Local library always in need of more ‘friends’

Published 3:58 pm Thursday, April 30, 2009

By Teresa Herriman, The Courier-Herald

Although the Friends of Bonney Lake Library has been organized for a number of years, the number of friends has dwindled from a few to one.

"Poor library. I'm the only friend," Gloria Siciliano said. Siciliano, signed up at the open house for the new library. "At the time I joined there were about four or five people," she said. "It's never been a big group."

The goal is to bring together the public and the library in a common mission to make the library a more useful entity to the community.

The time commitment for the group is minimal, "but you can give back quite a bit," Siciliano said. The group meets at 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of the month at the library to discuss upcoming programs the Friends sponsor at the library throughout the year. There is an ongoing used book sale at the library which helps fund the programs. Once a week, Siciliano sorts through used books, videos and CDs that have been donated.

Siciliano said the used book store only sells donated books. "We don't sell surplus books from the library." Proceeds fund programs such as last month's marionette production. The Friends also supported a Pacific Science Center program in July, a kite-making exhibition in April and several master gardener series. They participate in the summer reading program and recently purchased signage for the teen section in the library.

By far the most spectacular of the gifts the Friends have given the Bonney Lake Library is the mural on the walls and ceiling of the children's section. The mural was for the remodeled library that reopened in early summer 1997. They raised $3,500 for the project and held a contest, asking library patros to suggest a theme for the project.

The winning idea was submitted by 14-year-old Kevin Kirkpatrick. He recommended that a mural be painted on the walls and ceiling featuring a hot air balloon festival with various story book characters in and around the balloons. In addition, he suggested that the background could include famous landmarks.

The Bonney Lake Art Committee was formed in early 1998 to locate an artist. Of the six applicants, the committee, including Kirkpatrick, chose local artist, illustrator and local junior high art instructor, Marjett Schille.

Kirkpatrick named the mural, "Curiouser and Curiouser," based on a line from "Alice in Wonderland."

The mural was unveiled at a ceremony at the Library on March 27, 1999. Ron Eastwood, then president of the Friends of Bonney Lake Library, made the formal presentation to the library's board of trustees and the Pierce County Library System.

In 2000, the Washington Library Association and Washington Libbrary Firends and Trustees Association honored the Friends of the Bonney Lake Library with a Distinguished Service Award. The organizations said they selected the "small and energetic group" for their work to install the mural.

Schille, the mural's artist, said she especially enjoyed the Bonney Lake Library project. "I loved the idea of doing a contest and letting young people have a voice," she said. Ironically, Kirkpatrick was a student at Auburn Riverside High School, where she taught art for four years. "But I never had him in my class," she said. "He liked band."

Schille is in the process of moving to Georgia to be closer to her family. She resigned from Auburn Riverside High School and has taken a teaching position at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga. However, she intends to keep her art connections in western Washington. "I am still doing art projects in the area," Schille said. "I am viewing this as an expansion."

She said she recently took her students in Georgia to the Pierce County Library Web site where a photo of the Bonney Lake mural is featured. "Something the Friends have done is being shared clear across the county," she said.

The library accepts donations of used books in good condition. Anyone wishing to join the Friends of Bonney Lake Library may inquire at the library.

Teresa Herriman can be reached at therriman@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald