From Our Corner

Civil-rights leaders Nat and Thelma Jackson and Arthur Fletcher featured in new exhibit

Profiles of Arthur Fletcher and Nat and Thelma Jackson, three remarkable civil-rights leaders, are the latest chapters in Legacy Washington’s overview of 1968 “The year that Rocked Washington,” an exhibit that will open Sept. 13 at the State Capitol. Change was in the air. Everywhere. It was the year when Vietnam, civil rights, women’s liberation, and conservation coalesced — and a year when tragedy led the 6 o’clock news with numbing… Read more

Exploring court records in the Washington State Archives

Not Judge Judy’s court? Then which court is it? Since there are many uses for court records, a large number of Archives users come in to access them for genealogical study, book research, school lesson planning, legal exploration, and still more purposes. Image Finding court records can be a daunting task. Knowing the jurisdiction in which a case was heard is the most important information. The next information a person needs is the cause,… Read more

Online voter registration reaches new heights

A decade after Washington became the second state in the country to take voter registration online, 35 states and the District of Columbia (that other Washington, as some know it) have followed suit. Under current law, the deadline for online voter registration is 30 days before Election Day, so the deadline for registering to vote in the August… Read more

Summer reading kickoff party at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library

On Saturday, June 30, Youth Librarian Erin Groth hosted this year’s summer reading kickoff party at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library. It was a rockin' afternoon as staff, volunteers, and WTBBL patrons celebrated this year’s theme of LIBRARIES ROCK! with music, games, prizes, and fun. [caption id="attachment_25035" align="alignleft" width="300"]… Read more

Youth Employment Solutions and WTBBL: Partners for more than 20 years

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) looks forward to hosting summer workers from the Youth Employment Solutions program once again in 2018. Administered through Washington State’s Department of Services for the Blind, Youth Employment Solutions (YES) is a six-week residential employment experience program for visually impaired and blind workers ages 16-20. At WTBBL, participants work up to 24 hours a week while… Read more

New exhibit features Pat O'Day, legendary Seattle DJ and concert promoter

A profile of Pat O’Day, the legendary Seattle disc jockey and concert promoter, is the latest chapter in Legacy Washington’s overview of 1968 “The Year that Rocked Washington.” Change was in the air. Everywhere. It was the year when Vietnam, civil rights, women’s liberation, and conservation coalesced — and a year when tragedy led the 6 o’clock news with numbing regularity. Image The… Read more

Washington State Library launching grant-funded STEM program

In fall 2017, the Washington State Library teamed up with the Imagine Children’s Museum of Everett, School’s Out Washington and the Spokane County Library District for a grant application to fund a program to promote literacy-based STEM activities for children ages 3 to 10 and their families. The application was… Read more

History Day: Vancouver students win state, compete in nationals

Washington State Archives Southwest Regional Archivist Tracy Rebstock proudly announces that the state’s top Junior Division 2018 History Day project comes from Pleasant Valley Middle School in Vancouver. Washington's History Day is an annual contest conducted by National History Day, a nonprofit organization that engages students and teachers from across the United States to do original research on a topic of their choice and present it as a project.… Read more

Remembering Polly Dyer: New exhibit profiles a Cascades champion

The 'American Alps' were in peril. One of the world’s largest mining companies had designs on excavating within the jagged wilderness known as the North Cascades. A band of conservationists, including the cheerfully tenacious Polly Dyer, had other ideas. Image Dyer’s living room became a sort of academy for envelope-stuffing, stamp-licking… Read more

Be aware of potentially fraudulent solicitors

Each year, the Washington State Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division (AGO) and the Office of Secretary of State's Charities Program (OSOS) reach out to grocery store managers across the state to provide important information about charitable solicitors. Increasingly, solicitors are asking for donations outside of retail establishments and will often set up a table… Read more

Video voters' guide now available

In partnership with TVW, the Office of Secretary of State is proud to present a new Video Voters Guide to help voters make informed decisions in the 2018 Primary and General Elections. At the Video Voters Guide, which the Yakima Herald-… Read more

An era in State Library technology ends

This week marks the end of an era at the State Library as we lose Paul Longwell to the happy world of retirement. Paul has been on the IT staff of the State Library since 1989. Paul discussed the other day all the changes he has seen in his years on staff. The day he started, the Washington State Library had two servers with a total storage space of 10 MB, and two total IT staffers. The times have changed mightily. The State Library had two main branches at that point: one on the Capitol… Read more

55 years and still unsolved: Washington's Great Petition Robbery

In the lower level of the Legislative Building 55 years ago this week, a theft was discovered that made front-page newspaper headlines, resulted in no arrests, and shocked political leaders. The Great Petition Robbery, a heist of thousands of signature sheets bearing petition signatures for an anti-gambling ballot initiative, didn't stop the initiative but did hasten the end of the long political career of Secretary of State Vic Meyers, a… Read more

Happy 75th birthday, Ralph Munro: New exhibit features longtime statesman

Image Five-term Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro turns 75 on Monday, June 25, a milestone in a life of accomplishments that transcend his well-deserved political renown. A longtime advocate for humanitarian and environmental causes, Munro played a… Read more

Celebrating Khalsa Day in Kent

On May 26, thousands of Sikhs gathered in Kent for Khalsa Day to celebrate the foundation in 1699 of the Khalsa, the community of Sikhs. This annual festival and parade has drawn Sikhs from all over Washington to Kent for more than 25 years. This year, Secretary of State Kim Wyman joined the celebration and told the audience of her admiration for the… Read more

Washington Letters About Literature Champion recognized by Library of Congress

We are very pleased to announce that Washington’s Level 2 champion in the state Letters About Literature competition, Riya Sharma, was selected as a National Honor Award winner for her letter about The Confidence Code. Riya is an 8th grade student at The… Read more

Student Voter registration challenge 2018

To encourage as many young adults as possible to make their voices heard in the 2018 General Election, Secretary of State Kim Wyman and Gov. Jay Inslee have launched a special Student Voter Registration Challenge to sign up Washington's college students as new voters. [embed]https://youtu.be/Pbk1wDbv7NI[/embed] As Gov. Inslee's office describes here, the Student Voter Registration Challenge is a competition open to students at… Read more

Spokane and the Great War

A century ago, more than 10,000 Spokane residents served in the military as soldiers, sailors, and marines in World War I. More than 180 of them didn't come back. Now, through the diligent work of State Archives graduate assistant Joshua Van Veldhuizen with the long-neglected public records in the Spokane War Committee cards, the experiences of Spokaneites before, during, and in the wake of the First World War have been chronicled at Spokane… Read more

Paid petition signature gathering in Washington: What's legal and why

A recent news report in the Everett Herald noted that June is a prime petition-gathering month for four statewide initiatives now in circulation. According to the story, workers collecting signatures to put a referendum on Seattle's new job tax on the November ballot are being paid $6 per signature, and anyone who gets 75 or more signatures a day gets an entry in a drawing for a four-country trip… Read more

Khalsa Day 2018

Vaisakhi is one the most important dates on the Sikh calendar. Vaisakhi signifies the birth of Khalsa, by the tenth guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji. On May 26th, the Sikh community came together, at the ShoWare Center in Renton to celebrate the formation of Khalsa and Vaisakhi. Sikhs and Non-Sikhs from all around Washington state travel to this celebration. There are cultural performance, free vegetarian food, and the opportunity to learn about about Sikhism. Sikhism is the 5th largest religion… Read more