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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Thomas Taylor, 1862 & John Paul Judson 1864

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Thomas Taylor, 1862 & John Paul Judson 1864

Thomas Taylor, 1862 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Although no oath of office record exists today, Taylor was apparently Librarian in 1862. The March 29, 1862 issue of the Washington Standard includes this Library Notice: “All persons having books belonging to the Territorial Library will please return at once, or the by-laws will be put in force. Thos. Taylor, Ter. Librarian.” He quite probably was the same aged Thomas Taylor who was born Oct. 17, 1793 (some…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – James Clark Head, 1860 – 1861, 1863, 1865

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – James Clark Head, 1860 – 1861, 1863, 1865

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff (Head served three nonconsecutive terms as Territorial Librarian.) J.C. Head was born in Washington County, Ky. in 1810. His family apparently lived in Illinois before their arrival in Olympia, Aug. 18, 1853. A carpenter by trade, Head also was made a Justice of the Peace and in 1856 presided over the case of the accused murderer of Leschi’s brother, Quiemuth. Bion Kendall was the attorney for the defense, Elwood Evans the prosecutor….

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Andrew Jackson Moses, 1859

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Andrew Jackson Moses, 1859

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Called “a family of rascals” by one historian, the Moses brothers (Simpson, A.B., and Andrew, a native of South Carolina) along with Elwood Evans, came from Ohio to Olympia 1851 via the Nicaragua route. Simpson had been appointed the Collector and Andrew became a merchant on Main Street (Capitol Way). He had the instincts of an information professional when he ran this notice in the Feb. 5, 1853 issue of the Columbian…

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Online learning helps library staff across the state keep skills sharp

Online learning helps library staff across the state keep skills sharp

Written by guest blogger, Adrienne Doman Calkins, CE/Training Intern, Washington State Library, Library Development Library staff have questions too. Lots of them. Like: How can I best implement eReader training at my library? What are the current trends in library programming? How can I improve our website? What training materials already exist to help me train my new staff? How can I best help my community with digital literacy skills? I want to brush up on my communication skills, but…

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Hail to Halloween fun @ Western State Hospital. Staff and patients dress up and party the day away! There are games, treats, and quieter fare.

Hail to Halloween fun @ Western State Hospital. Staff and patients dress up and party the day away! There are games, treats, and quieter fare.

In times past, I have told tales on wards and the treatment centers for Halloween and Christmas.  So I was delighted to be invited back this year!  In a quiet room surrounded by giant bean-bag chairs, I told stories old and new.  My first story was a hit.  “Overdue Fines” by Edo van Belkom is a cautionary tale of a vengeful librarian who resorts to black magic to punish those who chronically abuse their borrowing privileges.  Unfortunately, she forgot to include…

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Spotlight on Staff: Kim Smeenk

Spotlight on Staff: Kim Smeenk

If the first rule of management is to hire well, then the Public Services group of Washington State Library got off to a good start when reference librarian Kim Smeenk was invited to join the staff over half a decade ago. Kim, who is a specialist in genealogical research and a fine reference librarian as well, is amazingly prolific in answering online queries. This is an especially desirable trait in light of significant loss of librarians the Public Services unit…

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Ask-WA(tch): Stats, Kudos and Comments for Sept 2009

Ask-WA(tch): Stats, Kudos and Comments for Sept 2009

Ask-WA Statistics – September, 2009 Ask-WA maintained a busy service during the month of September, and chat picked up slightly over August as schools came back into session. In numbers: Email questions received: 3707 Chat sessions requested: 3457 Chat sessions accepted: 2993 Qwidget requests (% of total): 848 (24.5%) As a cooperative we maintained an answering percentage of 86.6% for the month, which is a good 2% over last month, and remains well over the goal rate of 75%. Keep…

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Be extra nice to librarians next week!

Be extra nice to librarians next week!

Way back in the ‘80s when MTV actually showed videos, Tears For Fears had a video for “Head Over Heels” that featured a book-toting Roland Orzabal trying to win over some cute yet Arctic-cold librarian. (BTW, he succeeds…) Why did this ancient video come to mind? Because National Library Week is coming up.   You know that super-nice librarian who helped you find some obscure book, DVD or Web site? Have you ever really taken the time to thank that librarian?…

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