This 1933 photo features the cake for Washington Governor Clarence Martin's inauguration to his first term in office. From the Susan Parish Photograph Collection, 1889-1990.
Clarence Martin was born and raised in Cheney, where the Eastern Regional Branch Archives and Digital Archives offices are now located. He graduated… Read more
Years ago, the Washington state legislature included a Senate Committee on Public Morals.
ImageAccording to… Read more
National Consumer Protection Week 2019 runs from March 3-9, and Consumer Protection Washington offers Fraud Prevention Fairs and Expos all over the state, bringing information and resources, free of charge, to Washington citizens to help them protect themselves and their loved ones from becoming a victim of fraud.
The… Read more
Gunshots rang through downtown Spokane in a firefight between Fred “Tiger” Johnson and the police as Johnson attempted to flee across Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railway yards. After he robbed a streetcar, he attempted to avoid arrest but was outgunned by law enforcement. Tiger was shot twice, then booked by the Sheriff's Office on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, highway robbery, and first-degree assault.
Image Mugshot,… Read more
February is dedicated to honoring African-Americans and their contributions to our country’s history. As a participant in the Federal Depository Library Program, the Washington State Library receives publications produced by… Read more
The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) Braille Production Department has been increasingly busy in the past several months with new local books being transcribed, proofread, and made available to library patrons. A big part of this is due to WTBBL's stellar volunteers, who are flexible and willing to explore new ways to improve the braille production process.
In fall 2018, WTBBL launched a pilot program to test the… Read more
Borrowing from the title of Legacy Washington’s current exhibit, 1968 was “the year that rocked Washington.”
From the civil rights movement to Vietnam and to growing concerns about the environment, it was a turbulent era in our history. With a passion for these issues and many more, Dan Evans went to Miami in August 1968 to deliver the keynote address of the Republican National Convention, at which Richard Nixon accepted the… Read more
Virtually every public library in the world wants more funds for buying books. For the Institutional Library Services (ILS) program of the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of Secretary of State, that gap between wish and reality is lessened by Amazon Wish Lists.
Through these lists, the ILS staff invites donors to purchase specific new books and materials sought by each library. For… Read more
Even if you do enjoy the occasional snow, we can probably all agree that it creates headaches for driving, scheduling, dealing with kids who stay home from school, keeping the driveway shoveled, and so forth. Perhaps this look at a few historical weather storms will help remind us that the current weather isn’t that bad.
Walla Walla flood, 1931
ImageFloodwaters overcame the streets of Walla Walla during a storm in 1931… Read more
Willie Keil was an ambitious 19-year-old when his family decided to travel the Oregon Trail in 1855. Willie had dreamed of driving a wagon out west, so he learned and was anointed the lead driver of the group’s wagon train.
In the weeks leading up to the venture, Willie contracted malaria and died just four days before his family’s departure from Bethel, Missouri. His father, Dr. William Keil, knew it meant the world to Willie to ride the lead wagon, so he built a coffin and lined it… Read more
All libraries transform. But as you walk through a prison for the first time, you may realize the unique value a library can provide within such an intense environment. An inmate seeking to transform needs hope and resilience to overcome the challenges of building a better life.
But where are hope and resilience in prison? Some find them in the environment's solitude. Others find these qualities in religion. Others may seek them through education. For any of these paths, the… Read more
2019 brings the 70th anniversary of the Mary Mahoney Professional Nurses Association, which was founded as the Mary Mahoney Registered Nurses Club of Seattle. Mary Mahoney was one of the first African-American nurses in the United States. In recognition of Black History Month, Washington State Archives researcher Dr. Jewell Lorenz Dunn researched the historical… Read more
The Washington State Library, a division of the Office of Secretary of State, has launched a new website for the Washington Digital Newspapers program at Washingtondigitalnewspapers.org.
The site features new titles in the State Library’s digital newspaper collection, with full-text article search of more than 400,000 pages from the State Library’s collection of historic Washington newspapers. Visitors can interact with the site… Read more
Although not all of Washington's voters reside in a district that's having a local election in this cycle, 32 of Washington's 39 counties are conducting elections for local districts, such as school bond issues.
Check our MyVote site to find out if you're among the nearly 40 percent of registered Washingtonians who will receive a ballot for this election, the first of… Read more
Last week we watched a little history. This week we’ll listen. Bing Crosby, who was born in Tacoma and raised in Spokane, teamed up… Read more
On Saturday, Jan. 12, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library — a program of the Washington State Library, which is a division of the Office of Secretary of State — hosted a fantastic celebration of braille literacy: the annual… Read more
The last car to travel the Alaskan Way Viaduct cruised into a cold, dry Seattle night around 10 p.m. Friday, January 11, 2019.
The two-level stretch of State Route 99 along coastal downtown has been an element of the city’s skyline since the early 1950s, but safety concerns have hastened its departure. The viaduct was damaged by the Nisqually earthquake in 2001, and has been deemed susceptible to future damage should another earthquake rock the structure.
A tunnel under… Read more
The 2019 Braille Challenge, an academic competition for students in grades 1-12 to show off their braille literacy and qualify for a national competition during the summer, comes to the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) this Saturday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students can also register until Jan. 23 for a February Braille Challenge WTBBL will host at the Spokane… Read more
Recently, Joel Henderson of the Oregon Talking Book and Braille Library visited the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) in Seattle to learn more about the audiobook production program.
Both libraries are regional libraries of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) of… Read more
