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Tag: Territorial Library

WSL Territorial Copy of Praeclara, showing the Crest of Charles V and opening lines
Spotlight on State Library Special Collections: The Holy Roman Emperor, the Conquistador, and the Emperor of the Aztecs

Spotlight on State Library Special Collections: The Holy Roman Emperor, the Conquistador, and the Emperor of the Aztecs

Recently a question hit the State Library Twitter feed that requires a little more explanation than Twitter’s 280-character limit allows. That very fine question was: “What is the oldest book in the library’s collection?” Well, the State Library has a lot of older books and maps in our Special Collections, but the Territorial Collection has the distinction of holding the oldest book.[i] It also happens to be amongst the earliest European accounts about the Americas: it is the first Latin edition of the…

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Invincible!

Invincible!

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: Last week we asked if any Between the Lines readers could help us in identifying the first of two ships that brought the Territorial Library collection from New York to San Francisco in 1853. The story of the second ship, the Tarquinia, which delivered the books in the final leg of the journey is well known, but the first ship has been a mystery to…

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160 Years of Libraries in Washington – A Good Reason to Celebrate!

160 Years of Libraries in Washington – A Good Reason to Celebrate!

This year marks the 160th anniversary of the Washington State Library, the first U.S. library north of the Columbia River. But this is only the beginning of the story of people and their libraries in Washington. State Library staff will be blogging, tweeting, and posting on Facebook to remember the past and celebrate the present, but they also want to hear from all the libraries in Washington about their beginnings. Please consider sharing some part of your history with us…

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