WA Secretary of State Blogs

WSL Updates for January 25, 2018

Wednesday, January 24th, 2018 Posted in Digital Collections, Federal and State Publications, For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for January 25, 2018


Volume 14, January 25, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) CE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

2) HEALTH NUMERACY AND YOU

3) COMIC CON AT THE LIBRARY

4) RURAL PUBLIC LIBRARY GRANTS

5) ONLINE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD COMPLETED

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) CE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

It’s time once again for the semi-annual Continuing Education Needs Assessment from the Washington State Library and the Washington Library Association: www.surveymonkey.com/r/CE_2018_WSL.

If you took the survey in the past and felt overwhelmed by the choices, you’ll be happy to know that this year we have completely re-written it. The 2018 survey is a shorter, more succinct version.

Please fill out our semi-annual survey, and share it with all of your colleagues. We would like to hear from the whole Washington library community: people working in libraries at all levels, friends of the library, trustees and library board members. We take continuing education seriously and we rely on your input to help us steer the ship.

Please forgive any cross-posting. We’re trying to catch everyone. Thank you!

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2) HEALTH NUMERACY AND YOU

As health care becomes more sophisticated and complex, it’s more and more likely that we will face situations where we have to use numerical skills to figure out our own treatment choices. Our capacity to deal with the numerical component of health information is called “health numeracy.” In this free webinar we’ll learn more about health numeracy and how it plays a role in our health, discuss the ways that library staff and others already work with users around numbers and health, and uncover best practices to make our assistance even more effective.

First Tuesdays for February, 2018:

  • Making Sense of the Numbers—Health Numeracy and You (and Me)
  • Tuesday, February 6, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PST
  • Presented by Ann Glusker, National Network of Libraries of Medicine—Pacific Northwest Region
  • For more information and to register: sos.wa.gov/q/HealthNum.

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3) COMIC CON AT THE LIBRARY

Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC) and The Seattle Public Library have teamed up to host a number of panels geared towards professional librarians and educators on Thursday, March 1st. With a particular focus on social issues, the program will feature content from Boom! Studios, First Second Books, Valiant, Penguin Random House, and the American Library Association.

An ECCC Professional Badge is required to attend. Pro Badges are free of charge to educators and library staff. Please feel free to share this information with your professional contacts and encourage them to register for a badge as space is limited! Central Library, Thursday, March 1, 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

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4) RURAL PUBLIC LIBRARY GRANTS

The Pilcrow Foundation, a national non-profit public charity, provides a 2-to-1 match to rural public libraries that receive a grant through its Children’s Book Project and contribute $200-$400 through local sponsors for the purchase of up to $1200 worth (at retail value) of new, quality, hardcover children’s books.

Grant recipients can select from a list of over 500 quality hardcover children’s books best suited for their community, including award-winning and star-reviewed titles from educational and literary organizations. The Pilcrow Foundation accepts applications from independent rural public libraries and Native American Tribal libraries as well as libraries that are part of a county, regional, or cooperative system. Details:

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5) ONLINE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD COMPLETED

In cooperation with the Library of Congress, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has completed the digitization of all historical issues of the Congressional Record dating to the first appearance of this publication on March 5, 1873. The final release of this project, covering the period 1873-1890, is being made available to the public free of charge on GPO’s govinfo site.

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, January 29

Tuesday, January 30

Wednesday, January 31

Thursday, February 1

Friday, February 2

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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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WSL Updates for October 12, 2017

Thursday, October 12th, 2017 Posted in For Libraries, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates, Washington Center for the Book | Comments Off on WSL Updates for October 12, 2017


Volume 13, October 12, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARDS

2) 2016 PUBLIC LIBRARY STATS

3) LSTA 5-YEAR PLAN APPROVED

4) HEALTH IN THE HEADLINES

5) © IS COMPLICATED

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARDS

Join the Washington Center for the Book on Saturday to celebrate the literature and incredible authors of our state at this year’s Washington State Book Awards. These awards recognize outstanding poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s and teen literature published in 2016 and penned by a Washington writer. This event is free and open to all. For more information and a list of finalists, visit sos.wa.gov/q/Awards.

Event details:

  • Saturday, October 14, 7:00 p.m. at the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library in downtown Seattle.
  • At 8 p.m. following the ceremony there will be a reception and a book signing.

The Washington Center for the Book, a partnership of the Washington State Library and The Seattle Public Library, administers the annual Washington State Book Awards given for outstanding books published by Washington authors and to bring attention to the quality of writing being produced in Washington. Books are judged on literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality of the publication.

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2) 2016 PUBLIC LIBRARY STATS

Need statistics on public libraries in the state of Washington? Interested in salary and benefits data for libraries? Looking for a map of public library service in Washington? The Washington State Library (WSL) is pleased to announce that the 2016 Washington Public Library Statistical Report is now available; visit sos.wa.gov/q/stats.

Public library statistics including budget, collections, and usage data, are collected and compiled on an annual basis by WSL Library Development staff and are part of the Public Libraries Survey, administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Questions? For more information, contact Evelyn Lindberg, State Data Coordinator, at [email protected].

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3) LSTA 5-YEAR PLAN APPROVED

The Washington State Library is pleased to announce that its LSTA (Library Services & Technology Act) 5-year plan for federal fiscal years 2018 – 2022 has been officially approved by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the federal funding agency in charge of the LSTA program. The approval letter has been posted on the WSL website, where the plan itself, together with related documents, all in PDF format, are also available.

In the approval letter, Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew, IMLS Director, states that “. . . your Plan documents the need for and impact of LSTA funds in the communities you serve. It is an excellent framework for the future, and it is approved for the full five-year period.” For more information, and to access the 5-year plan, visit sos.wa.gov/q/libdev.

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4) HEALTH IN THE HEADLINES

Health Issues in the Headlines: Reading Between the Lines is a National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) class offered on the Moodle platform for the month of November and will introduce participants to the environment of health reporting as well as some tips and resources that will help you and your patrons navigate the world of health news. It’s free and you can work at your own pace but attendees are encouraged to participate in forum discussions in a timely manner.

This class is eligible for 4 Medical Library Association (MLA) CE credits as well as for the Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS). For more information, and to register, visit sos.wa.gov/q/Health-Headlines.

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Questions about library resources and fair use in online education are expanding from the appropriate use of journal articles and eBooks to published images, video clips and more in faculty-created resources for instruction that our licensing terms often don’t explicitly address. What to do?

Join Nicole (Nikki) Dettmar, Curriculum Design Librarian at the University of Washington Health Sciences Library for Copyright & Online Learning Resources: It’s Complicated!, a free webinar in the PNR Rendezvous series from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Pacific Northwest Region.

  • Wednesday, October 18, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PDT. No registration required. Visit sos.wa.gov/q/PNR-copyright for more details and connection information.

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, October 16

Tuesday, October 17

Wednesday, October 18

Thursday, October 19

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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.

Subscribe to WSL presents: News from Washington Libraries!

The Washington State Library has gone social! Friend/follow us at:

WSL Updates for August 10, 2017

Thursday, August 10th, 2017 Posted in Digital Collections, For Libraries, News, Updates, Washington Center for the Book | Comments Off on WSL Updates for August 10, 2017


Volume 13, August 10, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARDS

2) GALAXY SCIFI ARCHIVE

3) THE STATE OF EBOOKS IN LIBRARIES

4) MORE THAN #MOTIVATIONMONDAY

5) LIBRARIES, LGBTQ YOUTH, & HOMELESSNESS

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) WASHINGTON STATE BOOK AWARDS

The Washington Center for the Book, a partnership of The Seattle Public Library and Washington State Library, announces the finalists in eight categories for the 2017 Washington State Book Awards (WSBA) for outstanding books published by Washington authors in 2016. This is the 51st year of the program, formerly called the Governor’s Writers Awards.

Winners will be announced at the awards celebration, held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 at the Seattle Public Library’s Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636. A reception and book signing will follow in the Norcliffe Foundation Living Room on Level 3 of the Central Library, with book sales by Third Place Books. This event is free and open to the public.

A book award is given based on the strength of the publication’s literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality to an author who was born in Washington State or is a current resident and has maintained residence here for at least three years. The authors of the award-winning books, as well as the illustrator of the picture book, will receive a $500 honorarium, thanks to the generous support of The Seattle Public Library Foundation.

For a complete list of Award finalists, and the names of this year’s judges, visit sos.wa.gov/q/WSBA.

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2) GALAXY SCIFI ARCHIVE

One of the science fiction genre’s best magazines is now freely available online. The Internet Archive is hosting a collection of Galaxy Science Fiction, which published many seminal works in the field, including an early version of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man. Included are stories from such SciFi legends as Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Theodore Sturgeon, and many more. Although the run is not quite complete, the archive comprises 355 separate issues, ranging from 1950 through 1976. In addition to the Galaxy collection, the Archive also has a complete run of Hugo Gernsback’s Amazing Stories.

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3) THE STATE OF EBOOKS IN LIBRARIES

Libraries have been handling eBooks for quite some time now, but while libraries have time-tested workflows for online serials, eBooks present complexities that may require new workflows. The online format provides many opportunities for libraries but also many challenges.

Join us for an engaging and informative discussion on these opportunities and challenges. This Forum will discuss the following topics:

  • Collection development and acquisitions models
  • Technical Services workflows
  • eBook licensing and metadata
  • Faculty outreach and user instruction and support
  • Usage and assessment

e-Forums are moderated, electronic discussion forums that provide an opportunity for librarians to discuss matters of interest on an ALCTS email discussion list. These discussions are free of charge and available to anyone who wishes to subscribe to the email list. Details:

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4) MORE THAN #MOTIVATIONMONDAY

Employees motivated to deliver top notch service are key to a library’s success. But many in library organizations don’t know how to effectively instigate employee motivation. As a critical management and leadership skill, it’s important to know what motivation is and isn’t, what works and what doesn’t. This WebJunction webinar, More Than #MotivationMonday: Motivating Your Team Any Day of the Week, will explore factors that influence motivation at work and review strategies for supervisors to keep their teams motivated and productive. No matter the size of your library or your role, you will be inspired to find your own motivation and will be able to catalyze others!

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5) LIBRARIES, LGBTQ YOUTH, & HOMELESSNESS

Libraries as Allies – A Beginner’s Guide for Libraries: Welcoming and Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth Experiencing Homelessness is a toolkit which provides an introduction to public libraries on the topic of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning) youth experiencing homelessness. The toolkit comes out of a pilot IMLS grant, the LAMBDA (Library Anchor Models for Bridging Diversity Achievements) project, which brought together the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as well as four public libraries, two in east Tennessee—Clinch River and Ocoee—and two in California: San Francisco Public Library and San Diego County Library.

During the three years of the grant, the LAMBDA project provided trainings, workshops, resources, a website, and a Summit. For more information about the LAMBDA project, visit lambda.sis.utk.edu. The toolkit is available at lambda.sis.utk.edu/libraries-as-allies-toolkit. Submit questions or comments to Julie Ann Winkelstein, PhD, Post-doctoral researcher, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, at [email protected].

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, August 14

Tuesday, August 15

Wednesday, August 16

Thursday, August 17

Friday, August 18

Saturday, August 19

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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.

Subscribe to WSL presents: News from Washington Libraries!

The Washington State Library has gone social! Friend/follow us at:

Book Bingo, it’s never too late!

Thursday, July 20th, 2017 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Washington Center for the Book | Comments Off on Book Bingo, it’s never too late!


picture of a Bingo card.  Stars and moon for decorationBy now we hope you’ve heard about the new partnership between the Seattle Public Library (SPL) and the Washington State Library.  Yes, we are talking about the Washington Center for the Book. As with all new  endeavors, it can take a while for the behind the scenes work to emerge but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.  Lots of ideas and projects are being cooked up, and we hope to announce things soon.  Meanwhile, if you don’t have your own Summer Reading Book Bingo going, SPL kindly adapted their Bingo card and shares it with you to give you a taste of things to come.  So,  here’s a Bingo card that your library can download, print and hand out to your patrons as we head into the dog days of summer. It’s never too late to read a book! How many do you think you can read before Labor Day? Happy Reading!

WSL Updates for July 20, 2017

Wednesday, July 19th, 2017 Posted in Digital Collections, For the Public, Grants and Funding, News, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for July 20, 2017


Volume 13, July 20, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) IMLS BUDGET VICTORY

2) TWO NEW RURAL HERITAGE COLLECTIONS

3) CENTER FOR THE BOOK

4) MEASURES THAT MATTER PART 3

5) GRANTS – RECORDINGS AT RISK

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Read the rest of this entry »

Washington State Library joins forces with the Seattle Public Library to promote reading and literacy statewide through Center for the book

Thursday, June 8th, 2017 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News, Washington Reads | Comments Off on Washington State Library joins forces with the Seattle Public Library to promote reading and literacy statewide through Center for the book


Picture of a woman signing books

Book signing at the Washington State Book Awards

The Washington State Library has joined forces with The Seattle Public Library to lead the work of the Washington Center for the Book.

The Seattle Public Library was designated as the home for the Washington State Center for the Book by the U.S. Library of Congress back in 1989.

The mission of the Washington Center of the Book is to promote Washington’s literary heritage and the importance of books, reading, literacy and libraries.

There is a Center for the Book in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“We are very excited to collaborate with The Seattle Public Library to broaden the reach of the Center for the Book in our state,” said Washington State Librarian Cindy Aden. “We believe by combining our efforts, we can be more effective in strengthening Washington’s community of readers.”

She noted that some State Library programs – such as the Letters about Literature contest – will receive an added boost from the partnership, since they will now be produced jointly. Letters for Literature invites children from across the state to write letters to their favorite authors.

Three young girls smiling and holding a certificate

Washington’s three top winners for the 2017 Letters About Literature contest

Marcellus Turner, city librarian for The Seattle Public Library, said collaborating with the State Library will heighten awareness about many other activities local libraries offer to support writing, reading and literature.

“Events such as The Seattle Public Library’s annual Washington State Book Awards and the Seattle Reads program – which connects communities with books and authors through discussion – will benefit,” Turner said.

In addition to creating and calling attention to programs that highlight Washington’s robust literary heritage, future goals include offering unifying literary activities and promotions across our state. “We are just getting started, but we intend to explore opportunities to increase reading and literacy in Washington in new and innovative ways,” Turner said.

 

Seattle Public Librarians Wow Teens in SE Washington.

Thursday, October 8th, 2015 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public | Comments Off on Seattle Public Librarians Wow Teens in SE Washington.


Ask WABelieving that a good way to reach teenagers is through that tool they all so dearly love (their phone), in late September, Ask WA Coordinator Nono Burling headed to SE Washington.  With the start of the new school year she hoped to spread the word about Washington State’s Virtual Reference Cooperative and how it could help them.

But wait, step back!  What is Ask WA you ask?  Ask WA is a cooperative of public and academic libraries around the state that work together to provide 24/7 help from a librarian to Washington residents.  Almost 60 libraries and library systems belong to the cooperative and any library in Washington is eligible to join.  Washington State is one of the “pioneers” for this program.  We have many librarians who have been doing chat reference for many years and are highly skilled.

But back to the road show… Knowing that some of the smaller libraries in our cooperative are hard pressed for time, Nono offered to visit their High School students to tell them about the program.  Asotin County library and The Denny Ashby library in Pomeroy readily accepted the offer and made arrangements with their local high schools.

Day one: Clarkston High School.  Asotin County Library has adopted the Library Now app which WSL developed a few years ago.  This was a boon as there is a live webpage where she could demo just how it would look on a student’s smartphone.  The teachers allowed the kids to get out their phones and install the app right then and there.  In each class Nono talked about the service, showed how to find the download app on the Asotin County Library’s webpage and then connected with a librarian.  During the early morning classes we chatted with librarians on the east coast but later in the day it was all Washington librarians.  The kids asked great questions and were very excited to be chatting live with a librarian.  Best story from Clarkston … the sophomores.  After the first “normal” question a hand was raised.  “Ask her ‘Why did the plane crash?’” “Hmmm…Can you give me a bit more information?”  “Oh it’s a joke.” So the question was typed in clarifying that it was a joke.  While the librarian was searching the answer was requested.  “Because the pilot was a loaf of bread!”  ??? The whole class looked dumbfounded; this made no sense.  Then up on the screen, an answer from the librarian, “Because the pilot was a loaf of bread!”  The class erupted!  Point and Match to Jen from Seattle Public Library!

Day two: Was a repeat performance in Pomeroy.  The school had set up a schedule so that over the course of the day Nono would see every 7th-12th grader in Pomeroy.  Bouncing back and forth between two classrooms she chatted with librarians from as far away as Maine and Minnesota. But then a Seattle Public Librarian named Becky stepped in.  Apparently she enjoyed herself because she picked up class after class.  “Hello 7th grade!”  She completely WOWed the kids fielding questions from “How tall is Mount Everest?” (29,029 feet) to “How many bones does a dog have?” (It depends on the breed, tail bones you know!), to “How many strands of hair does the average person have?” (Every half square inch of the human skin has about 10 hairs.) “Ewwwww!”  One Reader’s Advisory question had the kids scrambling for a pencil to write down the recommended books. The kids were very impressed and excited enough to return often over the next few weeks.

All in all it was a successful visit, and the students of SE Washington now have a new place to find answers when they are stuck on an assignment.  Are you an Ask WA member that is interested in having Nono visit your school? Are you not currently a member library but would like to know more about the program?  Either way please contact Nono Burling.

Washington Libraries Shine in eBook Checkouts

Thursday, January 9th, 2014 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News, Technology and Resources | Comments Off on Washington Libraries Shine in eBook Checkouts


One Million Digital Checkouts Club Official Members 2013

Two Washington libraries are in OverDrive’s 2013 Million Digital Checkouts Club. The King County Library System (KCLS) actually led the way with the most OverDrive digital checkouts of any library system worldwide! Seattle Public Library (SPL) was also in the club, at position number 6. OverDrive recently published the numbers (see below) on their blog.

OverDrive is a vendor which libraries frequently use to provide access to downloadable digital content, especially eBooks and eAudiobooks. Here are the 2013 members of OverDrive’s Million Digital Checkouts Club:

Last year, only two libraries broke the 1 million mark in digital circulation, but the number one both years was KCLS. We posted the top five for 2012 here on the blog last March. SPL was number 4 in 2012.

Here at the Washington State Library we also have the privilege of managing an OverDrive consortium for a group of smaller libraries, most of whom could not afford to offer this service to their patrons on their own. Going in together, these 39 libraries provide the Washington Anytime Library, also powered by OverDrive, and partially subsidized with federal LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) funds administered by IMLS (The Institute for Museum and Library Services). The group calls itself the Washington Digital Library Consortium (WDLC).

The 39 WDLC libraries serve a combined population of 725,362 which is less than King County’s 1,362,870, but more than Seattle’s 616,500. But, the group has a way to go to make it into the same league as KCLS and SPL, at least in terms of digital checkouts. In 2013, the Washington Anytime Library had 380,000 checkouts, compared to 216,000 in 2012. Still, that’s a 76% annual increase, compared to the 22-25% increases shown by the larger systems. So look out big guys, the WDLC is on your tail!

Congratulations to all of these libraries for staying relevant by offering eBooks and eAudiobooks to their eager patrons, who love to read, whether in digital formats, or in traditional print. It will be fascinating to track how these numbers continue to increase in years to come!

Washington Libraries Lead in eBook Circulation

Thursday, March 14th, 2013 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, News | 1 Comment »


ALA-ebook

OverDrive, one of the most popular public library eBook and eAudiobook vendors, recently announced its “Library eBook Leaders” for 2012. Two Washington libraries ranked in the top 5!

King County Library System (KCLS) was Number 1 in eBook and other digital title circulation, with Seattle Public Library (SPL) not far behind, in the Number 4 spot. Here’s a listing of the top 5, with the circ numbers:

1. King County Library System, Wash. (1.3 million checkouts)

2. New York Public Library (1.1 million checkouts)

3. Toronto Public Library (900,000 checkouts)

4. Seattle Public Library (850,000 checkouts)

5. Hennepin County Library, Minn. (750,000 checkouts)

Congratulations to KCLS & SPL for leading the North American continent in eBook circulation!

Seattle Public Library, Down But Not Out

Thursday, January 24th, 2013 Posted in Articles, Digital Collections, For the Public, Random News from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection, State Library Collections | Comments Off on Seattle Public Library, Down But Not Out


SPL 3From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

This week’s random article comes from the Jan. 5, 1901 issue of The Ballard News, published at a time when Ballard was an independent incorporated city. But the news itself is actually about Seattle, and the almost total destruction of the Seattle Public Library by fire on the evening where 1900 turned into 1901.

According to John Douglas Marshall’s book, Place of Learning, Place of Dreams (2004), SPL had struggled in the early years to find funding and a permanent home. On Jan. 12, 1899 the Library opened in the posh quarters of the Yesler mansion, and patron usage soared. But City Librarian Charles Wesley Smith expressed concern the enormous Victorian wooden structure was a fire hazard. The memories of Seattle’s great 1889 inferno were still fresh.

Smith’s fears were well founded. Practically the whole collection went up in smoke on the cusp of 1900/1901. Andrew Carnegie came to the rescue and in short order a fine new library was constructed. The cause of the fire was never fully explained. There was some feeling it was sparked by someone who wanted to force the issue of finding a secure home for SPL. One prominent Seattle educator even declared, “All glory to the man who applied the torch.”

This article was apparently originally published in the Seattle Mail and Herald. It is interesting how many of the points made in promoting the local library in 1901 remain valid over a century later:

SPL 2

 $35,000 WORTH OF BOOKS

 That Was Seattle’s Loss in Tuesday Night’s Fire

 “Ever since Seattle’s great fire the city has been learning to turn apparent evil into good and to make the most of her calamities. The same spirit which prompted her to rise up in the ashes of 1889 and build on new foundations the basis of a greater city than could ever have sprung from the old, will not desert her now, as she stands and looks in the ashes of what was, a few days since, the pride of every man, woman and child on Puget Sound,– the Seattle Public Library.”

“All are by this time acquainted with the fact that on New Year’s night the library, consisting of $35,000 worth of books and  paraphernalia, was destroyed by fire.”

“Until this calamity few people had known in just what an exalted position they held this institution; but the calamity has appealed more directly to the people than would the destruction of any other institution, public or private, in the city, with the possible exception of the University.”

“A public library such as this, is of incalculable value to any city in which it is located. A public library operated in such a satisfactory way as was this one is, we believe, of as much value to the city as the churches combined.”

“The Seattle Library had 8,200 patrons, and it may be safely calculated on the basis of five readers for every card– more than 40,000 readers.”

“It had an average of 2,500 visitors daily. The number going in and out of the library building on last Thanksgiving day, aggregated 3,000.”

“There is another fact– and it is important– that hundreds and even thousands of men and girls, who had not decent rooms or apartments, spent all their leisure time in the library. Now that the establishment is destroyed and temporarily inaccessible, they are seen walking listlessly about the streets or lounging in clubs or saloons– for they are out of a home. These, and the further fact that education and high ideals are the acknowledged solution to the problem of crime, are some of the reasons urged why the Seattle Public Library was of such vital importance to the city. Outside of all other argument there is the fact that no other city of Seattle’s size could afford to be without a well equipped complete library.”

“We desire to commend the Library committee of the city council upon their prompt and decisive action. It seems that they have no other thought in mind than that the city must at once proceed, not only to place the library back in even a better state than before, but more important than all else, to purchase a site, forthwith, and construct a fireproof library building that will answer for all time.”

“This is as it should be. Seattle is not a city of ephemeral hopes and iridescent booms. She is building for all time. Mr. Smith, the man who has conducted to such perfect satisfaction, the affairs of the City Library for so many years, has been working for two years past to this one end– a permanent library building for Seattle. The city can afford to take up the matter at once,– rather, it can not afford not to, and we are glad to be able to inform our readers that the committee will report to this effect to the city council.”

“The locations being considered as most desirable are, we are informed, the present site and the old University grounds. It is not known that either of these is available at reasonable figures, but they, together with others, are under contemplation of the committee.”