M'ville library still has books, but there's so much more

By Steve Powell

spowell@marysvilleglobe.com

MARYSVILLE – It was probably Mark Twain who said reports of the Marysville Library’s demise were greatly exaggerated.

Managing librarian Eric Spencer said this week that the library is as alive as ever, with between 900 and 1,200 people coming in daily.

Spencer recalled a decade or so ago some people predicted libraries wouldn’t last, because so much information was available online. But libraries have responded with upgrades to stay with the times.

People still go to the library to check out books, but it is so much more than that.

Tera Bevan and her daughter, Jade, 18 months, go to the library once a week.

Bevan said Jade “goes to socialize. She’s not in daycare, so she likes to interact with the little kids.”

But mom likes the library, too, because it’s easy and convenient.

“It’s got all the information you need, and there are people here to help you, too,” she said, adding she likes to check out movies and books.

Travis Hillis checked out a bunch of movies to help his son, Caiden, 4 1/2.

“He has a delay in speech, so they help him practice his words,” Hillis said.

Jessica Mark likes the library for all those reasons and for the many other free resources, including toddler storytimes. But she also uses the library for her job with Sunrise Services, which helps people job hunt.

Lisa and Kayla Zedilar were using the library’s fairly new high-technology center.

“Our family pictures are starting to fade, so they showed us how to fix them and put them on a memory stick,” Lisa said.

Nadejda Colurs was with two others from Everett Community College as part of a study group for psychology class. They said the library is a great place to get together because it is quiet, and it gets them away from home.

“You don’t have distractions like laundry,” Colurs said.

Kevin Lockwood, 15, who goes to Marysville Getchell High School, said he likes to go to the library to hang out with friends and play video games.

“I have a computer at home, but it’s really slow,” he said.

Adrienne Welk said she likes to go to the library to study religion and psychology. But on this day she was reading about sheep.

“I know a lot about a lot of things, but I don’t know a darn thing about sheep,” she said, adding she was going to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe on Thursday and wanted to know more about them.

Welk said when kids want to know something, they search online on sites like Wikipedia.

“But a lot of stuff on the internet is not true,” she said, adding books are more reliable because they are well-researched.

Welk also likes the library because it offers classes. She plans to take one coming up on writing.

“I can write, but not using big words,” she said.

Looking around the library, you can still see a man reading a newspaper and a young girl reading a Garfield cartoon book. Hardback books are sold for $1 and paperbacks 50 cents. Printing is free or low cost.

But nearby there’s a teenager who had checked out a laptop. Macs that use Adobe products are available for use for people who are into graphics. Smartboards with 50-inch screens are also in the tech center. Areas can be sectioned off so people can collaborate.

Spencer is proud that the library was the first in the nation to check out Legos so youngsters can learn the basics of robotics. Those can be expensive to buy.

He also appreciates that people come to the library for its broadband Wi-fi, which is better quality than many have at home.

“It’s a work place away from work,” Spencer said.

He added that the digital conversion unit is also popular.

“Connectivity is so important,” he said.

Spencer even sees the good in playing video games.

“It’s all about engineering and construction,” he said.

About your library

You can:

•Book one-on-one time with a librarian.

•Check out books, music, DVDs, audio books.

•Get homework help, take classes, attend events.

•Read a blog, be in a book discussion, talk about issues that matter.