From Our Corner

Western State Hospital - A library newsletter story

From the desk of Kathleen Benoun It is said that there’s an opportunity during every crisis. In 2011, the branch libraries of the Washington State Library learned that their book budgets had been severely cut. Magazine subscriptions dwindled and there was no money for new materials. At the same time, several units at the Western State Hospital were restricted from certain areas on campus that included the library building. Library attendance dwindled. Overnight I was in charge of a… Read more

Filing Week launches campaigns for hundreds

Washington Newspapers Highlight: Northwest Enterprise

Image In 1879, Anacortes, Washington was founded and named by a railroad surveyor, Amos Bowman, who hoped it would become the major terminus for North America’s northwest railroad system. He brought in Alfred D. Bowen and Frank M. Walsh from Seattle to establish the Northwest Enterprise [LCCN: SN88085204], using its platform to promote the fledgling community and to solidify his city’s metropolitan status. First appearing on March 25, 1882, the… Read more

If Trees Could Talk: Famous Trees around Washington

We have many historically significant trees in Washington, and many State Archives records document the people and events related to the state's most historic trees. Although State Archives collections mainly consist of state and local government records, many archival collections also contain photographs.… Read more

Washington State Library brings NewsBank access to home users

Thanks to a partnership with NewsBank, the Washington State Library is now able to provide access to the Access World News and America’s GenealogyBank databases from anywhere with an internet connection. If you have a… Read more

How the 1970 election set Washington's midterm turnout record

Image The county-certified election returns for the 2018 General Election came very near setting a new state record for voter participation in a non-Presidential… Read more

Virtual reality's big 2018 in Washington libraries

In early 2018, the Washington State Library launched a project to bring virtual reality (VR) to the state's public libraries, in partnership with the University of Washington’s Information School (iSchool) and Oculus. The project's first phase included six libraries, selected in part for their proximity to Olympia to make technical issues… Read more

How Washington recounts ensure every vote matters

As 2018's closely-watched General Election draws near, it may prove useful to read up about how recounts help ensure fair and secure elections for Washington's candidates and voters. Nearly a decade ago in this space, we were prompted by a handful of very close election outcomes to… Read more

Check out new Washington Rural Heritage collections

Another grant cycle for the Washington Rural Heritage project is wrapping up! The folks at the Washington State Library are working with participants from all over the state to put finishing touches on new and existing digital collections. In the past year, nearly 2,000 items have been added to Washington Rural Heritage, a digital collection hosted by the State Library. Five new collections… Read more

Ask an Archivist Day at EWU

Debbie Bahn, the Electronic Records Archivist at the Digital Archives, and Eastern Washington University graduate intern Whitney Wyngaert manned the table at EWU's John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Cheney on Wednesday, October 3. Bahn, Wyngaert, and EWU archivist Steve Bingo engaged with more than 30 students in two hours, describing the resources and educational opportunities available at the … Read more

Profile of civic activist Jim Ellis completes new 1968 history exhibit

[caption id="attachment_25428" align="alignright" width="300"] Image By the late 1950s parts of Lake Washington were unsafe for swimming. This photo from 1958 was part of the campaign to create the Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (“Metro”) to oversee sewage treatment. Metro photo[/caption] A profile of Jim Ellis, regarded as the most visionary civic activist in King County history, is the final chapter in Legacy Washington’s new project: “… Read more

How the Washington State Library and Archives do the Puyallup

Image For at least a decade, the Washington State Library has joined the festivities at… Read more

Washington sets a record with National Voter Registration Day 2018

Since 2012, elections officials across America have made National Voter Registration Day an annual focal point of public-awareness campaigns to get more eligible citizens to register to vote. In Washington, as in other states, the effort has concentrated largely on getting young adults to sign up as registered voters. This demographic is targeted for two key… Read more

New custom book service at WTBBL

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) is working to further narrow the digital divide among its patrons who read talking books. WTBBL circulates talking books two ways. Books can be delivered by postage-free mail, or books can be instantly accessed from the National Library Service’s Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD), which is a website and mobile app to download talking… Read more

New Capitol exhibit features profile of pollster Stuart Elway

[caption id="attachment_25383" align="alignleft" width="276"] Image Stuart Elway at his Seattle office in 1996 Kathy Quigg photo[/caption] A profile of H. Stuart Elway, one of America’s most respected public-… Read more

History-making Seattle activist Phyllis Lamphere featured in new Capitol exhibit

A profile of civic activist Phyllis Lamphere, who left a big imprint on her hometown of Seattle, is the latest chapter in Legacy Washington’s new project, “1968: The Year that Rocked Washington.” Her profile — part of a new exhibit at the State Capitol — is now online at the project’s homepage. [caption id="attachment_25371" align="alignleft" width="207"]… Read more

The Federal Communications Commission answers Washington questions

Officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a U.S. government agency which regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable, visited the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) on September 18th to answer patrons' questions about telecommunications and broadcast matters. It was a great opportunity for WTBBL’s patrons to get answers to questions such as: What do I do about unwanted robocalls? How can I keep my favorite television… Read more

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library goes to Fiestas Patrias

Image On September 15th and 16th at Seattle Center, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library hosted an outreach table at Fiestas Patrias, the annual commemoration of… Read more

Washington State Library newspaper collections to the rescue

Recently, a Washington State Library patron arrived to ask about accessing old Washington newspapers. She turned out to have quite a story. She had just landed her dream job: no more night shifts, double the salary, and reduced commuting time. She was over the moon, except for one thing: her new job required an official copy of her state-issued birth certificate, plus other documents. How hard could that be? She was born in Washington, and had a driver’s license and school records, but… Read more

Washington State Library at the National Book Festival

Since 2003, Washington state has sent a representative to the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. annually. The festival was the brainchild of librarian and First Lady Laura Bush and then-Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. In its early years, the festival was held on the National Mall, but as it grew in size and popularity it was moved to… Read more