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Category: For Libraries

Stumps and the Tides: Early Newspapers in Washington Territory, Part 2

Stumps and the Tides: Early Newspapers in Washington Territory, Part 2

Thanks to past and ongoing digitization efforts at the Washington State Library, Washington Digital Newspapers hosts digital copies of some of the earliest newspapers published in Washington. Through their columns, early territorial editors provided a glimpse of some of the hardships faced by settlers in general, and by publishers in particular in the 1850s. This blog, one of a three part series, covers the challenges publishers confronted in obtaining supplies for themselves and their presses. The September 16, 1854 issue…

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Perched Between the Stumps and the Tides: Early Newspapers in Washington Territory

Perched Between the Stumps and the Tides: Early Newspapers in Washington Territory

Thanks to past and ongoing digitization efforts at the Washington State Library, Washington Digital Newspapers hosts digital copies of some of the earliest newspapers published in Washington. Through their columns, early territorial editors provided a glimpse of some of the hardships faced by settlers in general, and by publishers in particular in the 1850s. This blog, one of a three part series, covers the arrival of newspaper publishers in Olympia and Steilacoom and the housing they found in these early…

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Librarian sitting with archival newspapers
Chronicling America and Navigating Newspapers

Chronicling America and Navigating Newspapers

Through multiple National Digital Newspaper Program grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities in conjunction with the Library of Congress, the Washington State Library has contributed over 300,000 pages of digitized Washington newspapers to Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) since 2008. The contributions from the Washington State Library are part of the over 16 million searchable newspaper pages from 48 states and two territories made freely available on Chronicling America. Ben Lee is working to extend the usability of these digitized…

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A volunteer narrator records a book in the studios at the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library.
Get to know WTBBL’s audiobook production in their new webinar

Get to know WTBBL’s audiobook production in their new webinar

On April 29th, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library’s (WTBBL) Director, Danielle Miller; Audio Book Production Supervisor, John Pai; and Assistant Manager, Alycia Ensminger, hosted a webinar, Getting to Know WTBBL’s Audiobook Production, for the Washington State Library. This webinar discussed how an audiobook is produced: starting with selection of materials, the narrators and narration process, production and editing of recordings, and the final stages of production as staff prepare the audiobook for circulation. The speakers gave an overview of how…

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Exploring the 1918 Influenza Pandemic with the State Library’s Digital Collections

Exploring the 1918 Influenza Pandemic with the State Library’s Digital Collections

In 1918, while Washingtonians were anxiously awaiting for their boys to come home near the end of WWI, reports were coming over from Europe about soldiers dying from a mysterious Spanish Influenza. Reports of “la grippe,” the “flu,” and “pneumonia,” the epidemic was caused by a strain of Pfeiffer’s Bacillus, named after the epidemiologist who discovered it in 1892. By mid-September, before the war was over, it had reached the shores of Washington and at least 23 other states. Warnings…

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Give Big graphic for May 2020 showing WTBBL staff and patrons.
WTBBL participates in GiveBIG

WTBBL participates in GiveBIG

On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 5th and 6th, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) will be participating in GiveBIG Washington 2020, a 48-hour long online giving campaign that is designed to support Washington state nonprofit organizations. This year, WTBBL’s goal is to raise $10,000 to purchase a 3D printer for their Youth Services Program, launch a Teen Advisory Board, and provide additional program support. WTBBL’s Youth Services program provides books and materials in all formats for children of…

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Celebrate National Poetry Month!

Celebrate National Poetry Month!

The Washington State Library celebrates National Poetry Month by bringing poetry to the public throughout April. We hope these resources will help you celebrate the joys and solace that can be found in the beauty of the written word. For Claudia Castro Luna (@wapoetlaureate), Washington State Poet Laureate, providing a voice to a sheltering public is a means for us to offer each other “fortitude, hope, resilience, humor.” Check out her Poems to Lean On series. Poetry Northwest (@poetrynw) is…

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Everything Old is New Again

Everything Old is New Again

Whether you are sewing from scratch or upcycling, we’ve got you covered! In honor of National Sewing Month and recent worldwide interest in upcycling clothes, we’d like to share some little-known resources here at The Washington State Library. A quick keyword search of our library catalog for the word ‘sewing’ shows a surprising number of books from our State Documents collection available to check out. These may help you with your next project. And of course you can peruse historical…

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Big wins for WA libraries in the 2019 legislative session

Big wins for WA libraries in the 2019 legislative session

The 2019 legislative session has ended, and thanks to the hard work of many people, libraries across Washington will benefit immensely. The Office of the Secretary of State, which oversees the Washington State Library, played a huge part in making that success a reality. There is so much good news to report! First, thanks to library advocates everywhere. Lawmakers included eleven rural libraries around the state in the capital budget. Each of these libraries will receive funds to improve their…

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Winners of the 2019 Zine Contest announced

Winners of the 2019 Zine Contest announced

The advent of the internet opened all sorts of possibilities for self-expression but even before the internet, people with something to say have always found a way to get their story out.  One of the ways, that originated in the 1930s, are Zines.  Originally created by science fiction fans to share ideas and analyses, later adopted by the Beat generation, and the art and literary scene of the 1960s and 70s, people used the Zine format publish their own stories.The…

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