From Our Corner
Washington Libraries and ProQuest
Image 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… 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’… 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"] Image [/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… Read more
ILS staff love to have great weekends too!!
Image 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… Read more
Military families can still register to vote
Image 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… 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. Image 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… Read moreArchives 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 moreA 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 moreHey, 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… 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?
Image 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!
Image 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.… 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"] Image [/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… 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… Read more
Secretary of State
Steve Hobbs
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