During their annual Friends Day event Saturday, October 29, the KCLS Foundation honored eight area residents for outstanding service to their communities by their volunteer activities for the King County Library System. All volunteers were invited to a day of celebration to honor their service, and thank them for their active support of libraries throughout the County.

Nominees from KCLS Friends, Guild and Association members were considered for membership in the Friends Hall of Fame, whose members are eligible for consideration for Friend of the Year and for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Award recipients are selected for five key areas of service: Leadership, Accomplishments, Initiative and Creativity, Advocacy, and Longevity. Volunteers from six community libraries were inducted into the KCLS Foundation Hall of Fame:

Barbara Bell, Bellevue Friends of the Library
Linda Stanley, Friends of the Black Diamond Library
Kathy Royea, Friends of the Bothell Library
Fay Wang, Friends of the Mercer Island Library
Dorris Martin, Newport Way Library Association
Shay Shortt, Friends of the Redmond Library
Two Hall of Fame members received special honors:

Astha Tada, White Center Library Guild, was named Friend of the Year
Nancy Stafford, Friends of the Woodinville Library, received the Lifetime Achievement Award
Friend of the Year: Astha Tada, White Center Library Guild

In 2010, Astha Tada called the then-president of the White Center Library Guild to ask what she could do to help “Save the Library”. She immediately joined the Guild, consistently supporting the belief that libraries have a responsibility to make lifelong learning accessible for everyone in every community.

Guild members soon came to realize the depth of Astha’s experience as a teacher, librarian and community volunteer. In the Highline School District since 1967, her years at nearby Cascade Middle School gave her particular insight into the needs of White Center students and their community. After retirement, she remained a volunteer with the after school programs.

Astha opened libraries in three elementary schools, beginning with the “open concept” at Valley View where the library became integrated into the curricula. The strength of collaboration across institutional lines became part of her intentional strategy for “community” building. She received a PTA Golden Acorn Award for library teaching at McMicken Heights Elementary, and a Highline Foundation Gold Star Award as an “outstanding volunteer” in 2012.