From Our Corner
Picturing Washington's Libraries
Since the Library Development team is out on the road a lot visiting libraries throughout the state, we often take advantage of our visits by taking some pictures of the libraries and their surrounding areas. This let's us keep a visual record of the libraries we serve, but also allows you to tour a number of Washington libraries without having to pay for gas!
Check out… Read more
Moving Forward, Looking Back
Last night's opening of our office's new exhibit, "Moving Forward, Looking Back", was an extraordinary, energetic evening dedicated to the women of Washington. Governor Gregoire, first woman insurance commissioner Deborah Senn, first woman lands commissioner Jennifer Belcher, and relatives of Dixy Lee Ray and Belle Reeves shared inspiring… Read more
Happy 100th birthday, Gov. Rosellini
A hundred years ago today, Albert Rosellini was born. He would later become Washington's governor, serving from 1957 to 1965. He is among the oldest living former governors in the U.S. Image… Read more
WSL Updates for January 21, 2010
Volume 6, January 21, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list
Topics include:
1) STATE LIBRARY BUDGET CUTS DOCUMENTED
2) BROADBAND STIMULUS FUNDING ROUND TWO ANNOUNCED
3) NEW POSTER FEATURES SKIERS PHIL, STEVE, AND ANDY MAHRE
4) KID'S STUFF ON THE WEB: FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP
5) ONLINE GRANT-WRITING WORKSHOP OFFERED BY WSL
6) TEDX FOR LIBRARIES: DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING FOR FREE
7) WEBINAR DISCUSSES LIBRARY ROLES IN WORKFORCE RECOVERY
Voting, again? Ballots coming your way
It seems like we just counted the last of the November ballots and put the election equipment away, but any day now, most Washington voters will be getting ballots in the mail for the February 9 election. Image
The state Elections Division has tallied it… Read more
State Library facing budget cuts – again
Image As state legislators work to fix a projected $2.8 billion budget hole before the 2010 legislative session ends in March, the Washington State Library once again is in the crosshairs. Gov. Gregoire’s budget proposal would ax $2 million from the State… Read moreWSL Makes the Front Page
The Washington State Library made the front page of the Olympian this morning. Unfortunately the headline reads: "State Library Faces Cuts." I'll keep my fingers crossed that one day in the future we'll make it to the front page again with a better headline, something like "State Library prospers in… Read moreVotes for women!
Members of the League of Women Voters, who were at the capitol today discussing legislation with various lawmakers, visited the Office of Secretary of State's Office in period costume and admired our new exhibit on women in government,… Read moreAsk-WA(tch): Stats, Kudos and Comments for Dec 2009
Ask-WA Statistics – December, 2009
Image December tends to be a slower month for Ask-WA, mainly because academic traffic drops off so sharply during the holiday breaks. In numbers:Lawmakers love the beautiful game
Image It's official: soccer's a hit in Washington. State lawmakers recently showed Seattle Sounders some love for a successful inaugural season by passing a resolution in both the Senate and House chambers. And guess who stopped… Read moreClippings, January 15, 2009
Library News The Everett Public Library’s staff association usually does something nice for the community around the holidays. This time, they decided to make diaper collection their focus after reading a story in The Herald in November about the bare shelves at the Everett Gospel Women’s Shelter. By the end of the year, they had gathered a mountain of diapers – about 75 packages with a total of more than 750 diapers. (Photo) (The Daily Herald [Everett], 1.5.10)… Read moreLibrary Legislation Tracker - January 15, 2010
Courtesy Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association State Bills of Interest. 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… Read moreFurlough days: new plan for 16 days of 'temporary layoffs'
Image Senate budget Chairwoman Margarita Prentice has introduced a plan for closing state agencies one day a month for the next 16 months, as a way of cutting costs as the state deals with a multibillion-dollar budget crisis. Prentice, a Renton Democrat,… Read moreR-71 petitions: High court will hear appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge of Washington's practice of releasing initiative and referendum petitions under the state's voter-approved Public Records Act.
ImageThe court said it would hear oral arguments, possibly as early as… Read more
The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009
Image The American Library Association released on January 12th a new report detailing economic trends in US libraries and providing an outlook for 2010. Says ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels: "This report was prepared to inform and assist library leaders as they plan in these very difficult times.… Read moreWatch out: Scam e-mails try to snatch Haiti donations
Yesterday our office warned you to be on guard against scammers as you donate to aid the horrific disaster in Haiti. Today, our IT department alerted us to the fact that spammers are already sending out scam e-mails requesting donations to send to Haiti – and these messages are convincing!
Here’s an example of the type of spam you may be getting in your inbox: Image The best practice, our Charities Manager tells us, is to donate… Read moreWSL Updates for January 14, 2010
Volume 6, January 14, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list
Topics include:
1) EFFECTIVELY SERVING PATRONS WITH PHYSICAL/MENTAL DISABILITIES
2) ONLINE GRANT-WRITING WORKSHOPS OFFERED BY WSL
3) WE THE PEOPLE BOOKSHELF OPPORTUNITY
4) GEORGE AND JOAN ON PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS IN TOUGH TIMES
5) BOOKS FOR CHILDREN GRANTS
6) JOBS AND EMPLOYMENT ON THE WEB: CORE TOOLS FOR LIBRARIANS
… Read more