Believing that a good way to reach teenagers is through that tool they all so dearly love (their phone), in late September, Ask WA Coordinator Nono Burling headed to SE Washington.  With the start of the new school year she hoped to spread the word about Washington State’s Virtual Reference Cooperative and how it could help them.

But wait, step back!  What is Ask WA you ask?  Ask WA is a cooperative of public and academic libraries around the state that work together to provide 24/7 help from a librarian to Washington residents.  Almost 60 libraries and library systems belong to the cooperative and any library in Washington is eligible to join.  Washington State is one of the “pioneers” for this program.  We have many librarians who have been doing chat reference for many years and are highly skilled.

But back to the road show… Knowing that some of the smaller libraries in our cooperative are hard pressed for time, Nono offered to visit their High School students to tell them about the program.  Asotin County library and The Denny Ashby library in Pomeroy readily accepted the offer and made arrangements with their local high schools.

Day one: Clarkston High School.  Asotin County Library has adopted the Library Now app which WSL developed a few years ago.  This was a boon as there is a live webpage where she could demo just how it would look on a student’s smartphone.  The teachers allowed the kids to get out their phones and install the app right then and there.  In each class Nono talked about the service, showed how to find the download app on the Asotin County Library’s webpage and then connected with a librarian.  During the early morning classes we chatted with librarians on the east coast but later in the day it was all Washington librarians.  The kids asked great questions and were very excited to be chatting live with a librarian.  Best story from Clarkston … the sophomores.  After the first “normal” question a hand was raised.  “Ask her ‘Why did the plane crash?’” “Hmmm…Can you give me a bit more information?”  “Oh it’s a joke.” So the question was typed in clarifying that it was a joke.  While the librarian was searching the answer was requested.  “Because the pilot was a loaf of bread!”  ??? The whole class looked dumbfounded; this made no sense.  Then up on the screen, an answer from the librarian, “Because the pilot was a loaf of bread!”  The class erupted!  Point and Match to Jen from Seattle Public Library!

Day two: Was a repeat performance in Pomeroy.  The school had set up a schedule so that over the course of the day Nono would see every 7^th-12^th grader in Pomeroy.  Bouncing back and forth between two classrooms she chatted with librarians from as far away as Maine and Minnesota. But then a Seattle Public Librarian named Becky stepped in.  Apparently she enjoyed herself because she picked up class after class.  “Hello 7^th grade!”  She completely WOWed the kids fielding questions from “How tall is Mount Everest?” (29,029 feet) to “How many bones does a dog have?” (It depends on the breed, tail bones you know!), to “How many strands of hair does the average person have?” (Every half square inch of the human skin has about 10 hairs.) “Ewwwww!”  One Reader’s Advisory question had the kids scrambling for a pencil to write down the recommended books. The kids were very impressed and excited enough to return often over the next few weeks.

All in all it was a successful visit, and the students of SE Washington now have a new place to find answers when they are stuck on an assignment.  Are you an Ask WA member that is interested in having Nono visit your school? Are you not currently a member library but would like to know more about the program?  Either way please contact Nono Burling.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Former Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Stories about con artists were a regular feature of early Washington newspapers. Some, like this article from the August 22, 1902 issue of The Lind Leader, are more amusing than others:

J.A. FALLGATTER HAS SKIPPED OUT.

 Proved to be a Grafter from Graftersville.– He Left Debts Galore.

 J.A. Fallgatter, erstwhile proprietor of the Lind Art Studio, is gone– whither deponent saith not. He boarded a train at two o’clock last Friday morning and has not been heard of since. 

 Fallgatter proved himself to be an artist in more than one line. As a photographer he was nothing extra, but he was a past master in the art of grafting and he worked not only Lind, but the adjacent country, right. He worked it to a finish, to a fare-you-well. For thoroughness his job of doing up the country would be hard to beat.

 He owes nearly everybody from Paha on the east to Hatton on the west. North and south hill stretch from the Odessa neighborhood to Washtucna.

 All he left to satisfy his creditors is a cheap building covered by a lumbermen’s lien and a fourth class photograph gallery outfit that is mortgaged for more than it is worth.

 Fallgatter came here a few months ago with a camera, rented a room of Sam Armstrong and commenced taking pictures. As soon as he became acquainted he asked the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber company for lumber, on credit, to put up a gallery. As he seemed to be a good rustler and stuck strictly to business he got it.

 In the meantime he had, by securing a few small loans, raised money enough to buy a new camera and other things needed to start a gallery. He told the Bruster brothers, the carpenters who put up his building, that he could not pay them for their work until fall and gave them a note for the amount owed them, secured by a mortgage on the outfit.

 It has been about two months since he put up the building. He has been doing some business right along but the “enormous expense” of starting up left him so short of money that he bought everything on credit that he could. Occasionally some creditor– generally an imaginary one– would press him for money and he would work the “rush act” on some acquaintance for a small amount.

 When the Lindites got to comparing notes after his departure it was found that by borrowing money, making purchases on credit and “standing off” people who had worked for him he owed nearly every man in town and several of the women. The majority of these bills are small ones, ranging from a few cents to $5 or $10.

 Besides the stunts referred to above he had another one for connecting with cash and this one he worked on the country people. As soon as harvest commenced he traveled through the country taking farm views. Wherever he was given work he collected all he could on the pictures ordered as a guarantee of good faith and very few of these pictures were ever finished. He had been working that little graft for two or three weeks before making his sneak and is said to have made a nice little clean-up by it.

 It is very evident that Mr. Fallgatter did well here. He landed in Lind dead broke and is supposed to have left with not less than $500 in his jeans.

 Besides his numerous little bills he owed a few larger ones. He stuck Fred Irwin for $51, Jacob Koch for $28, N.B. Rathbone for $21, Dr. Smith for $30 and Riley Fry for $14.

 He owed Misses Ella Sturdivan $20 and Una Scott $15 for work in the gallery.

 When a later con artist showed up in Lind and relieved some suckers of money, the newspaper said the victims had been “Fallgattered.”

John A. Fallgatter’s biography is, as you might expect, somewhat murky and contains conflicting data. Born in Wisconsin ca. 1850, he was married twice, apparently fathered several children, and moved around a lot. He is on record as having lived in Afton, Iowa (1870), Buckeye, Kansas (1880), Lakin, Kansas (1900), Milton, Oregon (1908), Dufur, Oregon (1910), Redmond, Oregon (1911), Lynden, Washington (1920), and Everson, Washington (early 1920s).

In addition to working as a photographer, he was also a minister, a farmer, and a carpenter. He died in Northern State Hospital in Sedro -Woolley, May 29, 1924.

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of September 11, 2015 (published September 18, 2015)

Library News

Centralia College leads effort toward statewide college library system (The Chronicle, Centralia, 8/6/15)

Valley library plan appears to have fallen short again
Spokane Valley voters again appear to have rejected a bond issue to build or refurbish libraries in their portion of the county. The $22 million proposal needed a 60 percent super-majority but was falling short of that mark in the election night tally. (Spokesman Review, Spokane, 8/5/15)

Library supporters take stock after bond defeat (Spokesman Review, Spokane, 8/6/15)
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Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of August 28, 2015 (published September 11, 2015)

Library News

Tiny Olympic Library set for Seal Street Park (The Sequim Gazette, Sequim, 8/5/15)

Library bond failing second time (Valley News Herald, Spokane, 8/7/15)

Union Gap considers bringing back library (Yakima Herald-Republic, Yakima, 8/9/15)

Library makes borrowing easier with returns boxes and books by mail (Sentinel, Goldendale, 8/12/15)
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Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of August 21, 2015 (published September 4, 2015)

Washington State Library News

Our budget successes are a big win for Washington
In this article written by Kim Wyman, Secretary of State, she comments that during the last legislative session, the Legislature acknowledged the importance of the State Library, and approved an ongoing, more stable funding source. In addition, the Washington State Library-Microsoft IT Academy was renewed for another two years. (The Outlook, Othello, 7/23/15)

Library News

Everett library widens borrowing privileges (The Herald, Everett, 7/21/15)
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From the desk of Carolyn Petersen.

The recent announcement of the IMLS Basic grants to Washington State tribes reveals the importance placed on learning by the Native America tribes of Washington State.

The following tribes applied and received the basic grant:

• Kalispel Indian community of the Kalispel Reservation–Usk
• Yakama Tribal Council—Toppenish
• Lower Elwha Tribal community—Port Angeles
• Lummi Indian Business Council—Bellingham
• Suquamish Indian Tribe of the Port Madison Reservation–Suquamish
• Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe—Sequim
• Skokomish Indian Tribe of the Skokomish reservation—Skokomish Nation
• Nooksack Indian Tribe—Deming
• Hoh Indian Tribe—Forks
• Nisqually Indian Tribe—Olympia
• Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe—Tokeland
• Port Gamble Band of S’Klallam tribe—Kingston
• Samish Indian Nation—Anacortes
• Squaxin Island Tribe—Shelton
• Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation—Neah Bay
• Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington –Arlington

In addition to receiving basic grants two of Washington’s Tribal Libraries received special Enhancement Grants.

Yakama Tribal Council – Toppenish, WA

With this award, the Yakama Nation will revive the existing outdated library collection with relevant new books, and audio and video resources. The library staff will focus on professional development in cataloging, reading literacy, and collection development in order to facilitate, support, and assist patrons in meeting their information retrieval needs. The library will also collaborate with the Yakama Nation Tribal School to select readings to enhance student project-based learning research needs. The Yakama Nation envisions building upon their collaborative success by updating the library collection and promoting reading. These developments will enhance library programming, promote reading, and generate enthusiasm for reading at Head Start facilities and at library story hours.

Nisqually Indian Tribe – Olympia, WA

The Nisqually Tribe will utilize a StoryCorps recording studio within the tribal library to record the stories of tribal members. Trained staff will use the recording technology to facilitate sessions where tribal members exchange and share their stories with each other. These recordings will then become part of the knowledge the tribe can share from the tribal library’s collection and will be preserved for future generations.

Tribal libraries are spread all across the state and have a variety of missions.  Some serve as afterschool support for the youth of their tribe.  Others concentrate on early childhood literacy.  Yet others serves as their community’s public library.  Some tribal libraries support college programs both distance and on site while yet others  provide genealogy resources for individuals to prove tribal membership.   There are museum research collections. Some libraries provide resources to preserve their native language.  Each of these libraries is unique and reflects the values of its tribal community.

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of August 14, 2015 (published August 31, 2015)

Library News

Library cabinet reveals message from builder (The Leader, Port Townsend, 7/15/15)

Library measure merits a ‘yes’ vote (Journal of Business, Spokane, 7/16/15)

Library vote to dominate primary (Valley News Herald, Spokane, 7/17/15)

Rural library ousts chief (Union-Bulletin, Walla Walla, 7/22/15)

Feeding readers: little free library tales (The Seattle Times, Seattle, 8/2/15)
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From the desk of Rand Simmons, Washington State Librarian

Do you consider those years in elementary, middle, or secondary school as the primary time you invested in learning? Perhaps you went on to college or graduate school. But, over the course of a person’s life only about 3% is spent in formal education.

Education is not the equivalent of learning although one hopes the two intersect. However, some who study learning believe that the most effective learning happens not in formal education environments but in informal settings.

Once called the “people’s university” the public library has filled an important role in society, that of facilitating informal learning. The goal of lifelong learning ranks high on many library mission statements. We know that once a person completes formal education he or she will continue to learn and it makes sense that they turn to public library and use its resources. Libraries remain a trusted place to learn.

Much of the STEM movement has focused on children and on encouraging girls to become engaged in science, technology, engineering and math. But, STEM is important to adults, too. Adults need to find and hold jobs, to enter STEM careers or simply to enrich one’s knowledge.

Sally Chilson, Spokane Public Library

The Washington State Library has invested federal funds to purchase STEM kits – Legos to be exact – that circulate among rural libraries so that kids can experience the wonders of science. 3-D printer is a popular STEM educational tool in libraries. We recently purchased a well-loved Egg Bot (a friendly art robot that can draw on egg-shaped objects) and demonstrated it at the annual conference of the Pacific Northwest Library Association. (See this short You Tube video of the Egg Bot).

Another State Library STEM program is the Microsoft IT Academy, an online technology training program provided free to the residents of Washington through public, two-year academic and tribal libraries. The IT Academy is a partnership between the State Library/Secretary of State and Microsoft and is funded by the State Legislature. Over 15,000 state residents have accounts on the site and are taking advantage of the hundreds of online courses over the past two years.

Project manager Elizabeth Iaukea notes, “Every time a learner takes an IT Academy course they are engaging in STEM. Public libraries have been supporting STEM education for at least two decades.”

“Libraries and museums are improving learning in science, technology, engineering and math, a national priority for US competitiveness.” (Institute of Museum and Library Services)

Rand Simmons and Elizabeth Iaukea recently attended the Public Libraries and STEM conference in Denver, CO.

According to State Librarian Rand Simmons, “Public libraries are amazing. They constantly adapt to meet societal needs. STEM addresses a national concern that the U.S. not fall behind in science, technology, engineering and math. Public libraries partnering with STEM industries and non-profits and government agencies that focus on STEM are part of the solution. Despite predictions of their demise public libraries remain viable and vibrant.”

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of August 7, 2015 (published August 28, 2015)

Library News

Everett libraries to let outsiders share (Everett/Mukilteo Tribune, Snohomish, 7/8/15)

Tech upgrade to close library for a bit (The News Tribune, Tacoma, 7/28/15)

Library Lego contest winners
Winners of this summer’s Lego contest at the library under the “Every Hero Has A Story,” theme were Seth Lustig for grades 4-6, Caleb Lustig for grades K-3, and Jenna Harwood for grades 7-12. The projects were judged on creativity, originality, and theme. (Whitman County Gazette, Colfax, 7/9/15)
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Volume 11, August 27, 2015 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION PROGRAM

2) 2015 WALE CONFERENCE REGISTRATION OPEN

3) WLMA CONFERENCE 2015 REGISTRATION OPEN

4) PROQUEST INTERFACE UPGRADES

5) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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