From Our Corner

Washington State Broadband Stakeholder's Meeting

An email from Tamara M. Jones, Government & Association Image Liaison, Washington Department of Information Services Office indicates that the Governor’s Office has asked the Department of Information Services (DIS), Utilities and… Read more

Clippings, March 31, 2009

Clippings, March 31, 2009

Yakima Valley Regional Libraries pass state audit with only one blemish. The results of a December audit were recently provided to the Yakima Valley Regional Library and Kim Hixson, Interim Director, is happy. She said the statement was not impacted heavily by the one item listed and she views the overall process as a positive for Yakima Valley Regional Libraries. (Daily News [Sunnyside], 3-10-09)

The Friends of the Mill Creek Library is accepting… Read more

Library Legislation Tracker - March 30, 2009

Courtesy Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association State Bills of Interest. The Washington Library Association(WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog. For information on the legislative process or becoming… Read more

Chop, slash, trim: The budget knives are out ...

Image The Legislature's Democratic majorities are finally going public with their proposed budgets that close a $9 billion gap, a grim assortment of spending cuts in K-12, higher education, salaries, health and welfare, prisons, parks and agency overhead. An estimated 7,000 state employees will lose their jobs, the Dems said. The new week was barely underway when Senate Democrats rolled out a plan that leaders called personally painful, yet "honest… Read more

Searcher: "Living Large in Lean Times"

The March 2009 edition of Searcher, the "Magazine for Database Professionals", has a great cover article called "Living Large in Lean Times" (V.17, No. 3: pp. 22-27). They're currently offering the html version of the article for free on their website: … Read more

Free ProQuest Training and Marketing materials

Image For those of you who provide some level of training on ProQuest products in your library or school, here is a list of some of the free resources that ProQuest provides on their web site. One page to definitely look at is their… Read more

Resources for Librarians to Help Job Seekers

Image Public libraries have reported a significant increase in people using the library for employment related services, according to a survey of public library directors taken last month. Library computers are being used by the public to file for unemployment… Read more

The State’s Sweet Tooth (and I still don’t get ‘square dancing’)

Image It’s hard to forget all that talk at beginning of session surrounding a bill that was out to declare Aplets & Cotlets Washington’s official candy. (That didn't go so well). Lawmakers have tried before -- and failed before -- to adopt an official symbol that epitomizes Washington’s history of sweet-making and the people’s collective sweet tooth. Back… Read more

The Absolutely True Story of a One Book Program Event

Image Our colleague, Martha, found this story posted on the Whatcom County Library web site. If you needed extra ammunition about how libraries and books can affect individual lives, here is a prime example.

This happened during a "Whatcom Reads!" One Book event at the Whatcom Community College:

"A woman,… Read more

Marking 100 years of women's suffrage in Washington

Image Next year marks a special milestone in our state’s history: the 100th anniversary of when women gained the right to vote in Washington. During a ceremony today at the Old Capitol Building in Olympia, a special plaque… Read more

Budget rollout comin' atcha ... 3-2-1

Image It's the biggest story in town this legislative session -- really, the only story -- and most of the backstage work on filling a $9 billion budget gap has been behind closed doors and in corridor conversations. But some of the details are starting to leak out, and… Read more

Clippings, March 27, 2009

Clippings, March 27, 2009

The Vashon-Maury Island Community Council, with help from County Councilman Dow Constantine’s office, plans to survey Vashon’s registered voters to determine if Islanders would like the library to remain at Ober Park or move to the proposed K2 Commons. The survey is expected to provide input to the King County Library System board of directors, which has told county library officials to explore the potential of both sites simultaneously. (Vashon-Maury Island… Read more

Calling poetry fans ... meet the state's first Poet Laureate

[caption id="attachment_1084" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Samuel Green"] Image [/caption] If you’re a poetry fan, you’ll want to attend an event at the Washington State Library on Thursday, April 9. Samuel Green, Washington’s very first Poet Laureate, is being honored in a special ceremony at the library that night. The program begins at 6:30, with the doors opening at 6. During the event, Sam will do a reading of his poetry. The poems… Read more

Media Clips: Libraries - March 27, 2009

These media mentions are compiled by Brian Zylstra, Deputy Communications Director for the Office of the Secretary of State, and passed along to us.

The following links cover Media Clips provided March 20, 2009 - March 24, 2009.

It's "Harry Potter" vs. "Twilight" at… Read more

Capitol kibbles ...

Image A quick catchup for you: BUDGET ROLLOUT... Official Olympiadom, public employees and all of the budget-dependent groups anxiously await next week's rollouts of the Legislature's competing budget proposals -- and tax plans for the statewide ballot. The Senate Democrats unveil their budget plan on Monday morning, closing the projected spending gap of $9 billion with budget cuts, Obama bucks, fund raids, deferred pension contributions, tuition… Read more

WSL Updates, March 26, 2009

Volume 5: March 26, 2009 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) LIBRARY JOURNAL MENTIONS WSL’S HARD TIMES & LIBRARIES BLOG 2) HUMANITIES WASHINGTON SEEKING PARTNERS 3) APRIL FIRST TUESDAYS FEATURES LIBRARIES AND HARD TIMES 4) PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE GRANTS FROM NEH 5) A REPORT ON OLDER AMERICANS MOVING TO RURAL COMMUNITIES 6) GRANTS FOR BOOKS FOR AT-RISK CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE 7) SAVE AMERICA’S TREASURES GRANTS AVAILABLE… Read more

Department of Education to release stimulus guidance

Image Re-printed from District Dispatch, news from the ALA Washington Office.

The Department of Education is expected to issue the long-sought-after American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) guidance.

At a news conference on March 25, Secretary of Education Arnie… Read more

ALA files comments to FCC on rural broadband strategy

Re-printed from District Dispatch, news from the ALA Washington Office.

Image On March 25, the ALA Washington Office filed… Read more

Library Legislation Tracker - March 26, 2009

Courtesy Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association State Bills of Interest.

The Washington Library Association(WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog. For information on the legislative process or… Read more

Snapshots of Washington life from early 1900s

Image One of the great things about our State Archives is its vast collection of historical photographs. An example is the work of a talented amateur photographer named Mary Rowland Mires. Her photos give us an intimate look at pioneer, family, and Native American life in Western Washington. Here are some shots she took in the early 1900s. The following info about Mary was provided by the… Read more