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Tag: Steve Willis

State Library’s past, future celebrated

State Library’s past, future celebrated

Central Library Services Manager Steve Willis holds up the new booklet about the Washington Territorial Library during his talk at Tuesday’s celebration event. Political turf battles. Unsavory characters. Nepotism. You normally wouldn’t associate these terms with a library. But they help describe the turbulent, ever-changing  era of the Washington Territorial Library, which was established in 1853 in Olympia and remains Washington’s oldest cultural institution. The Washington State Library hosted a public celebration of the Library’s 160th anniversary at its Tumwater…

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160 Years and Counting — National Library Week

160 Years and Counting — National Library Week

From the desks of Rand Simmons, State Librarian, and Steve Willis, Manager for the Central Library. We celebrate National Library Week by harkening back to our founding 160 years ago. The Washington Territorial Library, the predecessor to the Washington State Library, was born from the Organic Act of 1853 which established the Washington Territory. Section 17 states that “the sum of five thousand dollars … be expended by and under the direction of the governor of Washington, in the purchase…

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