From Our Corner

Accessible voting gives voters with disabilities a choice

Image The Secretary of State’s passion is for equal access for all of our state’s voters. That vision includes helping voters with disabilities. Washington’s voter accessibility project is aimed at assisting voters who have a disability to participate to the maximum… Read more

Washington Libraries and ProQuest

이미지 This past week (Oct. 8-13) I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting several libraries on the Eastern side of the mountains. I hope to post some pictures and additional details in later blog entries, time permitting! My trip… Read more

Coming soon: Your Voters’ Pamphlet

Image Remember the scene in “The Jerk” when Steve Martin yells, “The new phone book’s here!”? Well, he might be pretty pumped up about this news, even if his name isn’t in it: The Voters’ Pamphlet is coming! If you haven’t received your statewide Voters’ Pamphlet… Read more

Reed pays tribute to Sid Snyder & Lorraine Wojahn

Image Secretary of State Sam Reed paid tribute Monday to two former veteran state senators, Sid Snyder of Long Beach and Lorraine Wojahn of Tacoma. Both died over the weekend. Reed said both retired lawmakers… Read more

Archives treasure #3: 1889 election proclamation

With all of the debates, news stories, TV and radio ads, yard signs, campaign mailers, doorbelling brochures and everything else going on, we know there is an election coming soon. But how did word get out in 1889 that an election was near? Answer? A proclamation for the 1889 General Election, which played a pivotal role in Washington reaching statehood. The proclamation is our third Archives treasure for October. In December 1888, Congress introduced… Read more

Clippings for the week of October 5, 2012

[caption id="attachment_4996" align="alignright" width="227" caption="Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection"] 이미지 [/caption] Library News On Sept. 4, the Yacolt Library Express officially opened to the public. The Fort Vancouver Regional Library converted the former jail and town hall in Yacolt into the new resource for Yacolt and other North Clark County visitors. A… Read more

ILS staff love to have great weekends too!!

이미지 One of my weekends this summer was spent helping with a Wounded Warrior Project event in our tiny towns of Sekiu and Clallam Bay. Some of the officers at Clallam Bay Corrections Center and their spouses contacted the program and invited 18 wounded… Read more

Military families can still register to vote

이미지 UPDATE: We have a few clarifications to this blog post. Additions are in bold, and deletions are crossed out. If you are active or reserve military personnel, you and your family are exempt from voter registration deadlines and can register as… Read more

The Columbus Day Storm of October 12, 1962

From the desk of Sean Lanksbury. PNW & Special Collections Librarian Many Pacific Northwesterners recall the Columbus Day Storm of October 12, 1962 with the same vivid memories as we remember the Mount St. Helens eruptions of May 1980. 이미지 For those who were witness to the storm, it remains a terrifying testament to the destructive force of nature. The storm that began in the deep western Pacific as a typhoon named "Freda" was ignored at the… Read more

Archives treasure #2: Columbus Day Storm images

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(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

After more than two months of dry, sunny weather, we're finally seeing the rain return to Washington. But 50 years ago today, Washington and the Pacific Northwest experienced far… Read more

A Ruse By Any Other Name

Image Arlington Buckingham Wadsworth From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: The Nov. 15, 1902 issue of… Read more

WSL Updates for October 11, 2012

Volume 8, October 11, 2012 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) A MESSAGE FROM ACTING STATE LIBRARIAN, RAND SIMMONS 2) LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE 2013 3) ZINIO GROUP PURCHASE 4) 2013 TEEN VIDEO CHALLENGE 5) LOOKING FOR DATA ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH? 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) A MESSAGE FROM ACTING STATE LIBRARIAN, RAND SIMMONS We are less than a month… Read more

October Archives treasure #1: Gov. Evans’ Rainier climb

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(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Dan Evans is a double-rarity in Evergreen State politics. He’s one of only two Washington governors to serve three terms (the other, Seattle… Read more

Hey, Electronic Records Day is here

Image OK, it might not be as widely known as Columbus Day, but there is another occasion this week worth noting, especially for those of you maintain or are interested in electronic records. October 10 has been designated Electronic Records Day by the Council of State… Read more

Mock Election program receives statewide civics award

Image Our Student Mock Election program has received lots of kudos from students, teachers and parents as a valuable educational tool that helps develop good voting habits. Now, it’s being honored… Read more

Goat carts! WRH stumbles across a photographic genre

Sometimes a seemingly insignificant coincidence can turn into a meaningful connection... or at least send you down a rabbit hole of late-night Googling. A few weeks ago, I was visiting the Davenport, Washington public library for a couple days with Washington Rural Heritage (WRH) Project Manager Evan Robb. We were there… Read more

Wondering about the Wobblies?

이미지 From the desk of Rand Simmons Founded in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) differed from other unions of the day in that they proposed one overarching union structure that could unite all working people as a class, rather than… Read more

Online voter registration deadline is tonight!

이미지 For those wanting to register to vote in this fall’s huge General Election or update their registration address, another key deadline is hours away. Today is the last day for online voter registrations or updates. In… Read more

Clippings for the week of September 28, 2012

[caption id="attachment_4996" align="alignright" width="227" caption="Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection"] 이미지 [/caption] Washington State Library News The Odessa Public Library and Historisches Museum have recently added new material to its digital collection and celebrating the history of Odessa and neighboring communities. The collection was made possible by a… Read more

How Secretary Reed became an honorary UW alum

Image Secretary Reed began his presentation at the University of Washington this week as a loyal WSU Cougar walking into “enemy territory.” He ended his presentation as a UW graduate. Well, not exactly. The “graduate” status was bestowed on Reed after he spoke at… Read more