From Our Corner

Building the first Lake Washington floating bridge

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Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives

Many of the people traveling across one of Lake Washington’s floating bridges likely take the innovative spans for granted, but when the lake’s very first floating bridge opened to… Read more

Stafford Creek is Going to the Dogs

[caption id="attachment_4238" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Canine patrons check out the latest issue of BARK."] [/caption] Stafford Creek Corrections Center has long welcomed the dogs from… Read more

Foggy Capitol Dome

Image The dome of the Legislative Building is shrouded in fog Thursday morning. The Lege Building is sandwiched between the John L. O’Brien Building (where House committees meet) on the left and the John A. Cherberg Building (home of Senate committees) on the… Read more

WSL Updates for January 27, 2011

Volume 7, January 27, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) FIRST TUESDAYS – INNOVATION AT WTBBL 2) LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY 3) FREE GENEALOGY EVENT – BING CROSBY’S FAMILY HISTORY 4) WASHINGTON LIBRARY SNAPSHOT DAY 5) VIDEO CONTEST – ESPECIALLY FOR TEENS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) FIRST TUESDAYS – INNOVATION AT WTBBL The Washington Talking… Read more

Dairy Ambassadors visit

Image At the Capitol, one of the favorite days during session is "Dairy Day." Dairy Ambassadors made a special visit to the Secretary of State's office and also passed out ice cream treats during the afternoon hour.

`It's all about equal access to the voter'

Image Washington's voter accessibility project, a one-person, federally funded operation dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities, is a whirlwind of activity these days. Fresh website information has just been… Read more

OCLC Report: Perceptions of Libraries, 2010

This report just became available in full on January 20. Download the report from their site, or continue reading for a description and links.… Read more

New .Jobs Domain For Job-Seekers

You might not think about domains very much. Maybe the .coms and .nets and .orgs of the world all run together for you, and it's what you see before the "dot" that counts. Well now there's a reason to pay a little more attention. .Jobs is a new domain with a specific purpose: to help job-seekers find employment. And since we're not out of the "hard times" economy quite yet, that's a purpose that a lot of people can get… Read more

Clippings, January 14, 2011

Library News Miniature Santa hats and holiday scarves adorn the bronze statues of woodland animals in front of the Mukilteo Library last week. Assistant managing librarian Chris Hoffman-Hill said for the past 12 years, the hats and holiday decorations just “magically appear during the night” on the statues about a week before Christmas. (Photos) (Snohomish County Tribune, 12.29.10) The Friends of the Library is seeking to expand its membership. The group was formed to support the Ritzville… Read more

Library Legislation Tracker – January 21, 2011

Courtesy 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. Click below to view the tracker… Read more

WTBBL Patron on New Day Northwest

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library is proud to announce that one of its own patrons has been chosen as a semi-finalist in Evening Magazine's "You've Got Talent" contest. Meka White, of Bremerton, is known for her amazing voice and her great spirit. She wowed the crowd at New Day Northwest on January 19 with her rendition of "Chain of Fools." Check out Meka's fantastic performance for yourself!… Read more

Read Like You're Finnish

A great video from the Finnish Library Association celebrating their 100th year in 2010. The Finnish Library Association celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2010. On the occasion of the anniversary The Finnish Library Association wants to promote the important role of the libraries in transmitting cultural upbringing to the next generations. On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eITfhOwyTU

WSL Updates for January 20, 2011

Volume 7, January 20, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND 2) WASHINGTON NEWSPAPERS ON MICROFILM 3) GRANT WRITING GUIDE 4) NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE NETWORK 5) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR BROADBAND WSL announces an exciting series of peer learning style webinars to support… Read more

March 5 event in Spokane highlights Bing Crosby’s story

Image Bing Crosby. He’s one of Washington’s most famous native sons. He enjoyed international fame and respect as a beloved singer and actor for decades, starting in the 1930s. Known especially for “White Christmas,” he was one of the best-selling recording… Read more

Washington State Library’s Baby Read Addresses Raising Babies in Prison

From the desk of Rand Simmons For the past ten years, Lori Thornton, Public Services manager at the Washington State Library, has been going to prison once or twice a month, but not as a member of a work release program. Rather, Lori voluntarily conducts the Baby Read program for the inmates and… Read more

It's official: We get a 10th congressional seat!

Image U.S. Census officials, including Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, our former governor, recently gave us the good news that our population (6,724,540 souls) has grown enough to warrant… Read more

WA 2011 redistricting officially underway

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Secretary Reed introduces Redistricting Commission members (L to R) Tom Huff, Slade Gorton, Dean Foster and Tim Ceis.

Washington’s citizen-driven process of redrawing… Read more

Washington Leaders Serve on Digital Inclusion Working Group

From the desk of Rand Simmons Congratulations to Mary Carr, Spokane Community College, and David Keyes, City of Seattle who were appointed, along with 14 others, to the Digital Inclusion Working Group by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The working group will… Read more

Mount Vernon City Library Offers Programs for Hard Times

Thanks to a Renew Washington grant from the Washington State Library, the Mount Vernon City Library is offering a great selection of programs to their community in the coming months. It's always great to see such a direct… Read more

Clippings, January 7, 2011

Washington State Library News Librarian Cathy Miller spent last Monday and Tuesday in Tacoma with a group of library directors, as well as Washington State Library and NoaNet employees, discussing how to make the most effective use of high-speed broadband connections that are being made available through stimulus funds. Five libraries in Lincoln County are eligible for enhanced broadband connections. All expenses of this conference were paid for by the Gates Foundation. (Wilbur Register, 12.… Read more