From Our Corner

Telling Frontier & modern-era stories "West of Here."

Image West of Here. By Jonathan Evison. Chapel Hill, NC : Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2011. 486 p. Recommendation submitted by: Sean Lanksbury, NW and Special Collections Librarian, Washington State Library. Jonathan Evison was… Read more

WSL Updates for June 30, 2011

Volume 7, June 30, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WANTED - SPECIAL LIBRARIES REPRESENTATIVE FOR LCW

2) E-BOOK READER PILOT PROJECT

3) WEBJUNCTION WASHINGTON UPDATE

4) COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS DAY AWARDS

5) LIVE LONG AND PROSPER

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) LCW… Read more

Secretary Reed: No 4th term bid

Secretary of State Sam Reed, the state's senior statewide Republican elected official, says he won't run for a fourth term next year. Reed, former president of the nation's secretaries of state and a veteran of more than 40 years in public life, said Tuesday that he's made the "bittersweet decision" to step aside after his term ends in January, 2013. He is 70, and said it's time to let Washington choose a new generation of leadership in this and other statewide offices. A cancer survivor, he… Read more

Clippings for the week of June 17, 2011

[caption id="attachment_4996" align="alignright" width="227" caption="Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection"] Image [/caption] Library News The Battle Ground Community Library, a part of Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, turns two years old this month, and according to Librarian Jackie Spurlock, there’s nothing terrible about it. From circulation figures… Read more

From Your Corner: Nisqually’s name

It’s the name of the small town and valley located between Tacoma and Olympia, the name of the Native American tribe whose reservation is between Lacey and Yelm, the name of the much-photographed glacier (shown below) near Paradise on the south side of Mount Rainier, and the name of the river flowing from said glacier to Puget Sound. Nisqually’s name comes from French explorers, who called the natives nez quarre, meaning “square nose,” and was altered by the natives’ inability to pronounce… Read more

The Story of Ms. Lillian Walker, a civil rights pioneer.

Image Lillian Walker, Washington State Civil Rights Pioneer: A Biography and Oral History. By Lillian Walker & John C. Hughes. Olympia, WA : Washington… Read more

WSL Updates for June 23, 2011

Volume 7, June 23, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) COMMENTS SOUGHT ON EARLY LEARNING GUIDELINES 2) SDL PROQUEST PRICING AND MORE 3) FREE ADVOCACY TRAINING – TURNING THE PAGE 2.0 4) CARING FOR THE MIND – SECOND ROUND 5) GRANT GUIDELINES FOR LEARNING LABS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) COMMENTS SOUGHT ON EARLY LEARNING GUIDELINES The… Read more

Anna Nash, Employee of the Year 2010

[caption id="attachment_5260" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Lyla Brekke awards Anna Nash with Employee of the Year 2010"] Image [/caption] The youngest and most energetic member of ILS was awarded with Employee of the year for… Read more

30 Years of Service to Western State Hospital

[caption id="attachment_5254" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Kathleen accepting 30 years of Service certificate from Rand Simmons Washington State Librarian"] Image… Read more

Keeping the Connection

[caption id="attachment_5249" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="ILS Retreat"] Image [/caption] Each year staff of Institutional Library Service of the Washington State Library meet to discuss strategy, share experiences, and learn from… Read more

More kudos for Digital Archives

Image Since opening up shop in 2004, Washington’s award-winning Digital Archives has received tons of praise from genealogists, researchers and others for its outstanding website, which provides access to tens of… Read more

Nothing is New Under the Sun – Kind of

Image From the desk of Rand Simmons Certainly when it comes to libraries many issues remain constant. While preparing a retirement letter for Karen Goettling (26 years with the Washington State Library) I came across a publication Action! Results! of the governor's Conference on Library and Information… Read more

Clippings for the week of June 10, 2011

[caption id="attachment_4996" align="alignright" width="227" caption="Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection"] Image [/caption] Washington State Library News Sam Reed, Washington's Secretary of State, will spend four days visiting communities in Eastern Washington next week -- including Kennewick. Reed's office oversees the Washington State Library, which is why he… Read more

Library Legislation Tracker - June 2011

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 to the WLA web site and we will also post it weekly on this blog. For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above. Column1 Library June… Read more

More budgetary gloom: Revenue forecast drops again

Image Less than 24 hours after Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a budget that fixed a $5 billion spending gap by cutting salaries and the budgets of nearly every state agency, a new revenue update brought more bad news.… Read more

WSL Updates for June 16, 2011

Volume 7, June 16, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) LCW NEEDS SPECIAL LIBRARIES REPRESENTATIVE 2) FREE MEDICAL REFERENCE WORKSHOPS 3) FREE COPIES OF CANNERY ROW 4) EBOOK READER PILOT PROJECT 5) SCHOLARSHIPS FOR SMALL AND RURAL LIBRARIES 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) LCW NEEDS SPECIAL LIBRARIES REPRESENTATIVE Applications are still being… Read more

Lyman Cutlar Shoots A Boar

On June 15, 1859, Lyman Cutlar, an American settler on San Juan Island, shot a pig he found rummaging through his vegetable garden. That pig happened to belong to the British settlers of Hudson's Bay Company, and they were none too pleased to hear the news. Tensions were already riding high, and this squabble ignited a 10-year dispute aptly named the… Read more

Hit Skid Road with a classic Washington Read.

Image Skid Road: An Informal Portrait of Seattle. By Murray Morgan. New York : Viking Press, c1951. 280 p. Reprinted in 1960, 1971, and 1982. Recommendation by: Lori Thornton,… Read more

What holiday is it today, people?

Image It’s Flag Day. It doesn’t receive as much attention as Independence Day, but it’s a holiday that prompts proud Americans and government buildings to display their U.S. flags. The photo above shows a flag along Capitol Way… Read more

Gregoire bows out of 2012 gov's race

Image Washington will have a new governor in 2013. Two-term Democratic incumbent Chris Gregoire made it official Monday, telling reporters on the front porch of the Executive Mansion that she… Read more