As we enter into yet another Washington winter with gray skies and soggy clouds, people who dive into despondency because of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) might find help at the local library.
No, it doesn’t entail reading a book.
Instead, the Timberland Regional Library lets patrons check out a SAD kit with light therapy lamps to boost energy, ease depressive symptoms and improve mood.
That’s one of the tidbits shared at a meeting of the Lewis County American Association of University Women on Thursday by Susan Faubion, manager of Centralia Timberland Regional Library since 2015.
Library offerings today go far beyond books, magazines and movies. From the Library of Things, patrons can check out fishing rods and tackle boxes; environmental education backpacks containing a Discover pass to visit state parks without risking a fine, nature journals, binoculars, and magnifying glass; forestry exploration backpacks with a Discover pass, binoculars, maps, a first-aid kit, and clip-on pedometer; and birding backpacks filled with bird identification guides, bird books, maps, and two pairs of binoculars.
Most of the kits are returned with everything intact — and sometimes a bit more.
“At one point last summer, I got a birdie backpack back, and one of the pockets was full of heads of garlic,” she said.
Faubion, who studied English literature and Spanish and lived in Argentina for four years, earned a master’s degree in library and information science from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She started working at the library in 2005. She and her husband, also a librarian in Tumwater, have two children.
She said the Centralia and Chehalis libraries share programming staff like those who lead preschool story time.
Last year, the Centralia library processed 181,026 checkouts, offered computer and printing services to people, printing 179,260 pages, and served 12,139 patrons. In Chehalis, the library processed 214,691 checkouts — a bigger number than Centralia in large part because of the June Gorter library drive-through in Chehalis — printed 135,624 pages and served 10,451 patrons.
“The drive-through has been a huge change, and Covid accelerated that change, too, because so many more people started using the drive-through during Covid,” Faubion said, adding that the two libraries complement each other. “It is interesting how we kind of balance each other out with our different strengths.”
Anyone with a library card can print black and white or color copies at the library, she said.
The five-county Timberland library system’s focus in the strategic plan is on local communities; equity, diversity, and inclusion; and children from birth to five. As part of that goal, the library makes available tiny tablets called launchpads that families can check out for three weeks at a time to introduce their little ones to computers. Each contains 20 or so learning games in reading, music, mathematics and other topics for children three and older.
“It’s a really great way to be trying to bridge that digital divide for kids who don’t have access to technology,” Faubion said. “We don’t want them to be left behind compared to the kids who do have that access.”
Many options exist for listening to audiobooks, including books on little mp3 players people can borrow and listen to using their own headphones. And younger children can open a print Vox Book that reads the story aloud to them.
She said the library system is hiring a new librarian to provide mobile services to rural areas in Lewis County. The library provides access for people with disabilities including better mail-out services that now include a return envelope complete with postage.
The new Timberland website requires patrons to type in their address and register a username before accessing the online catalog, but after they’ve signed in once, Faubion said, they simply use their library card number as they have in the past. They’ll need their username only to provide reviews.
“But the catalog is much, much smarter than our old catalog,” she said. “I know we all get a little spoiled with Google and Amazon searches being really smart and knowing what you want. And the library catalog has not been as smart; it’s very literal. So now it’s catching up a little bit with the smarter searching.”
Tumwater has a musical instrument collection and offers 3-D printing.
Although the Library Things like backpacks may be more difficult to check back in than books, Faubion said, “the needs of the community keep shifting, and we’re trying to be where those needs are at.”
In addition to offering ebooks and audiobooks through the Libby app, the library also allows patrons to read magazines online without any time limit like there is for books.
Faubion also addressed the elephant in the room — Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope’s desire to implement a rating system on books in the libraries (although last I heard that wasn’t a county commissioner’s responsibility).
Lewis County commissioners can appoint two members to the Timberland Regional Library Board, which sets library policy. That’s where the commissioners’ role ends. One of Lewis County’s representatives, Hal Blanton, is in his second seven-year term, which expires in December 2025. And Lewis County commissioners recently appointed Chronicle columnist Brian Mittge to replace Brian Zylstra after he resigned from the board.
When an AAUW member asked Faubion about improving the parking at the library, she said the city of Centralia owns the building, so that decision would lie with city officials.
Honoring Doris Wood-Brumsickle
I enjoyed gathering with other admirers of Doris Wood-Brumsickle on Wednesday at Washington Hall at Centralia College for Doris Wood Day, or as the buttons we received said, “Happy Doris Day.”
As Centralia College President Bob Mohrbacher said, Doris truly is one of Lewis County’s great treasures, and it was wonderful to see so many people show up for an afternoon to celebrate her as a teacher, a Centralia College trustee, a community activist, and a friend.
Doris spent two decades teaching in Johnstown, a community in Colorado, the state where I grew up, and launched her Centralia College career in 1989 as an adjunct speech instructor and later taught English and chaired the department. She promoted a partnership with Washington State University to train teachers. She received the Centralia College Foundation’s Exceptional Faculty Award twice and, after retiring at 70, returned to the college three years later as a board trustee. Through bunco nights with Doris’ Divas, a group created in 2010 at the United Way’s Power of the Purse, she has raised more than $30,000 for nonprofit organizations geared toward helping women and children.
“It was humbling to feel so honored on Doris Day, but I loved every minute and have tucked all the lovely accolades into a beautiful memory,” Wood-Brumsickle told me after the event. “It was a magical day I will always remember with much love!”
She expressed gratitude to all who spoke and created the video and banner and pins, refreshments, and proclamation of Nov. 1 as Doris Wood-Brumsickle Day.
“I fell in love with Centralia College in 1989, and that remains so true today,” she said. “I had the best job in the world, and I loved teaching the incredible students who chose to find their future by coming to Centralia College.”
The following night, the Centralia College Foundation honored her, too, with a special 2023 Trailblazer Award for her dedication and support of the foundation’s mission.
“Wow! What an incredible week this has been!” she posted on Facebook.
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
