This is the last week to get things done at the library before budget cuts force the entire library system to shut down until after Labor Day. The Queen Anne Branch and all other branches of the Seattle Public Libraries will close on Monday, August 30th and reopen Tuesday, September 7th.

During the closure most library services will be unavailable:

• No materials will be due and no fines will be accrued.
• The last day to check out Library items before the closure is 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28.
• No book drops will be open. Do not leave books and materials outside Library locations during the closure. The book drop at the Queen Anne Branch will close at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28th and reopen at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7th.
• Limited access to the online catalog. Patrons will be able to search the catalog and check their Library record but will not be able to place holds on items. No staff will be working to process the thousands of books and materials that customers normally put on hold.
• Limited access to the website (www.spl.org). The online calendar, databases, downloadable books and media, digital special collections, podcasts, SPL Mobile app and blogs will be available, but other online information and features will not be available. No staff members will be working to maintain the site or troubleshoot problems.
• No Library computers will be available. You will not be able to reserve a computer for the week the Library system is closed.
• No access to Wi-Fi.
• No book group kits will be sent, received or returned during the one-week closure. Kits will be sent to libraries as usual on the last Wednesday of the month, Aug. 25. Kits not available then will be sent as soon as possible after Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6.
• No programs or events in Library meeting rooms.
• No TeleCirc, the Library’s telephone circulation service.
• No Quick Information telephone service.
• No Text a Librarian, e-mail a librarian or chat with a librarian.
• No Mobile Services.
• No parking in Library garages. The Central Library, Capitol Hill Branch and Ballard Branch garages will be closed.

Thousands of people in Seattle celebrated Tuesday’s “Night Out Against Crime,” not realizing it could be the last one.

Earlier this summer we wrote about the Seattle Police Crime Prevention Coordinators possibly losing their jobs next spring due to budget cuts. But the coordinators wouldn’t be the only victims to the cuts. “I think it is important for neighbors to know that the services we provide including block watch, community meetings, security consultations, personal safety and Night Out will be gone,” Diane Horswill, one of the north precinct Crime Prevention Coordinators tells our sister site MapleLeafLife.com.

You can read more about this on Maple Leaf Life.

Two more Parks and Recreation furlough days are coming up this week and next, on Friday, May 28 and Tuesday, June 1, as part of ten unpaid off days City of Seattle employees are taking this year due in an attempt to help fill the budget gap.

Seattle Parks and Recreation has worked hard to schedule furlough days in a way that has the smallest possible impact on customers, and that provides as much coverage as possible. Parks will not take furloughs in July and August – the peak season for park users.

The following facilities and services will be closed on Friday, May 28:

• Grounds maintenance
• Community centers (except child care and late night programs, which will still operate)
• Swimming pools
• Environmental Learning Centers
• Lifelong Recreation (except Food and Fitness programs, which will still operate)
• Business Service Center

The following facilities and services will be closed on Tuesday, June 1:

• Administrative offices (communications, correspondence, Park Board support, web management, public outreach, human resources, finance and administration)
• Planning and Development Division
• Magnuson Park office

All Youth Violence Prevention Initiative sites, also known as Extended Hours Program sites, will furlough today, Wednesday, May 26. In addition, all facilities will be closed on Monday, May 31 for Memorial Day. On both furlough days there will be no trash pick-up, and no bathroom cleaning or maintenance. Park maintenance staff will be on duty on Memorial Day to empty trash cans and clean restrooms.

“We’ve done everything we can to limit the impacts of the furlough on our patrons, customers and visitors; however, the public will experience parks with diminished maintenance on Friday, May 28,” said Christopher Williams, Acting Superintendent. “If park patrons encounter overflowing trash cans, we encourage you to pack out your own trash. We are asking the community to help us keep our parks clean on the few days this year that we are not able to clean them ourselves.”