Ambassadors are the face of Kitsap Regional Library. They are the ones who go forward in our community to spread the news about KRL and what we have to offer. They are also the ears of KRL. They listen to the public and find out what the community has to say about their local libraries. They gather this feedback so that KRL can better understand what the people need and would like to see in the future of their libraries.

Most importantly the Ambassadors are out at Kitsap County’s local events to teach. They help our community understand how the library operates, give out specific information on everything from programs put on by librarians to statistical information on upcoming levies. Teaching these important facts to our community is an important job. Many people do not know about the many programs and classes that go on at their community library or understand how we operate. As an Ambassador you get to show them the details (although many of our dedicated library users do know a lot about us.) One of the best reasons to be an Ambassador is learning for yourself the wealth of knowledge our community already posses.

2009 saw the debut of KRL’s Ambassador team. Most events took place over the summer months and it was often a challenge to spread our Ambassador team throughout the county. This year we may have even more events coming up that KRL and the Ambassadors would like to participate in. For that reason, we will surely need to call out to our KRL employees to join in on the fun.

Now that we all have a little information on what our Ambassadors do, I would like to ask all employees of Kitsap Regional Library to think about joining this wonderful program. Meeting the community and talking one-on-one with patrons (and soon to be patrons) is not only fun but gratifying. Whether you are giving out important information or just handing out bouncy balls to the local children, it’s sure to leave a smile on your face at the end of the day. If you have further questions about the Ambassador program, feel free to seek out someone who has been a member or talk to someone on the Café committee. And to all the KRL patrons, look for us at upcoming community events.

What does C.A.F.E. stands for?

Collaborative. Affiliates. Fostering. Engagement.

Café is a committee of Pages, Library Assistants, Librarians, and members from our Technical Service, Human Resource, Public Relations and Volunteer Coordinator departments that meet every six weeks for two hours to discuss creative ways to educate the public about the value of Kitsap Regional Library. We also want to be united in our purpose as a library system in this community by discussing ways to equip and motivate staff to “celebrate” KRL not only at work but also in their everyday interactions with others.

Café includes members from all nine branches of the county as well as members from our Bookmobile and Outreach departments. We have been an active committee going on two years and are proud of the many accomplishments we have achieved in that time. Some of those accomplishments include facts that we like to call “Did you know?”

DYN facts help the community to understand what the library does for them. It points you to resources that you might not have had knowledge of before. DYN facts include statistics about KRL, classes and online tools, programs that KRL offers, book groups, and fun facts that tie into our monthly themes and other important events happening in our world.

If you have been to any KRL branch over the last year you will also notice that the library has taken another step toward being eco friendly by getting rid of our plastic bags. This was a development that happened because of the bright minds of our Café committee. In place of the plastic bags we now offer reusable canvas bags that you can obtain for $2.00. Look around your community and it’s easy to spot the people helping keep our world clean by using the beautiful dark green bags labeled “The Ultimate Green.”

Café is also responsible for a new group that has joined the KRL family this past year, The Ambassadors! The Ambassadors are responsible for reaching out to the public at local events like The Kitsap County Fair, The Future Festival in Port Gamble, The Cruz in Port Orchard, Chief Seattle Days in Suquamish and The Blackberry Festival in Downtown Bremerton. At these events Ambassadors are responsible for getting the word out about KRL. That can be anything from encouraging others to sign up for a library card, letting people know about upcoming events and public meetings to just listening to our community and gathering information about what the public wants the library to provide.

These are just a few of the great ideas to have come from our Café committee. I hope that this blog is helpful and that everyone can understand how a group like this has been beneficial to our library system and our community. If you have any comments or questions please let us know.

Thank You,
Kitsap Regional Library Café Committee