From the desk of Joe Olayvar

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, also known as STEAM, is currently a catch phrase that personifies a push to elevate those topics into mainstream thinking (and coolness).  In its effort to further 21^st Century learning, the Washington State Library (WSL) is doing its best to be part of that push.  What started out as a potential use of Lego Mindstorm EV3 robotics to bring STEAM topics to rural and tribal libraries, quickly became a full-fledged regional workshop with thirteen scheduled stops.

Utilizing funding opportunities from the Institute for Library and Museum Services (ILMS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), WSL purchased ten Lego Mindstorm EV3 Core sets, extra components, and ten laptops that will comprise a pair of circulation kits.  However, because the EV3 programming software may at first glance seem intimidating, a training program was developed by Evelyn Lindberg and Joe Olayvar to take the sting out of it and demystify some of the uncertainties.

The idea was simple; provide all the tools necessary, introduce the Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot with a few of its basic capabilities and programming aspects, then allow the imagination of library staff to formulate their own workshop based on their community’s likes and needs.  Out of that idea was born the “Gaining STEAM – Lego Mindstorms EV3” workshop launched in late January and will continue through April.  The kits used for this training will then be available for circulation to Washington’s rural and tribal libraries. 

Our first stop was Port Angeles where the participants were subjected to our grand scheme. Which turned out to be a little more than time permitted and stretched their capacity to absorb three tons of information.  Basically, our ambition and volume of content for the six hours we had…was a bit overzealous.  The deer in the headlights look afterwards said it all.  But we did warn them that they were our guinea pigs and thankfully, they eagerly rose to the occasion and conquered the challenges.  We have since then adjusted our curriculum so that future participants would leave with less of a headache and still gain a lot of STEAM.

So here we are now wrapping up our west side tour with seven workshops under our belt and six more scheduled for the east side of the mountains.  We’ve been as far north as Sedro Woolley and as far south as Fort Vancouver with roughly seventy library staff participating.  I say “participating”, because this is very much a hands on workshop with most of the time spent programming the robots for mini challenges that progressively increase in complexity.  Then, for added danger, they get to activate the Legotron Blaster to neutralize a container of weaponized gnomes in the final, culminating challenge.

As you can see by these photos, it’s serious business discovering your inner kid again.  Since there’s absolutely no prerequisites for this workshop, most have gone from knowing nothing about programming, to assembling a Lego Mindstorm robot and programming it to tackle the various challenges.  Not to mention the highly acclaimed “I Robot” challenge with its chocolatey goodness reward that sets the stage for a day full of skill set expanding fun.

If you have any kind of experience with Lego’s, even if it’s through observation only, you know how grippingly fun and immersing Lego’s can be.  Now add the creative exhilaration of building and programming a robot to that, and you’ll understand the magnetic attraction that kids of all ages have for it.  Then add the fact that you’re sneaking in STEAM curriculum and you’ll understand the benefits to the individuals and families that make up the communities where our libraries live…and serve.

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted weekly on this blog.

For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of February 19, 2016

Library News

Vandalized bench
A bench, donated to the Newport Library by Mary Yann in memory of her late husband, Garry Yann, was vandalized sometime between January 17 and January 19. The book drop at the library has been vandalized recently as well, with a garbage can emptied into the drop. Library officials say a group of people have been spotted hanging out in front of the library late at night. (Newport Miner, Newport, 1/27/16)

Little library that could (The Whidbey Examiner, Coupeville, 1/28/16)

Buildings

Reminder: library moving to temporary service (The Enterprise, White Salmon, 1/28/16)
Read the rest of this entry »

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted weekly on this blog.

For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.

Recently the Seattle Times published an article about handwriting and about one lawmaker’s efforts to mandate cursive writing instruction in our public schools. Does anyone write  in cursive in the 21^st Century?  It’s an interesting question to be sure but the reason it caught our eyes is that Mary Schaff, one of the State Library’s reference librarians is quoted in the article.

As a librarian who specializes in issues pertaining to Washington State, Mary contributed research as to whether or not Washington has ever had a law mandating the teaching of cursive writing.   When asked about this topic,  Mary said “Our state publications collection and the session law are invaluable to this type of state history question.” Mary’s research revealed that it is RCW 28A.230.020, Washington’s Common School Curriculum, which mandates the instruction of handwriting. She noted  “Interestingly, the last update to the Common School Curriculum in 2013 was the change from “penmanship” to “handwriting.” Even with that recent change, the idea of penmanship has appeared in every version of the Common School Curriculum Law since 1890.  The State Library has several curriculum guides in its collection published by the State Board of Education, including a 1891 Teachers’ Manual which says, “We do not care by what system a good hand-writing is acquired, only that there shall be some system about it.”   It appears that the real issue at stake, at least from the state’s viewpoint, is how handwriting is defined, and whether cursive writing has any real place in that curriculum any longer.

The point of all this is to say: when you have a difficult question about Washington State’s government, history, or culture keep the State Library’s reference team in mind.  You can ask questions in person, via mail, email, chat or telephone.

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of February 12, 2016

Library News

Mayor outlines library plan (Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, 1/27/16)

Clean sweep
About 20 junior high and high school students from The River Academy in Wenatchee volunteered a Friday afternoon in January to dust shelves at the Wenatchee Public Library. The school’s students try to do several service projects around town throughout the school year. (The Wenatchee World, Wenatchee, 1/28/16)

Pend Oreille County Library District officer elected
Katherine Schutte will continue as chair of the Pend Oreille County Library District for one more year as a result of elections held at the district’s November board meeting. Jane Miller Floyd will remain as vice-chair and Diane Stone will take on the secretary responsibilities. (Newport Miner, Newport, 1/20/16)
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Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted weekly on this blog.

For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.

From the desk of Evan Robb

Washington Rural Heritage staff hit the road recently to help the Ellensburg Public Library digitize unique works by New Deal-era artist Ernest R. Norling.

Known most widely for his important 1939 book on drawing, “Perspective Made Easy,” Norling also made a significant contribution to documenting Washington’s industry and history in the wake of the Great Depression. His murals depicting early pioneers, agricultural workers, Northwest logging crews, or CCC men at work, grace a great many public and private schools, buildings, and businesses throughout Washington. [Read an oral history interview with Norling by the Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Art here].

To digitize oversize works like Norling’s, Washington State Library staff set up a mobile studio of sorts in the Ellensburg Public Library’s archives and local history collections space (the Library stores and preserves works owned by the City of Ellensburg and the Ellensburg Art Commission). We used a field camera along with a large format lens and digital “scan back,” tethered to a laptop, as shown in the photo at left. The result is a high-resolution, reproduction-quality image of Norling’s painting. It will be digitally preserved by the Washington State Library, and a lower-resolution “access” copy will be made viewable to the general public. The digital photography equipment used for this project has also been used extensively to digitize three-dimensional art work, as well as objects and artifacts held by cultural organizations throughout the state.

Norling’s work, along with a large portion of the City of Ellensburg’s art collection, will appear online this spring, as part of the larger Ellensburg Heritage Collection. Staff at the Ellensburg Public Library are performing the bulk of art digitization and description on their own, with a 2015-2016 Washington Rural Heritage grant.

Washington Rural Heritage is a statewide digitization program, serving Washington’s public and tribal libraries as well as their institutional partners (museums, historical societies, etc.). Library Services and Technology Act funding for the program comes from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. A new Washington Rural Heritage competitive grant opportunity will be available for libraries by early March. Those with questions or project proposal ideas are encouraged to contact Evan Robb, Digital Repository Librarian, at 360-704-5228, or [email protected].

Are you aware that the Washington State Library is not only a Federal Depository Library but also a Washington State Depository?  This means that we collect, preserve and provide access to all publications created by Washington State Agencies.

In 1963 the State Legislature created Washington State Depository Program and RCW Chapter 40.06 to ensure that our citizens have economical, convenient and permanent access to state publications. We have publications dating back to 1853, when Washington became a territory, which can be found in our online catalog, and are continually collecting new items as they are published.  We also distribute copies of state publications to libraries around the state, and capture and preserve electronic publications, so that citizens can more easily access them.

As you can imagine this is an enormous job but also one that is highly gratifying as we get to see all sorts of fascinating and often beautiful documents as they are published.  We decided to share some of our finds with you as they make their appearance.  So for the inaugural post we give you the Teanaway Community Forest Management Plan. 

Prepared by

Washington State Department of Natural Resources

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

April 2015

In 2013, Washington State paid $100 million to acquire 50,241 acres in the Teanaway, First Creek and Cabin Creek river basins of Kittitas County from American Forest Holdings LLC. The purchase was the largest single land transaction by Washington State government in 45 years, resulting from more than a decade of collaboration by many people and organizations.

The Governor and Legislature authorized the acquisition to protect a key segment of the Yakima River Basin watershed under the provisions of the Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (known as the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, or YBIP). Lawmakers directed the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to manage the property in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) as the first state-run community forest under the terms of a 2011 law that emphasizes community participation in forest management.

This plan was developed to meet the requirements of the law and to reflect the priorities of the Washingtonians who cherish the Teanaway and view it as a special place.

Want to see the document?  Click on the links below.

Washington State Library Electronic State Publications – Teanaway Management Plan

Washington State Library Electronic State Publications – Teanaway Management Plan Appendices

Courtesy of the Legislative Planning Committee, Washington Library Association. The Washington Library Association (WLA) tracks state legislative activity that will potentially affect Washington Libraries. Their tracker is posted weekly on this blog.

For information on the legislative process or becoming involved, see the WLA site referenced above.