You might think the Washington State Library primarily serves as a great place to access rare books or collections about our state or the Northwest that usually are unavailable elsewhere.

But the State Library, located in Tumwater, also benefits many communities throughout Washington. It’s the only agency in Washington that is specifically designated by law to assist libraries and to ensure that Washington residents have access to library and information services. The State Library achieves these goals by using federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds, and offering projects, consulting services, grants, subsidies and training to improve libraries throughout Washington.

“Our State Library plays a key role in assisting local libraries throughout Washington, from providing grants to helping make free Imagine Academy training available to patrons, to providing educational materials that libraries use for youth programs,” said State Librarian Cindy Aden. “We enjoy our partnership with local libraries and helping them, so they can better serve their communities throughout Washington.”

From Oct. 1, 2015, to Sept. 30, 2016, local libraries in Washington received more than $1.1 million in LSTA grants and subsidies, and more than 2,300 individuals received training such as the Microsoft Imagine Academy and LEGO Mindstorms.

To get a better idea of how the State Library helps our communities, it recently compiled fact sheets to illustrate funding and other support from WSL to libraries across the state. They include Legislative District Fact Sheets and Congressional District Fact Sheets, as well as a Statewide Impact Fact Sheet.

You can learn more about how the State Library helps Washington communities by going here.

If you have a question that’s tough to answer, try the State Library’s Ask a Librarian feature. You can ask your question via e-mail or chat from 8 to 5 weekdays.