From Our Corner

Letters About Literature: Much more than just a contest

Image What do you get when you combine books, students, writing and a national contest? You get hope for the future and the country, and the knowledge that we are all in good hands for the future. Washington state has participated in the Letters About Literature contest since 2005, and it is a favorite for everyone who has experienced it. What makes it so great is, simply put, the letters. Unlike the book reports we all remember from our school… Read more

NASA comes to Washington libraries

Through a program called “NASA at My Library” facilitated through STARnet, NASA is reaching out to underserved populations across the US via the libraries that serve them. The goal is to enrich lifelong learning with NASA themed activities based on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) initiatives. To date, 78 libraries are implementing this project, including Bothell and Anacortes here in… Read more

Washingtonians in World War I

2018 marks the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I, the “War to End All Wars.” Centennial events have taken place for the past several years throughout Europe, and last year the Washington State Library was honored to assist students from the American School in Paris as they embarked on a project to gather information about the… Read more

Archives Spotlight: The Legislative Building turns 90

In the quiet of the post-Legislative session interim period, the 90th anniversary of the Washington Capitol's opening to the public passed without a formal observance on March 28. Perhaps that was fitting. The Legislative Building went without a grand opening party back in 1928 because of a political dispute over the perceived largesse of building and furnishing a $7 million government building… Read more

Goodbye and Hello

Image Did you know that the Washington State Library was one of the first state agencies to jump into blogging? We've been blogging since 2006. Our loyal readers will remember Steve Willis's "Random News" posts, the fascinating newspaper stories that Marlys Rudeen unearthed,… Read more

Financial literacy and you

With the arrival of tax season, many Washington households spend time in the spring taking stock of their financial affairs. Several state and national programs to help Americans understand how to responsibly handle their finances focus on this time of year, with special attention to consumer protection and financial literacy. The topic is immensely important and timely. In 2017 alone, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 38,000 reports of fraud. In Washington state, people paid… Read more

WSL Updates for March 29, 2018

Volume 14, March 29, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) IMLS FUNDING INCREASE 2) PUBLIC LIBRARY POLICIES UPDATE 3) TURNING OUTWARD TO LEAD CHANGE 4) LIBRARY SNAPSHOT DAY RETURNS 5) DIVERSITY RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK… Read more

Historic newspaper spotlight: Northwest Enterprise

In 1879, Anacortes, Washington was founded and named by railroad surveyor Amos Bowman, who hoped it would become the major terminus for North America’s northwest railroads. Bowman brought in Alfred D. Bowen and Frank M. Walsh from Seattle to establish the Northwest Enterprise [Library of Congress Control Number SN88085204], using its platform to promote the fledgling community and to solidify his city’s metropolitan status. First appearing on… Read more

WSL Updates for March 22, 2018

Volume 14, March 22, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) CHAOS WITH A PURPOSE 2) ALL ABOARD FOR STORYTIME 3) PROMOTING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES 4) WHAT’S HIDING IN YOUR LIBRARY? 5) GRANT – ACTIVATING COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK… Read more

Archives Spotlight: History mystery solved!

Image It took us some time, but we managed to put a name to this portrait photo from state archives, solving last week's mystery. We'd been unable to identify its subject from its original caption of "Unidentified Representative"… Read more

WSL Updates for March 15, 2018

Volume 14, March 15, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) EVERYLIBRARY TRAINING 2) CULTIVATING COMMUNITIES, HARVESTING IDEAS 3) HEALTH INFORMATION FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIANS 4) LIBRARY SCIENCE COURSES 5) DPLA’S NEW WEBSITE 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK… Read more

WSL Updates for March 8, 2014

Volume 14, March 8, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) DIGITIZATION GRANTS 2) FREE BOOKS 3) TURNING OUTWARD TO LEAD CHANGE 4) RENDEZVOUS WITH LOCKED DOORS 5) NATIVE AMERICAN LIBRARY GRANTS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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After the session: The OSOS report on the 2018 Legislature

Going into the 2018 session of the Washington State Legislature, Secretary of State Kim Wyman presented a list of proposed changes to state law to improve our state's elections process. Now that the state House of Representatives and Senate have adjourned sine die, here's a look at how proposals supported by Secretary Wyman fared. Presidential primary date change: Washington's quadrennial (every four years)… Read more

History mystery: Do you know this man?

A few months ago, a Digital Archives user wrote in to the Washington State Archives to ask about the identity of the man in the photo on the right. Image We still can't answer the question. Perhaps you can help. The photo was taken by Vibert Jeffers in 1939. It comes from the Susan Parish Photograph Collection and it was given the title "… Read more

Students hit it out of the park at 2018 Braille Challenge

Students from all over Western Washington competed in the annual Northwestern Washington Regional Braille Challenge in Seattle on Saturday at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library and got to test their Beep Baseball skills as well. Image The Braille Challenge is a contest encouraging braille literacy. Children in grades 1-12 test their skills in five categories: Reading Comprehension, Spelling, Speed & Accuracy, Proofreading, and… Read more

Reality Check

From the Desk of Joe Olayvar Image If you haven’t noticed, there’s a device craze going on. Nearly everywhere you look in any town or city across the globe, someone is absorbed in conversation, web searching, or game play. Yes, we’ve come a long way since the Atari or the early phone and its five pound battery pack. But like every technology, there’s always something new that will eventually overshadow it, or at least add a new facet; in this… Read more

Archives Spotlight: Unique finds in the Department of Ecology collection

Washington State Archives’ records from the Department of Ecology make up a massive, sometimes intimidating collection documenting the agency’s efforts to protect and preserve Washington’s natural air, water and land resources. The collection contains nearly 8,000 cubic feet of records mostly dating from the 1970s to present. The subjects covered in the Ecology archives include toxic site cleanups, water quality and resources, shorelines management, air pollution, nuclear waste, and more.… Read more

WSL Updates for March 1, 2018

Volume 14, March 1, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) ALL ABOARD FOR STORYTIME 2) COPYRIGHT LIBRARIAN STARTER KIT 3) READ-A-RAMA 4) DIVERSITY INTERNSHIPS 5) FEDERAL BUDGET WOULD CLOSE IMLS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Announcing the winners of our 3rd Annual Zine contest!

Image How many of us remember sitting through dry history classes in school? And yet history done right is a fascinating and important subject. Here at the Washington State Library we take history seriously. One of our strategic goals is to “Preserve and share Washington’s stories.” We have several paths to achieving this goal. There are our historic digital newspapers, the digitized “… Read more

February 2018 Special Election: Turnout insights

All but two of Washington's 39 counties held special elections earlier this month, and the results have now been certified. As of Friday, Feb. 23, the counts became official: 896,507 of the state's 2,761,020 eligible registered voters had weighed in on hundreds of local issues, largely related to government structure and tax propositions. Those figures provide a few insights:

• The 32.5 percent voter turnout rate is the lowest for a February special election in the last decade,… Read more