From the desk of Sean Lanksbury. PNW & Special Collections Librarian

Interested in researching the history of music and entertainment in the Pacific Northwest?  The Washington State Library’s Pacific Northwest and Special Collections has added new material for your study and enjoyment:

For a glimpse into the diversions provided to the early settlers of the west in the 1800’s, consider Jeremy Agnew’s Entertainment in the Old West: Theater, Music, Circuses, Medicine Shows, Prizefighting and Other Popular Amusements  (NW 791.0978 AGNEW 2011; Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, ©2011. 231 p.)  Agnew traces the prime era of popular theater and traveling amusements from its arrival in the 1850’s to the art form’s decline in the early 20^th Century.  It details the many performers and venues that lit up the Old West during these years and tells stories both settled into the popular imagination and lost to time.

Interested in contemporary entertainment?  Try Taking punk to the masses : from nowhere to Nevermind: A Visual History From the Permanent Collection (NW 782.4216 TAKING 2011; Seattle, Wash.: Fantagraphics Books, ©2011. 233 p.), by Jacob McMurray, Curator at Experience Music Project.  This collection of over 100 major objects held at the Experience Music Project, with reflections by the participants on the events that they represent provides a strong overview of the 30 years that brought punk rock music and culture from the margins to the mainstream. The collection includes a DVD containing more than 300 minutes worth of oral history from early members of punk rock movement, with much discussion of the Pacific Northwest’s contribution towards this volatile scene.

If you are looking for a more obscure history to research in-depth, then the State Library has you covered.  The library’s collection of Washington State Music Teachers’ Association, Inc. Records (MS 152) has a wealth of information about Music Teachers instructing and composing in the State of Washington, complete with programs, pamphlets, handbooks, musical scores and records published by this non-profit association, along with a substantial collection of their newsletter, Evergreen State Clarion. The library has included recent additions made by the organization.  The materials cannot be checked out, but they are available to interested researchers Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. -4:30 p.m., at the State Library Reading Room (Point Plaza East, 6880 Capitol Blvd., Tumwater, WA). This collection

Maybe you would rather take a video home and kick your feet up and relax a bit while soaking up local history?  Then check out the documentary, Wheedle’s Groove: Seattle’s Forgotten Soul of the 1960s and ‘70s (NW DVD 782.4216 WHEEDLE 2011; Seattle, WA : Cinewax, ©2011. 87 min.)  This film, narrated by Washington Hip-Hop artist Sir Mix-A-Lot, covers the explosion of funk and soul musicians from Seattle’s Central District, and how the disco craze of the mid-1970’s stalled their ascent to national popularity.  Filled with fantastic performances and rare footage, the spirit of a transitional era comes alive amidst the backdrop of a very different Emerald City.

We invite you to visit the Washington State Library in Tumwater and check out items from our circulating collection in-person. If you are far away, you can request materials through Resource Sharing (Interlibrary Loan) with the library branch nearest to you.  If your interest is piqued, or you have any reference questions, the library’s “Ask-a-Librarian” service is at your service!