From Our Corner

Voting time for April Library Jewels

Tuesday ended balloting in the April Special Election across Washington, but we’re giving people a chance to vote on something totally different for the rest of this week: April’s State Library Jewels. Over the past few days, we’ve showcased three State Library items or collections. Now you have the chance to review them and choose your favorite. They are a rare poster honoring the latest Washington artist Christopher Stern, a rare atlas nearly… Read more

2015 Proposed Legislation Affecting Libraries 4/24/2015

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association Library Related Legislation. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted weekly on this blog. For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.

Bill Title Sponsor Status Date HRG Date Latest Cmte… Read more

Latest WWII profile on our own`Rosie the Riveter'

Image The latest World War II profile by our Legacy Washington team focuses on a 92-year-old Olympia resident who is one of the last of about 15,000 women who worked in Boeing’s Seattle… Read more

WA candidate Filing Week runs May 11-15

Image Campaign season in Washington soon will become official when candidates for public office file with election officials during the week of May 11-15. Filing by mail, a seldom-used option, opened April 27. But the more popular… Read more

Library Jewel #3: Letters, photos of 1860s secretary of WA Territory

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Part of the Elwood Evans collection. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Library)

Ever hear of Elwood Evans? Don’t feel bad if you haven’t. You’d have to be a Washington Territory history buff to have any idea who he was. Evans… Read more

Statewide Database Licensing Needs Assessment Results Released

[caption id="attachment_14847" align="alignleft" width="418"] Image Image courtesy of K. L. - http://bit.ly/1HO1tQa -Flickr Creative Commons 2[/caption] The WSL Statewide Database Licensing (SDL) project announces the release… Read more

Libraries to have `cool' reason for kids to visit

Image If you're a parent, you might have another reason to take your kids to the local library – “Cool Creations.” More than 30 local libraries throughout Washington will receive educational invention kits for children to use for a limited time,… Read more

Library Jewel #2: `Historic & rare' atlas

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(Image courtesy of Washington State Library)

Looking at an atlas made today might not excite many of us since we’re so familiar with the shape of states, nations, continents and other landforms that we’d… Read more

WSL Updates for April 23, 2015

Volume 11, April 23, 2015 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) RETURN TO RELEVANCE WORKSHOPS REGISTRATION OPEN 2) NOW HEAR THIS: LESSONS IN MUSIC ADVISORY WEBINAR 3) COMMUNICATING IN THE MIDST OF CHANGE WORKSHOP 4) COMMUNICATE WITH CONFIDENCE WORKSHOP 5) ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP WORKSHOP 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) RETURN TO RELEVANCE WEBINARS… Read more

Tragic news in Olympia newspaper 150 years ago

Image Nowadays, news can spread across the nation and around the world in just minutes, even seconds. That was not the case in 1865. When President Lincoln died April 15 of that year after being shot,… Read more

April Library Jewel #1: rare poster honoring late artist

Image It’s time to show off three more State Library Jewels. With April being National Poetry Month, the first one is timely: a rare poster of a… Read more

Great news for Washington Digital Newspapers!

Image The Washington State Library has been awarded a Veridian Newspaper Conversion Grant to process and present up to 10,000 newspaper images from our Historic Newspapers Collection. In March we competed against other national and international academic, public and special libraries with digital collections for the opportunity to have the Veridian software company convert our metadata and cloud-host a full-text searchable collection for two… Read more

Historian/journalist John Hughes honored by state

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After being praised by Secretary Wyman (left), John C. Hughes addresses the crowd at a reception honoring him in Wyman's office. (Photo courtesy of Laura Mott)

John C. Hughes was honored by the state Senate and… Read more

2015 Proposed Legislation Affecting Libraries 4/17/2015

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association Library Related Legislation. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted weekly on this blog. Bills highlighted in pink had movement on the floor yesterday (4/9/2015). For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced… Read more

1960s P.E. photo collection runs away in Archives poll

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(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Since the Kentucky Derby is only two weeks away, it’s only fitting that the top choice in April’s ArchivesRead more

WSL Updates for April 16, 2015

Volume 11, April 16, 2015 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) YOU’VE GOT THE LEGOS® - DID THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? 2) WASHINGTON RURAL HERITAGE GRANT CYCLE OPEN 3) FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR 21ST CENTURY LIBRARIES 4) BURNOUT OR BOUNCE BACK INCOL WORKSHOP 5) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) YOU’VE GOT THE LEGOS® - DID THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE? “You’ve got the… Read more

Display marks 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s death

Image Our office’s front lobby is renowned for historical exhibits and other displays capturing the past. Even very tragic events. One of our display cases is the home of an exhibit that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the death of President Abraham Lincoln… Read more

New Digital Collection: Colville National Forest

Image From the desk of Evan Robb The Washington Rural Heritage project recently went live with a new digital collection from the northeast corner of our state. The Colville National Forest Collection provides access to a sampling of the archival… Read more

Vote in April’s Archives Treasures poll!

After showing off our three Archives Treasures for April, we’re ready for you to choose a favorite. The three candidates are classic P.E. photos from the 1960s that were taken by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, territorial census rolls and drawings of the 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge that collapsed soon after it opened. You can vote by checking out the online poll below. The poll closes this Friday at 4 p.m., so make sure to… Read more

Archives Treasure #3: 1940 Tacoma Narrows Bridge drawings

Image The third and final Archives Treasure for April is a collection of drawings for one of the most infamous bridges in the world. We’re talking about the… Read more

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The Washington Office of the Secretary of State’s blog provides from-the-source information about important state news and public services.

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