Dear Pacific County Commissioners Lisa Olsen, David Tobin, Jerry Doyle:

I appeal to each of you to reach out to the Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees to reverse a misguided and suspicious decision that has a direct and an impoverishing effect on the community of Naselle and the Naselle Library. Specifically, I ask that you reach out to Mary Beth Harrington (board president) and Toni Gwin (president elect) from Pacific County, appointed by the commissioners several years ago. The trustees for the Timberland Board are appointed by the county commissioners in the counties with Timberland Libraries. This represents a responsibility that each board trustee has to the communities from which they are appointed.

At the recent Sept. 25 board meeting, the board let stand a decision to turn the Naselle Library into a “self-service center,” eliminating the essential need of an onsite librarian. This decision was made in the face of direct opposition by many Naselle citizens and library patrons (please review the recent opinion piece by Robert Michael Pyle in the Sept. 18 Chinook Observer as well as  letters to the editor). The overwhelming pleas to the board fell on deaf ears. They refused to act in good conscience and reverse the Timberland administration. In addition, the secretive nature of this move (no one in the Naselle community or library community was contacted about the change), seems suspicious.

Despite their own policy that states a move to an extended access service model (self-service) would not eliminate librarian positions, the Timberland administration has systematically reduced the number of onsite librarians in Naselle from three to zero as well as “thinned the soup” by having Naselle’s current head librarian Michelle Zilli act as head librarian for three libraries (Naselle, Ilwaco, Ocean Park). As you are fully aware, the community of Naselle lost their bank, Naselle Youth Camp, and soon their library.

This further impoverishes a community with few places to gather, research, and connect with others of like interests. A self-service center will limit access. People new to the community will go to the library only to find they cannot get in without a special key card. To get a key card you need a library card and how can you get a library card if the library is always locked? In addition, there are people reluctant to be alone in a library with strangers, as well as the many users who do not know or understand the change.

On Oct. 1, the Naselle Library became a self-service center with no librarian present onsite for the day-to-day needs of the community (for example, seniors who need help with computers or kids doing research for school or patrons looking for the “circulation desk” when the check-out machine fails). Timberland claims that this is a financial decision based on low “circulation” numbers when compared to libraries in Lacey (population 59,000) and Olympia (population 56,000). Timberland has recently built a new library (Mountainview), invested tens of thousands of dollars in upgrades as well as online programs including a blog, as well as created a new bookmobile program (called the anywhere library) spending money for vehicles, maintenance and staff. The heavy expenditure in these efforts seems contrary to the argument that this is a financial decision.

In fact, several years ago the Timberland administration tried to implement a secretive program dubbed the Capital Facilities Proposal to try and close various rural branch libraries. This was met with fierce public opposition, not unlike concerns voiced today. On Oct. 1, Naselle became the first in this new move to accomplish the Capital Facilities Proposal by another method.

The Pacific County Commissioners have the power to appoint a trustee to the board. Currently, that trustee is Toni Gwin. I would ask the board to press Toni Gwin on a full and public explanation for this drastic change to the Naselle Library. I request that this secretive decision be placed on hold until members of the Naselle community can hear the full story for the change. Perhaps other Pacific County libraries (or other Timberland libraries) can suggest ways to retain Naselle’s librarian. Because this decision was made in secret, I venture to suggest that it has not been fully vetted. There are hundreds of tasks performed by an onsite librarian that will now be neglected making the Naselle community poorer. I suggest a public meeting to better understand Timberland’s decision so that we can move forward together rather than falling apart alone.

JOHN and PATRICIA CIMINELLO

Naselle