Here at the State Library we love maps. We have a large number of maps in our collection, some which have been digitized and many, many more in our stacks. In recent years we’ve fallen in love with something called Storymaps, which is a web platform that allows you to create maps to tell a story. As our service area includes the entire state we’ve found it to be a fun and different way to tell the State Library’s story. …
From the desk of Rand Simmons Remember these? The Administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter Passage/ratification of the 26th Amendment (allowing 18-year-olds to vote) Watergate The end of the Vietnam War The US Bicentennial Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 The Iran Hostage Crisis OPEC and the Oil Crises of the 1970s Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act The 1970’s. Ugh! High gas prices, low mpg, and 55 mph speed limits! So what was going…
From the desk of Kathryn Devine, from materials compiled in part by Judy Pitchford. Have you seen the library’s Classics in Washington History page? It’s an online collection of full-text books on Washington History. Topics include county and regional history, military history, women’s stories, and other special collections that “bring together rare, out of print titles for easy access by students, teachers, genealogists, and historians.” In remembrance of the 75th anniversary of Executive Order 9066 on February 19, we’d like…
Since taking the helm of the State Library on August 1, 2016 our new librarian Cindy Aden has been on the go! While Cindy is a past president of WLA and has worked in Washington for many years, it’s been a while since she visited some of the more remote corners of the state. Cindy set herself the ambitious goal of meeting every one of her employees before the year was out. While most of the State Library staff is…
From the desk of Nikki Chiampa The Centralia Daily Hub began as an Independent newspaper on September 29, 1913 with editor George A. Dew and publisher Madison “Elsy” Ellsworth Cue at the helm. The other publisher of the paper was the Hub Printing Company, Inc., an enterprise of which Cue was president. The Daily Hub was issued every afternoon with the exception of Sundays, reporting on both international and local news. Within a year of its inception, circulation of the…
The Washington State Library (WSL) has compiled fact sheets to illustrate funding and support from WSL to libraries across the state. We do this annually organized by legislative and congressional district. Our Congressional District fact sheets are now available online and we expect to have Legislative District fact sheets posted on our website by the end of February. The Washington State Library is the only agency in Washington that is specifically designated by law to assist libraries and to ensure that residents…
We received this message from Jamie Allwine, the Library Manager at Timberland’s Winlock Library. It was such a great story that we asked her permission to share it. Thanks Jamie, you’ve made our day. The Winlock Library’s ascent into STEM really started with a WSL workshop that Joe Olayvar and Evelyn Lindberg put on at Timberland’s Service Center. I had never touched a programmable robot but I left that day KNOWING that the kids (all ages) of Winlock would love…
Here’s a “tickler” from our new newsletter. Intrigued? Click here to read the entire issue. Would you like to have the next issue show up in your inbox? You’ll find a subscribe button in the upper left corner of the newsletter’s page. A letter from our State Librarian, Cindy Aden Here at the Washington State Library, we’re excited about the New Year and what 2017 has in store! We’re also excited about the winter 2017 edition of For Your Information, the State Library’s…
From the desk of Rand Simmons In the year 2017 “Fake News” is on everyone’s lips and lately the news has been dominated by speculation that Russia intervened in the US election. As librarians we know to look for a reputable source and to verify information. Federal publications help keep the public informed. The Washington State Library is a federal depository library (Federal Depository Library Program, Government Publishing Office) and serves as the Regional Depository Library for the states of Washington…
The following are publications received during September – December 2016. The purpose of this list is two-fold: one, to create an awareness of the breadth and depth of the Washington State Library’s federal documents collection and two, to alert readers to specific titles available to them either online or in print (or other tangible mediums such as microfiche). The titles included in this document represent the many valuable publications produced by the Government Publishing Office (GPO) and distributed to federal depository libraries through…