WA Secretary of State Blogs

WSL Updates for December 7, 2017

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 Posted in For Libraries, Grants and Funding, Letters About Literature, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for December 7, 2017


Volume 13, December 7, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE 2018

2) EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOPS

3) ZINES CONTEST DEADLINE NEAR

4) EVALUATE HEALTH APPS

5) IMLS GRANT OPPORTUNITY

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE 2018

The Letters About Literature contest encourages young readers in grades 4-12 to read a book and write a letter to the author about how the book changed their view of the world or themselves. Students can write about works of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Entries in Spanish are accepted and will be translated for the Washington State judges.

Letter writers compete at three levels: Level 1: grades 4-6; Level 2: grades 7-8; Level 3: grades 9-12. State judges select the top letter writer in each level and the three winning letters advance to the national competition. The three state champions will each receive a $125 cash prize and the champions, runners up, and honorable mentions will be honored at an awards ceremony. State semifinalists will receive an award certificate in the mail. National winners receive a $1,000 cash prize and national honor winners receive a $200 cash prize.

Entries may be submitted through a school or library, or individually. Individual entries must be signed by a parent or guardian. The entry deadline for this year’s contest is January 12, 2018 for all levels. For more information and entry forms: sos.wa.gov/q/LAL2018.

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2) EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOPS

Work that is focused on public service can be both rewarding and costly. Being mindful of our own work narrative and understanding how we deal with conflict are two key areas that require our attention. Participants in this 3-hour workshop will learn how to: identify and adjust their self-talk; understand their personal work mission; develop awareness of cycles of conflict; and improve clarity and effectiveness of communication.

Registration is now open for “Self-Talk and Emotional Intelligence: Improving your Work Narrative.” Workshops are offered January through March 2018 in Vancouver, Tacoma, Marysville, Seattle and Richland. For more information and to register, visit sos.wa.gov/q/EI.

This workshop is sponsored by the Washington State Library and is funded in part by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

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3) ZINES CONTEST DEADLINE NEAR

The deadline for the Washington Historical Zine contest is fast approaching but it’s still not too late to create your Historical Zine! All entries must be postmarked by December 15th. For more information and the entry form, go to sos.wa.gov/q/Zine.

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4) EVALUATE HEALTH APPS

Today mobile applications connect more people to health, wellness, and fitness information than ever before. How can librarians help consumers and patients navigate the growing field of wellness applications? Across all mobile platforms, fitness and health applications are some of the most popular and most frequently downloaded. By better understanding how to evaluate applications, librarians can help patients and patrons make informed decisions about the apps that they choose to download.

“There’s an App for That! Consumer Apps for Health & Fitness” is the next session of the PNR Rendezvous monthly webinar from NNLM PNR. No registration is required.

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5) IMLS GRANT OPPORTUNITY

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is accepting applications for the second cycle of the FY 2018 National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L) and Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21). This is the final opportunity to apply for the FY 2018 NLG-L and LB21 grant programs.

The NLG-L program invests in projects that address challenges faced by the library and archive fields and generate results such as new tools, research findings, or models that can be widely used. The LB21 program supports professional development and training projects for libraries and archives.

From the preliminary proposals received by the February 1 deadline, IMLS will select applicants and invite them to submit full proposals by June 8, 2018. Informational webinars will be held Tuesday, December 12 at 11:00 p.m. PST and (repeated) on Thursday, December 14, 12:00 p.m. PST with program staff to answer questions from potential applicants. Recordings of the webinars will also be made available on the IMLS website. For information about how to participate in the webinars or to access the webinar recordings, visit the IMLS webinar webpage, which includes information about system compatibility.

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, December 11

Tuesday, December 12

Wednesday, December 13

Thursday, December 14

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DISCLAIMER: The State Library regularly highlights third-party events and online resources as a way to alert the library community to training and resource opportunities.  By doing so, we are not endorsing the content of the event, nor promoting any specific product, but merely providing this information as an FYI to librarians who must then decide what is right for them.

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Connect with Your Library: A Mobile app for Washington

Thursday, April 4th, 2013 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Grants and Funding, News | 2 Comments »


appThe Washington State Library is delighted to announce a $200,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family  Foundation which, in combination with Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds, will develop a mobile application or “app” to connect patrons with their libraries. Libraries that sign up by Friday, April 19, 2013, will have the opportunity to be in the initial phase of implementation.

LSTA funds will pay for development costs of a mobile app for academic, public, and tribal libraries to connect individuals with the library’s online services. Two statewide apps, one for academic libraries and one for public libraries, will be developed. The Allen Foundation funds will pay for public and tribal libraries to use and test the application for the year 2014. Academic libraries will need to pay the subscription fee themselves. Allen Foundation Funds will also pay for a state wide internet PR campaign to publicize the application’s availability.

After the completion of a formal procurement process, and with the advice of an advisory committee, Boopsie was selected as the vendor for this project. Boopsie currently supplies a similar app to the Seattle Public Library (as shown in the image) and to the King County Library System, as well as having provided a similar statewide implementation in the State of Virginia.

More information, including a listing of app features and the Intent to Participate Form can be found at: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/app. Questions? Contact Carolyn Petersen [email protected], 360.570.5560, or Will Stuivenga [email protected], 360.704.5217.

Autobiography with a Side of App

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News, Technology and Resources | Comments Off on Autobiography with a Side of App


First there was the book – okay, first there were tablets and scrolls and things, and THEN there was the book.

Then came the ebook. AKA the e-book, eBook, Ebook, etc. We’ll get that all straightened out one of these days.

And now? Now there is the app-book. Courtesy of none other than Sir Stephen Fry, self-described gadget-head, auteur, and world-renowned actor. With the release of his new book, The Fry Chronicles, Penguin Books has simultaneously released an ebook version (as one might expect in this day and age), and also an interactive app.

The app is called myFry and is available for the iPhone and iPad. I could say more, but they have a video that is probably more enlightening.

If you want more info, FutureBook has a couple good write-ups here and here.

WSL Updates for August 12, 2010

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 Posted in For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for August 12, 2010


Volume 6, August 12, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) ASK-WA LAUNCHES SMART PHONE APP

2) FULL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR DENVER LIBRARY CONFERENCE

3) TRANSFORMING LIFE AFTER 50

4) ACTIVATE YOUR LYRASIS MEMBERSHIP NOW

5) FALL BOOK BUZZ 2010

6) FREE FUNDRAISING E-BOOK

7) FREE ONLINE CE EVENTS NEXT WEEK

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