From Our Corner

Wayfinder Debuts on WorldCat.org

The Washington State Library and OCLC are pleased to announce that Wayfinder: The Catalog of Washington Libraries, is now available for searching on the user-friendly WorldCat.org platform at wayfinder.worldcat.org. Wayfinder provides a single search for locating almost 18 million items held by over 250 Washington… Read more

Library Legislation Tracker – April 20, 2009

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 blog. For information on the legislative process or becoming… Read more

Fiberize Libraries

This morning State Librarian, Jan Walsh, spoke on behalf of Washington's libraries at a hearing on broadband stimulus funding. The purpose of the hearing was to provide input to Governor Gregoire on the best use of federal stimulus funding designated for broadband… Read more

Sales tax plan stirs to life in Olympia

Image The long-expected ballot proposition for a November tax vote is on the move in the Washington Legislature. The plan, sponsored by Representative Eric Pettigrew and four Democratic colleagues, is for a three-tenths of a percentage point increase in the state sales tax -- from 6.5 percent to 6.8 -- during the calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012. The tax would expire then unless extended by supermajority votes in the Legislature. A quick… Read more

WA joining effort for national popular vote for prez

Image Washington is about to join an intriguing reform compact that could change how we elect our president. Lawmakers have approved Senate Bill 5599 adding Washington to the list of states willing to cast its electoral votes for the ticket that wins the national popular vote. Currently, all 11 of Washington's electoral… Read more

Library Legislation Tracker – April 17, 2009

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 blog. For information on the legislative process or becoming… Read more

Clippings, April 17, 2009

Clippings, April 17, 2009

The Goldendale Community Library (Fort Vancouver Regional Library District) installed its new public self-checkout station. The machine helps increase efficiency at the library, allowing staff to spend more time answering informational questions, helping people find books and solving problems. (Photo) (Sentinel [Goldendale], 3.19.2009)

Buildings:

People passing Sammamish City Hall on 228th Avenue Northeast will have noticed a sizable piece of… Read more

Didyaknow…

Image That some claim Olympia's Dairy Queen on Capitol Way (that DQ shut down years ago) had the world's first soft-serve ice cream machine. This photo, taken in 1965, comes from the Thurston County Assessors Property Card Photograph Collection, and is courtesy of our Washington State Archives.

Sam, I'll Take State Initiatives for $400

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Secretary Reed played a game of Civics Jeopardy with students from Yakima Valley Community College on Thursday as part of his College Civics tour.

Washington OKs broader domestic partner benefits

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Sponsors sometimes call it "everything but marriage." The Washington Legislature has voted to extend to state-registered domestic partners the full list of benefits and responsibilities that straight couples get when they marry. The state House passed the measure as approved… Read more

Gary Locke ... and the `family secret'

Image Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, the country's first Chinese-American governor when he served Washington state from 1997 to 2005, has long treasured his roots and made his "Great American Dream" a major storyline in his campaigns. Now in a column in the New York Times by Seattle's own Tim Egan, Locke talks about his grandfather's apparently illegal entry into the USA all those years ago.… Read more

We gotcha wired ... in a good way

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Washington, the home of Microsoft and lots of technosavvy people, has been called the nation's most "wired" state (doubly so with all that java!). We're seeing that in campaigns and elections, too. Last year was the launch of online voter registration (Washington is one of only two states that allow this, AZ being the other.) Candidates can file online, in their jammies at 2 a.m. if they wish. The state and some counties have online… Read more

Digital Archives needs you!

Image Are you a genealogist? Are you interested in history, photographs, or public documents? Do you search the Internet? If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you would be a great candidate to help make our Washington State Digital Archives even better. Digital Archives (see the Web site here) is the nation’s first archives dedicated specifically to the preservation of electronic… Read more

Find Your One Thing: Day 3

Image Secretary Reed stopped at Western Washington University in Bellingham on Wednesday to encourage students to find just one thing that will get them more engaged in their communities.

Governors Office of Indian Affairs

Great site ! Be sure to check out the Washington State Tribal Directory ! www.goia.wa.gov/

Voting bills closer to finish line

Image It has been a long time coming, but it looks like this is the year that lawmakers pass a voting restoration bill for ex-cons who have completed their sentences and their community supervision. The original House-approved bill, HB1517, says ex-felons could apply for voting rights after completing their jail sentences and any parole. Currently, they have to also pay off all restitution, court costs, and any other legal financial obligations.… Read more

Income tax votes, through the years ...

Image Tax Day post #2: As Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and others talk up the idea of a public vote on a flat-rate income tax on high-wage earners (say, $250k or $500k a year, or double that for joint filers), the state Elections Division has posted a recap of the five times that Washington voters have faced income tax ballot measures. The story starts back in 1932, during the Great Depression, with a statewide vote that overwhelmingly ...… Read more

(Tea) Party like it's 1773

Image Getting into and out of the Legislative Building during the lunch hour today was much harder than usual. There was a big Tea Party going on outside. Today’s Tax Day Tea Party on the steps of the Legislative Building drew around 5,000, the largest crowd for a State Capitol rally in several years. Many of the people who came to Olympia waved signs or U.S. flags and shouted anti-tax slogans. Among the speakers were tax rebel Tim Eyman, KVI… Read more

Clark College Canned Food Drive

Image Secretary Reed joins Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown (first from right in photo above) in a Canned Food Drive Kickoff at Clark College in Vancouver on Monday as part of our new statewide effort "Find Your One Thing."

High-res historical photo collections -- for free!

Image An already great collection of images at your state Digital Archives just got even better. The State Archives recently added two digital photograph collections to Digital Archives. These online collections feature high-res shots (all at least 600 ppi) and can be accessed FOR FREE! One is from the State Library Collection. If you’re in search of great old photos related to all things Washington, there’s a good chance you’ll find some in this… Read more