A little less than a year ago, I stood in the Lake City Library and announced our proposal to make The Seattle Public Library more equitable, more just, more accessible.
And Seattle voters agreed: they approved the Libraries for All plan with more than 73 percent of our residents saying ?yes? to equity and ?yes? to lifelong learning.
It is clear that in Seattle, we are committed to lifting up communities who have been historically underserved.
The Seattle Public Library is one of our most important resources for addressing systemic inequities. As Mayor, I am committed to giving every person in Seattle access to opportunity and that starts with making sure our libraries are open to every resident.?
That is why we are eliminating all late fines at The Seattle Public Library.??
 Library fines have disproportionally impacted our low-income residents. Analysis done by The Seattle Public Library shows that residents in lower income neighborhoods are more likely to have blocked accounts and higher balances owed.?
Those fines become a scarlet letter, effectively banning the residents who would most benefit from our libraries from accessing this public treasure. ?
This has already been done in cities like Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Salt Lake City and San Diego ? and they have seen both an increase in library membership, and an increase in the number of books returned.?
This is one of the examples where the right thing to do also just makes a lot of sense.?
Starting this week, no student or library patron will be excluded from the hall of opportunity because of a late fine.
And thanks to the Library Levy, there will be more time than ever for all residents to explore their libraries. Starting later in the year, The Seattle Public Library will add approximately 10,000 new hours across all branches. This includes an additional open hour Monday through Thursday at all branches, as well as Friday operating hours at Delridge, Green Lake, NewHolly, and Wallingford branches.
Thank you all for helping us make that happen.
As always, please continue to write me at?[email protected], reach out via?Twitter?and?Facebook, and stay up-to-date on the work we?re doing for the people of Seattle on?my?blog.
Sincerely,
 
Mayor Durkan released the following statement following the City of Seattle?s successful appeal to the Growth Management Board, upholding Mandatory Housing Affordability in the City of Seattle:
?Seattle has spoken and made clear our vision for the future of our City. We want a city where people who work in Seattle can afford to live and raise a family in Seattle. Mandatory Housing Affordability is one of the most important strategies we have to build a more affordable and equitable future for all.
?Developing affordable housing in all corners of our City is the right thing to do and MHA is a critical part of our investments in affordable housing. Since 2017, the City has directly invested $250 million and together with our partners nearly $1.5 billion in public and private resources to create and preserve affordable homes.??
?With today?s ruling, Seattle takes another step to build more affordable housing choices and a more inclusive, welcoming city.?
Read more about MHA here.
 This weekend, Sound Transit will begin 10 weeks of Link light rail construction that will connect Seattle to the Eastside. This construction will impact light rail service, reducing frequency and requiring passengers to transfer trains at Pioneer Square station.
Check out the Connect 2020 website to stay up to date on transit alerts and find out what else you need to know during this 10-week service disruption.
 Mayor Durkan helped kick off the Seahawks? Wild Card weekend by raising the 12th Man flag at the Space Needle on Blue Friday. She was joined by former Seattle Seahawks legend Lofa Tatupu as the Hawks look forward to their game against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.
Go Hawks!
Free New Year Mochi Tsuski festival on Bainbridge Island: Saturday, Jan 4; 11:00 a.m. ? 3:00 p.m.
Take a ferry over to Bainbridge Island and join the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community at the Mochi Tsuski festival. This annual celebration is a New Year?s tradition in many Japanese households and communities. Participants will be treated to a demonstration of traditional mochi-making techniques, and will even have the opportunity to form their own mochi balls with traditional fillings and accompaniments. This event is free.
Native Womxn?s Circle ? Womxn?s March Seattle 2020 Planning: Saturday, Jan 4; 11:00 a.m. ? 1:00 p.m.
Discovering Our Dementia Friendly City @ A/NT gallery: Jan 1 ? Jan 27; 11:00 a.m. ? 6:00 p.m.
Seattle Wedding Show: Saturday, Jan 4 ? Sunday, Jan 5; 10:00 a.m. ? 5:00 p.m.
 For this edition of the Weekend Read, we urge you to check out KING 5?s coverage of Mayor Durkan?s decision to eliminate fines at The Seattle Public Library:
Seattle Public Library's is turning the page on a new year and announcing it will no longer charge patrons for overdue books. It will also erase all overdue fines for library users to date.
The change is effective as of Jan. 2, 2020.
?We?re taking away the shame, the blame, and the stress,? said Rick Sheridan, director of Institutional and Strategic Advancement for SPL. ?If you?re a little bit late in returning that book, that?s okay, we want you to come back.??
Seattle is following other library systems nationwide that have done away with overdue fines. Research shows fines have little impact on when materials are returned, Sheridan said.
As of Thursday, 51,000 patrons whose accounts were blocked due to overdue fines can now return to the library system, Sheridan said.
There will still be some rules, though, to ensure everyone is able to access the materials they need.
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