From the desk of Anna Nash Every year I look forward to April because it’s National Poetry Month. It is my favorite time for programming in the Institutional Library Services branches. The talent I see each year is at time overwhelming. It is a labor of love. We arrange workshops, presentations, and open mics and in return we get to listen to and read truly amazing poetry. I don’t think I can say it any better than I did in…
From the desk of Jean Baker – Library Associate, Washington State Penitentiary I was sitting in the office yesterday and someone pointed to the hallway and said, “Look at all of the puppies”. I went out in the hallway and found about a dozen puppies spilling out of a basket and climbing over each other. Standing around in a circle were about 10 grown men some with tattoos and ponytails cuddling, petting and cooing at the little canines thus erasing the…
Información en español From the desk of Rand Simmons Need assistance finding information? Why don’t you Ask WA? “Ask WA,” you say. Ask-WA is a cooperative of more than 60 libraries throughout Washington State, both public and academic, that provide online reference services through chat, email, and instant messaging (IM). This statewide network is tied to a global network that provides access to online reference service, 24/7. So, when you enter the Ask-WA portal, no matter the day or time, you…
Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen recently held poetry workshops for the inmates at both the Coyote Ridge Correctional Center and the Washington State Penitentiary. Washington State Library has an institutional library branch in each of these facilities and the workshops were held in our libraries. You may not think a prison would be a place that was receptive of poetry but both reported successful programs. At the Washington State Penitentiary’s program nine inmates attended as well as a couple of…
From the desk of Jessica Aws, Library Associate at the Washington Corrections Center. During April, the Washington Corrections Center Branch of the Washington State Library was a gathering place of poets. In celebration of National Poetry Month, the WCC library hosted a series of events aimed at encouraging artistic expression and building community bridges. The events of the month kicked off with a poetry workshop that was facilitated by Suzanne Simons, a professor of Writing, Journalism, and Social Sciences at The…
From the desk of Karen S. Diehm, Secretary Senior, Stafford Creek Corrections Center Write fat, edit lean – Garth Stein On Friday, May 8th, 2015 Garth Stein made his 3rd visit to Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) . We think he’s beginning to like it here! We originally invited Garth to SCCC due to his novel, The Art of Racing in the Rain, which is narrated by a dog. This beautiful book has over 4 million copies in print and was…
On February 24, 2015 Library Associate Jean Baker participated in a “Help and Program Fair” at The Washington State Penitentiary. This is an annual event with the intent of reinforcing positive changes in the prison environment and is held in response to the establishment of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy. The purpose of this event is to present all of the programs available to inmates and to help them choose different and more productive paths while serving their sentences. This…
CDs… do people still use CDs or is all music “consumed” digitally these days? Across the state, people are cleaning out their CD collections and think that these “dinosaurs” are no longer viable. But wait… we have an audience in Washington who will gratefully, happily and enthusiastically take those CDs off your hands. One of the more popular items in WSL’s Institutional libraries, the library branches in our prisons and state hospitals, are the CDs. The inmates and patients do…
Kathleen Benoun, long time Library Associate at the Western State Hospital library, had an idea. For over thirty years Kathleen has delivered excellent service to the hospital patients. In the past Kathleen used to take the library to the patrons, presenting programs ranging from trivia contests to poetry reading. However over the time that she has worked at the Hospital library, like librarians across the nation, Kathleen has had to learn to do more with less. As the solo librarian…
To quote a prominent library administrator: “Every library is designed to serve a specific community: Public libraries serve the people of a specific city or county. Academic libraries serve the faculty, staff, and students of a specific college or university. School libraries serve the students and teachers of a specific school. Medical libraries serve doctors, nurses, and patients at a specific hospital. Law libraries serve the attorneys and staff of a specific law firm. Each library is designed to add value…