from familial connections with, and previous-career infusions from, the newspaper biz.       Episode sponsors The Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation proudly supports the innovative work of Sno-Isle Libraries through private donations.     Edmonds Center for the Arts provides an array of outstanding performing artists from around the world, hosts events and serves more than 75,000 patrons annually.    

Top: The Twitter post from July 21 by Panos Mourdoukoutas announcing his Forbes article. Below: An Amazon kiosk store at Westfield Southcenter Mall, south of Seattle. Early Saturday morning, July 21, Panos Mourdoukoutas posted on Twitter a link to his latest opinion item just published online by Forbes magazine. And Twitter came unglued. By Monday morning, the post titled “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money” had received more than 200,000 views. Twitter was awash in comments that took Mourdoukoutas, an economics professor at Long Island University, to task. Forbes quickly pulled the article from their site and issued a statement: “Forbes advocates spirited dialogue on a range of topics, including those that often take a contrarian view. Libraries play an important role in our society. This article was outside of this contributor’s specific area of expertise, and has since been removed.” This episode of Check It Out! takes a look at the issue and uproar. Join Sno-Isle Libraries Communications Director Ken Harvey and Jim Hills, public information manager at the library district and a former newspaper reporter, editor and publisher, in a discussion of the differences between Amazon and public libraries and the motivations for publishing – and retracting – such provocative opinions. Also … Book Notes with Denise Douglas-Baird! Who knew there was a niche for “alternative-history vintage glam spy thrillers?” Looks like author Lara Elena Donnelly really gets into her characters! Denise does and she’ll tell you all about it! Amberlough and Armistice are the first two volumes in The Amberlough Dossier trilogy by Lara Elena Donnelly.  A colorfully seedy and vibrantly freewheeling city on the eve of the election. A haunted spy, his cabaret-star lover, and a sassy red-haired dancer. Submerge yourself in intoxicating settings reminiscent of 1930s Europe and Asia. Rendezvous with intriguingly flawed and unforgettable characters. Ponder the unthinkable queries of living in a polity gone wrong: What will you sacrifice for love? Who will you betray for revolution? There’s plenty of time to read these first two installments and then join Denise, a librarian with Library on Wheels, in anxiously awaiting the final volume, “Amnesty” out next April. – – – Proudly brought to you by Sno-Isle Libraries, serving residents of Snohomish and Island counties in the great state of Washington, and the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.

Welcome to Check It Out!, a podcast for lifelong learners with inquiring minds. In this inaugural episode, host Ken Harvey, who doubles as Sno-Isle Libraries communications director, introduces himself and his co-hosts. In upcoming episodes, listeners will meet the amazing spectrum of people who work at, use and collaborate with Sno-Isle Libraries. Listeners will learn about all of the services the library district offers at its 23 community libraries, Library on Wheels, and online. In addition to this website, Check It Out! will soon be available wherever you get your podcasts. Joining this first conversation are: Paul Pitkin, the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation director who brings his talents as a singer, songwriter and self-proclaimed adequate guitarist and pianist to bear on helping fund library programs. Listen for his near-miss with a Ph.D. in poli sci.     Cindy Tingley, with the Sno-Isle Libraries talent development group who became very familiar with police procedures while serving on the force in her hometown, Key West, Fla. You can bet that folks sit up straight when she’s teaching a class. Listen for the answer to: “What is a square grouper?”     Jim Hills, the library district’s public information manager, a storyteller who claims to still have some ink in his veins from familial connections with and previous career infusions from the newspaper biz. Listen for the probably exaggerated 70 mph incident.     Topping off this episode’s conversation is Book Notes, because no library podcast would be complete without occasional reading recommendations. Lindsey Anderson, a member of our Readers Services team, describes Circe, Madeline Miller’s rich tale about the misunderstood witch from Homer’s Odyssey; and The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of the Lost World by paleontologist Steve Brusatte.  

Corban Chapel: Jim Hills - January 26th, 2018 by Corban University

Corban Professor Dr. Jim Hills by Corban University

Jim Hills serves as Professor of Humanities at Corban University. His first book, the anthology "Garage Sale of the Mind and Other Opinions," just came out this summer. In this third chapel message of Fall 2015, Prof. Hills talks about the scandal of our old way of life over against being made new. For instance, what does it look like in real life in marriage, to be a new creature, a new creation, in Jesus Christ (Colossians 3). "Just for fun," Jim's wife, Bonnie, joins him on stage.