Seattle Public Library Videos

The Seattle Public Library might reduce its hours because of the city's budget shortfall. But there could be another revenue source. The library has collected $1 million this year in late fines. And another $600,000 is still outstanding from people with overdue books and other materials.

The most successful horror movie franchise of all time is called Saw. There are five Saw movies, and each one features prolonged scenes of gory torture and victimization. But not all modern horror movies focus on graphic murder scenes. Gabe Rapier isn't a huge fan of horror movies. But he thinks when they're done right, they can give us a way to safely explore some of the darker elements of humanity. Gabe also works at the Columbia City branch of the Seattle Public Library. He talked with KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three horror movies in Seattle Public Library stocks Nang Nak, El Rey De La Montana, and Blind Mountain that are all worth checking out.

12:00 p.m. City Council Position 6 Longtime Seattle City Council member Nick Licata faces a tough challenge from Jesse Israel. KUOW's Liz Jones reports. Budget Cuts The Seattle Public library faces sharp cuts in hours because of the city's budget crunch. Cheaper Textbooks Bellevue College is trying a new program that allows students to borrow textbooks instead of purchasing them. 12:20 p.m. Housing Levy A coalition wants Seattle voters to renew the affordable housing levy. What will it cost us? What will we get? Eating Oysters Makes Us Human? Rowan Jacobsen's new book The Living Shore focuses on the oyster, its role in coastal tidewaters, and the tantalizing idea that eating oysters and their like makes us human. 12:40 p.m. Eliminating Poverty Overall economic growth has surged around the world in the past few decades. Yet grinding poverty and hunger afflict many parts of the world. Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan argues that we could go a long way toward eliminating poverty if we paid more attention to human rights.

The Pacific Northwest is bracing for another few days of hot weather. The National Weather Service is expecting the heat wave to continue through Thursday. Temperatures on Wednesday may reach 100 degrees at Sea Tac Airport. That's more than 20 degrees higher than average and could be a new record.

A library's only as good as the diversity of its offerings. Gabe Rapier knows that. He works at the Columbia City branch of the Seattle Public Library. He's also a huge film buff who knows the library's movie collection well. He tells KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three movies Seattle Public Library patrons should pun intended check out.

Come October Seattle Public Library users who get materials through interlibrary loans will have to pay a fee. Out of state users will pay more. And for the first time since the 80's, the library will also start charging for late children's, ESL and literacy materials. The Seattle Public Library Board approved those changes and some others after taking public comments at its meeting yesterday.

In the wake of last year's shootings at Seattle's Folklife Festival, Mayor Greg Nickels pledged to ban guns on city property. But except for one public hearing, there's been little sign of activity. Now as the festival kicks off this weekend at Seattle Center, city officials say the new policy is in effect.

If you have a library card, you can rent movies for free. But if your library has a narrow film selection, free rentals lose their luster quickly. Gabriel Rapier wants Seattle's libraries to have movie collections that rival their book collections. He's a librarian at the Columbia City branch of the Seattle Public Library and he's been helping broaden the kinds of movies you can get at your local library. He tells KUOW's Jeannie Yandel about three movies he helped bring to library shelves, and why he wants them there.

The Seattle Public Library could see its capital budget reduced by two thirds under a series of budget cuts proposed by Mayor Greg Nickels.

Tavis Smiley says his job, as radio and television talk show host, is to hold leaders accountable. He says he's been doing that for years but now that Barack Obama is President, critics accuse him of selling out. Smiley will always ask tough questions, he explains, no matter who's in power. His vision of successful leadership is someone who governs with love. That is: with the belief that all human life has equal value and all citizens are worthy. Smiley's latest book is Accountable: Making America as Good as Its Promise. He spoke at the Seattle Public Library on March 12, 2009. His talk was presented by the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library and by the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas.

The Seattle Public Library has selected a new city librarian. Susan Hildreth will move to Seattle from her current post as the California state librarian. She'll oversee a staff of about 700 people and a budget of more than 50 million dollars. KUOW's Derek Wang spoke with Hildreth to learn more about her vision for the city's library system. This interview was produced by Liz Jones.

Barbara Ehrenreich says inequality in America is rising and people need to start paying attention. She says people are working more, bringing home less, and the cost of everything from housing to healthcare is going up. Meanwhile, she says CEO pay is through the roof and the country spends $12 billion a month on the war in Iraq. And what, she asks, are Americans worked up over? Gay marriage and illegal immigration! Barbara Ehrenreich discusses life in America during the George W. Bush years in her latest collection of essays, called This Land Is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation. Barbara Ehrenreich spoke in Seattle at the Central Downtown library on July 17, 2008. Elliott Bay Book Company co sponsored the talk.