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Category: State Library Collections

Giving BIG to Washington Talking Book & Braille Library

Giving BIG to Washington Talking Book & Braille Library

Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) is celebrating its 90th anniversary. All this year we are inviting everyone to help us celebrate, and ensure people who are blind or visually impaired have access to the books and other reading materials they love to read. On May 4-5, WTBBL participated in Washington Gives’ GiveBIG, a 48-hour online giving campaign that supports Washington state nonprofits. Thanks to the support and generosity of people all across our great state, WTBBL raised $10,000…

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Blog header image of a newspaper headline, The New Year. Coulee City dispatch. (Coulee City, WA), Jan. 8, 1942.
BREAKING NEWS! MORE HISTORIC WASHINGTON NEWSPAPERS ONLINE

BREAKING NEWS! MORE HISTORIC WASHINGTON NEWSPAPERS ONLINE

2020 was an extraordinary year for many reasons, all of which have been immortalized in catchy headlines and sensational news stories. Future generations will marvel at these stories and wonder how we coped during these extraordinary times. Much like how we look back on years past and wonder about the issues and challenges our recent ancestors endured. Yet thanks to the Washington State Library’s Washington Digital Newspapers (WDN) program – funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)…

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WASHINGTON RURAL HERITAGE PRESENTS THE REVIEW CLUB OF ABERDEEN

WASHINGTON RURAL HERITAGE PRESENTS THE REVIEW CLUB OF ABERDEEN

The Review Club of Aberdeen is the oldest women’s cultural group still in existence in Washington. Founded on March 3, 1891, the Review Club meets twice a month to share and discuss “good books.” Topics have included everything from fiction to politics to spiritualism. The group’s longevity speaks to the ongoing desire for intellectual opportunities for women. This Washington Rural Heritage collection includes meeting minutes, beginning with the group’s charter meeting in 1891; annual programs from the 1920s to the…

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WASHINGTON’S DIGITAL HERITAGE: AN AUDIO & VISUAL HISTORY

WASHINGTON’S DIGITAL HERITAGE: AN AUDIO & VISUAL HISTORY

The Washington State Library’s annual Washington Digital Heritage grant cycle has helped preserve a wealth of historical documents from organizations and private collections statewide. These grants support libraries and partner organizations in digitizing historically significant primary sources, special collections, and archives. In addition, the projects support the creation of digital exhibits, oral histories, open educational resources, and other community memory initiatives. Here are some highlights from the 2019-2020 grant cycle. Asotin County Library The Asotin County Library digitized a privately…

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Outreach librarian, Amy Ravenholt, holding Trial by Fury by J.A. Jance.
WTBBL BOOK CLUB HOSTS INAUGURAL MEETING

WTBBL BOOK CLUB HOSTS INAUGURAL MEETING

The Washington Talking Book & Braille Library (WTBBL) hosted its first Book Club meeting Aug. 26. Due to COVID-19, we held the meeting virtually, and if the overwhelmingly positive response from participants is any indication, we will continue with this format. The inaugural meeting included patrons from across the state and featured Trial by Fury by local author J.A. Jance. (Trial by Fury is available to patrons in both audio and braille.) Jance is one of the top-circulating authors from…

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Wherefore telephone books?

Wherefore telephone books?

It wasn’t that long ago that telephone books played a fairly significant role in our daily lives. Whether you used one as a booster seat at dinner, or you were looking up the number of a neighbor or local business, telephone books were an incredibly handy tool. One could argue that they were the single most important resource about a local community before the internet. To preserve the wealth of information contained in old telephone books and the precise “moment…

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Help us Tag Washington’s WWI Sammies!

Help us Tag Washington’s WWI Sammies!

From the desk of Shawn Schollmeyer The Library of Congress has once again found a fun new way to promote our digital newspapers collections by launching a new crowd-sourced tagging tool to help us capture the key names & titles of the WWI cartoons in our Washington digital newspapers. From 2008-2014 the Washington State Library participated in the National Digital Newspaper Program, contributing over 306,000 pages of Washington newspapers to the Chronicling America website. One of the biggest advances in…

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Greek History in Seattle again reaches for a global audience

Greek History in Seattle again reaches for a global audience

In the early days of the Seattle-based Washington Hellenic Civic Society, little did community citizens know their comings and goings would reach an international audience through the publication of the monthly newspaper, the Washington Hellenic Review. It had just over a 10-year run (1924-1936) under the vision of WHCS president Pericles H. Scarlatos.   It reached an audience mostly in Seattle, but also across to subscribers in 33 cities, and even a few in Greece. The many activities of members of…

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WSL Updates for April 13, 2017

WSL Updates for April 13, 2017

Volume 13, April 13, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) LIBRARY SNAPSHOTS 2) SCRUB YOUR DIGITAL METADATA 3) LIGHTHOUSES AT THE STATE LIBRARY 4) LINCOLN CENTER LOCAL @ YOUR LIBRARY 5) COMMUNITY SALUTE HELPS LIBRARIES SERVE VETERANS 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

WSL Updates for January 5, 2017

WSL Updates for January 5, 2017

Volume 13, January 5, 2017 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) JUMPSTART USER EXPERIENCE (UX) 2) HOW TO DO A TEDX PRESENTATION 3) MICROSOFT IMAGINE ACADEMY LAB GRANTS 4) 50 YEARS OF PNW HISTORY NOTES 5) ONLINE LIS DEGREE PROGRAM AT SFCC 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK ————————————————————————————————————— 1) JUMPSTART USER EXPERIENCE (UX) By designing your library with the user experience in mind, you have the potential to deepen the connection your library has with its…

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