From Our Corner

From Your Corner of Washington: Kennewick's name

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Photograph courtesy of City of Kennewick

Located in Benton County along the Columbia River, this town of 68,570 comprises the Tri-Cities, along with Richland and Pasco. The Tri-Cities lays claim to having 300 days of sunshine a year, something that we “… Read more

Old News is Good News

Washington State Library releases never-before-microfilmed newspapers from the Snoqualmie Valley!

Image Washington State Library microfilms Washington newspapers to preserve and provide access to Washington’s history. Lent by Snoqualmie Valley… Read more

WSL Updates for May 12, 2011

Volume 7, May 12, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE – NATIONAL WINNER 2) TIPS AND TRICKS FOR COMMUNITY READS 3) WTBI TRAINING – LAST CHANCE FOR EASTERN WASHINGTON 4) CELEBRATE ASIAN-PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 5) SHARPEN YOUR WEBSITE – HTML, CSS, AND BEYOND 6) ONLINE CLASSES IN PRESERVATION 7) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK… Read more

Revenue update: Amnesty helped, but recovery lags

Image Washington's forecast has ballooned 13.3 percent, by nearly $158 million in the past two months, almost entirely because of a now-expired amnesty program for repaying past-due taxes without penalty. But the state… Read more

The Walking Dead are among us!

Image Walking Dead (Walker Papers, Book 4) By C.E. Murphy. Luna, 2009. 376p. Recommendation submitted by: Jill Merritt, Library Associate,… Read more

Reed talks voting, civic involvement at UW

Image No, this is not a misprint: The Huskies welcomed a Cougar on their campus this week. As part of his annual statewide college civics tour this spring, Secretary Reed, a loyal WSU alum,… Read more

2010-2011 Letters About Literature Awards - Washington Places at Nationals Again!

Image From the desk of Mary Paynton Schaff The Washington state Letters About Literature awards ceremony took place on Friday, May 6 in the office of the Secretary of State in Olympia. Secretary Sam Reed and State Librarian Rand Simmons presented awards to the… Read more

SDL Chooses ProQuest Again

Image The Washington State Library, and the Statewide Database Licensing Project, and its Advisory Committee are pleased to announce that ProQuest has again been selected to provide a suite of database products to the nonprofit libraries of Washington State. The… Read more

Tea and Ten-Squared

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Photo courtesy of Washington Talking Book & Braille Library

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library hosted its seventh annual Ten-Squared event last weekend, celebrating its patrons who are 100 years or older. WTBBL currently has 50… Read more

Clippings for the week of April 29, 2011

Washington Library News Critics Thursday focused on the plan’s potential effect on the State Library, which would be removed from Reed’s office and consolidated into the new department. His agency says the library has already seen its budget cut by more than a third and its staff cut by more than half. (The News Tribune [Tacoma], 4.1.11) http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/04/01/… Read more

Champions, in their own words

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From left: Acting State Librarian Rand Simmons, John Kang, Abby Bateman, McKenna Conlin, Secretary Reed.

It’s a fun and memorable experience for people to visit the State Capitol in Olympia. It’s even more so when you… Read more

Older American Recognition Month

From the desk of Rand Simmons Each year, the month of May is set aside to recognize the value of older Americans to our society. The theme this year, Image "Older Americans: Connecting the Community," reminds us that age has no bounds when it comes to… Read more

Photos from Washington Library Snapshot Day

On April 12, 2011 the Washington State Library participated in Washington Library Snapshot Day. Hundreds of libraries statewide gathered photos, stories, and usage statistics, providing a glimpse at the important services they provide every day.

This set of images offers a look at a single day in the life of the Washington State Library. Enjoy!

Can it be? Spring in Olympia?

Image Despite the cold, wet weather the past several weeks (OK, months), one sign that spring is actually (allegedly?) here is when the cherry trees and rhododendrons are in bloom on the Capitol Campus. That was evident… Read more

Public employees recognized

Image Secretary of State Sam Reed helped serve hot dogs Wednesday for Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) to honor state employees for their hard work and dedication to public service. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon with background music playing as zumba dancers… Read more

WSL Updates for May 5, 2011

Volume 7, May 5, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) FREE WORKSHOP – DO IT YOURSELF PAPER REPAIR 2) SDL CHOOSES PROQUEST AGAIN 3) MAY IS OLDER AMERICANS MONTH 4) TRANSFORMING OUR IMAGE 5) SPRING CLEAN YOUR WEBSITE 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) FREE WORKSHOP – DO IT YOURSELF PAPER REPAIR Learn basic repair techniques with local book artist and… Read more

Sign here, please

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Photo courtesy Washington House of Representatives

Washington’s Charitable Solicitations Act is getting some helpful updates. Secretary Reed stood by Governor Gregoire as she recently signed into law… Read more

Trask: 1st book of a classic "Oregon Trilogy"

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Tax-amnesty windfall could speed budget deal

Image Glum Washington lawmakers, last seen slogging through House-Senate budget talks, have just gotten a jolt of good news -- a $182 million windfall. Governor Gregoire and the budget negotiators say that could go a… Read more

Transforming Life After 50

Image Photo: From TLA50 Institute in Portland, OR: Stephen Ristau and Suzanne Flint, TLA50 coordinators

from Ning Community website: http://tla50resource.ning.com/

• Nearly 2/3 of all the human beings who have ever lived past the age of 65… Read more