Statewide Projects and Initiatives
Historical newspapers are primary research tools for students, teachers, historians, and genealogists. Newspapers document the daily life of communities in a way no history book can. The Washington State Library maintains an extensive collection of Washington newspapers in print and on microfilm.
Primarily Washington is an online education portal designed to bring lesson plans together with the primary sources contained in the collections of Washington State Library, Washington State Archives and Legacy Washington. Lesson plans and exhibits will be added on a continual basis.
The State Library produces bibliographies of items in its collection. The bibliographies include information about Western Americana and Pacific Northwest Research; First Peoples of Washington State; Immigrant Cultures of Washington; and many more.
A partnership of the Washington State Library and the Seattle Public Library, the Center’s mission is to promote literacy and a love of books, reading, and libraries and to shine a spotlight on the contribution of reading and libraries in strengthening communities and in fostering civic engagement. This mission is accomplished through a variety of programs, the Letters About Literature contest, the Washington State Book Awards, Community Reads and a variety of new and developing programs.
The Washington State Library is working with local communities and publishers to preserve and provide online access to socially and historically significant newspapers in our state. Through collaboration with the National Digital Newspaper Program and community projects we have digitized over 400,000 pages of newspapers, published between 1860 through 2010, and will continue to grow with new titles and projects in the coming year.
Classics in Washington History offers searchable, full-text versions of significant biographies and histories covering early explorations, pioneer life, and local history. The Historical Maps page features online maps drawn from state and territorial government records, historic books, federal documents, and the Northwest collection.
This program supports public and tribal libraries as well as partnering museums and historical societies in digitizing their archival collections. The State Library provides the technical infrastructure to make these collections available online and provides participants with training in various aspects of digitization and digital preservation. A competitive grant program is aimed at supporting public, tribal, and academic libraries in undertaking a variety of digital initiatives.
Special Collections collect and preserve rare and archival materials that enrich research in the history and culture of the Pacific Northwest, comprising the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in their entirety; the province of British Columbia; and western portions of the State of Montana. Alaska and Yukon Territory materials are also acquired selectively when they relate to the Pacific Northwest region. These non-circulating collections are comprised of historic and unique books, pamphlets, maps and manuscripts that are made available for research in our reading room.
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Funded in part by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).