From Our Corner

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians - Walter Newlin and James Ferry

Image From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Walter W. Newlin, 1879-1880 Born in Pennsylvania ca. 1841, Walter W. Newlin was living and working in Olympia as early as 1870 as a lawyer. Appointed… Read more

WSL Updates for October 17, 2013

Volume 9, October 17, 2013 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) REGISTER NOW FOR 2013 ELPLP SYMPOSIUM 2) BRINGING UP BABY – COMMUNITY BABY SHOWERS 3) TREASURES OF INLAND HISTORY 4) OCLC EXTENDS ILL TRANSITION DEADLINE 5) OUTREACH ACTIVITIES FOR COLLECTIONS CARE 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) REGISTER NOW FOR 2013 ELPLP SYMPOSIUM Registration is now… Read more

State Library’s past, future celebrated

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Central Library Services Manager Steve Willis holds up the new booklet about the Washington Territorial Library during his talk at Tuesday's celebration event.

Political turf battles. Unsavory characters. Nepotism. You normally wouldn’t associate these… Read more

WA 2013 election underway this week

Image Washington's general Election Day used to be just that, a single day in November. Today, it's an Read more

Celebrating 160 years as Washington's flagship library

Image Way back on October 23, 1853, a shipment including 2,000 books reached the Olympia waterfront after traveling from New York City, around the tip of South America and then stopping briefly in San Francisco. The arrival of those books, maps, globes and other… Read more

160 Years of Service to the People of Washington

Image From the desk of Kim Wyman, Secretary of State. From its beginnings as the Washington Territorial Library in 1853, the Washington State Library has played a major role preserving and providing public access to books, maps, collections, documents and other vital information about Washington’s history and government.

For the past 160 years, the State Library has lived up to its mission and purpose, which is to “collect, preserve and make… Read more

3.2 million WA Voters’ Pamphlets are hot off the presses!

Image Ready to vote in this fall’s General Election? Make sure to first read the always-helpful Voters’ Pamphlet that is arriving in your mailbox this week. If you don’t receive your Voters’ Pamphlet by Oct… Read more

Check out the new “LibraryNow” app

Image Dozens of libraries throughout Washington are now providing patrons with free access to a new mobile application or “app” connecting them to their library. The new app, called LibraryNow, lets users locate and search their library catalog… Read more

The One Minute Jail Sentence

Image From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library The following news article describes what was most probably the shortest jail sentence in Washington State history. This is from the Seattle Daily Times, January 20, 1906:

MINUTE IN… Read more

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Elwood Evans 1877-1879

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Elwood Evans[/caption] From the Desks of the Central Library Staff It is difficult to get away from Elwood Evans… Read more

Oh, the places you’ll go! (Part 3)

Note: this article is part three of a multi-part series on the Origins and the Historic Locations of the Washington Territorial Library. If you have not read part one, please click here to access the article. If you missed only part two, click here. Circa 1875-1877: Tacoma Hall [caption id="attachment_12030"… Read more

WSL Updates for October 10, 2013

Volume 9, October 10, 2013 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) WSL – 160 YEARS OF SERVING THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON 2) WASHINGTON HISTORY – ONLINE! 3) DIGITAL LITERACY GRANT CYCLE NOW OPEN 4) CAYAS WORKSHOP – CONNECTING, MAKING, HACKING 5) MEDICAID EXPANSION TOOLKIT 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) WSL – 160 YEARS OF SERVING THE PEOPLE OF WASHINGTON… Read more

Gun-control I-594 sponsors submit first batch of signatures

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As supporters look on, I-594 sponsor Cheryl Stumbo is interviewed by the media after signatures were delivered to the Elections Division.

Sponsors of gun-safety Initiative 594… Read more

Checking out the Governor's library collection

Image Secretary of State Wyman and State Librarian Rand Simmons (left) visited the Governor's Mansion Wednesday morning for a photo shoot with Gov. Inslee in the mansion library to help celebrate the upcoming 160th anniversary of the creation of the Washington… Read more

Wyman talks elections with Evergreen students

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Secretary of State Wyman speaks to students in Sen. Karen Fraser's Legislative Policy course at The Evergreen State College. (Photos courtesy of Jennifer Way)

Secretary of State Kim Wyman was a guest speaker for state Sen. Karen Fraser’s… Read more

WSL and Wheedle at the National Book Festival

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L to R:Marja Lentz, Susan Hildreth, Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Crystal Lentz, Head of Public Services, Washington State Library[/caption] On Saturday… Read more

Online voter registratation deadline is Monday

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Chase Warren, who just turned 18, holds up his voter registration form, completed on his birthday. (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Way)

Congratulations to Chase Warren of Olympia, not only for his 18th birthday but for remembering to register to vote… Read more

State Library offers historic newspapers online

Image Have you ever wanted to read a newspaper from 1860, or needed to find an obituary about an ancestor from a century ago? The Washington State Library can help. The State Library has digital collections of historic… Read more

An intern's view of this office

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Our office interns this fall, Mari Houck (left) and Sam Sunderland, during a volunteer appreciation event the Governor's Mansion. (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle)

Ahh, the hectic life of a new intern at the… Read more

WSL Librarian Solves a Starvation Heights Mystery

Image WSL Public Services Librarian Kim Smeenk has contributed some data to the lore of Starvation Heights, and corrected a century-long standing error. In our 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.

This space acts as a bridge between the public and Secretary Steve Hobbs and his staff, and we invite you to contribute often to the conversation here.

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The comments and opinions expressed by users of this blog are theirs alone and do not reflect the opinions of the Secretary of State’s Office or its employees. The agency screens all comments in accordance with the Secretary of State’s blog use policy, and only those that comply with that policy will be approved and posted. Outside comments will not be edited by the agency.