From the desk of Steve Willis, Program Manager for Central Library Services

The Pacific Northwest Card File appears to have been started in the early 1950s as a finding aid for biographical and historical information in the Washington State Library. Information was indexed from newspapers across the state as well as many published local histories, creating a very unique point of access.

Comprised of hundreds of thousands of cards, the drawers are divided into a Name File and a Subject File. Work began in late 2012, chiefly with WSL volunteer David Lane, on the Name File. We are now up to the surname “C” and will continue to update the online index as progress is made.  See the open drawer in the picture? That’s where we are currently working.

The Card File was closed in the early 1990s.  Please remember however that this is a historical card file and not every item listed is still on the shelves of the library.  A quick chat, email or phone call to the reference desk will help to ensure  you get the proper resource.

To see a nice sampling, simply type in the name “Anderson” in the “Last Name” box.

Many thanks to Evelyn Lindberg for creating the utility that made this possible

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library Clippings for the week of September 19, 2014

Library News
Puyallup Library takes joy in connecting books and readers: Library offers for free what people are paying for online. (The Herald, Puyallup, 08/13/14).

Volunteers and tutors needed at library. (Sentinel, Goldendale, 08/20/14).

Library boss search down to three.
Three finalists- one of them already working for the organization- have been named as the possible new Pierce County Library System executive director. (South Pierce County Dispatch, Eatonville, 08/20/14).

Three finalists selected for library system executive director.
The Pierce County Library System is in the final stages of identifying and hiring a new executive director. Three finalists identified are Nate Hill, Georgia Lomax and Jeff Scott. (The Herald, Puyallup, 08/20/14).

New Book-to-film group launched
The North Olympic Library System is launching a new book-to-film discussion group at the Port Angeles and Sequim libraries. Padge2Schree is a forum that explores themes and issues in classic and contemporary books and the movies inspired by them. (Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, 08/24/14).
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I’m sure you know that staff of the Washington State Library travels to all corner’s of the state and reaches out to diverse communities.  Today we received a missive from Lyla Brekke, of the Eastern State Hospital Branch that shows you just how far we are willing to go to reach all the citizens of Washington State.  We felt that Lyla’s message should be shared.

The Washington State Library does a wonderful job of bringing quality library services to its many and varied branches throughout the state. Recently in Eastern Washington I have discovered an underserved population that is in dire need of just these services.

On the set of Z Nation 7-20-2014

A zombie community has sprung up in and around the Spokane and Medical lake area. My first customers, pictured here, weren’t able to articulate the nature of their needs, but helping patrons choose library materials is part of my job, so I made a few selections on their behalf. I think it shows on their dear faces that they are pretty pleased. I know it made my day! Now you might think the ‘undead’ would not make good library patrons…but you would be wrong. Just think of all the time they have for reading because unlike the rest of us, they don’t need to sleep.

Read more about my new friends at the following link;

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/apr/24/zombie-tv-series-z-nation-will-provide-spokane/

Lyla Brekke

Eastern State Hospital Branch

Washington State Library

Image courtesy North Pend Oreille Heritage collection

Library News

Upper Skagit Library is primed and ready for their Summer Reading program. They also have a Library Board vacancy to fill. Trustees serve a five year term and are allowed to serve two consecutive terms. There is a new library associate, Cora Thomas. Cora is a published author and poet. (Concrete Herald, Concrete, 06/00/14).

On May 29th local third graders participated in the Leavenworth Friends of the Library program. The made a field trip to the library where they learned about books that they can check out from the library. (Echo, Leavenworth, 06/04/14).

Salk Middle School and the Balboa/South Indian Trail Neighborhood Council collaborated on a Little Free Library for the community. The middle school students built the library which looks exactly like a little house. (Spokesman Review, Spokane, 05/05/14).

A new Little Free Library has come to Maple Beach. The Point Roberts Friends of the Library collaborated with ReStore in Bellingham to get it built. It will stocked with donated books. (All Point Bulletin, Point Roberts, 06/00/14).

Spokane Public Library will merge with Tincan. Tincan offers free training in computer programs, website design, and more. A cut in funding made it impossible for Tincan to remain independent. (Spokesman Review, Spokane, 06/01/14). http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/jun/01/digital-literacy-trainer-tincan-merging-with/
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From the desk of Marlys Rudeen, Deputy State Librarian

A recent addition to the State Library’s digital collections is the lavishly illustrated West Shore. This literary and general interest magazine was published from Aug. 1875-Mar. 1891. The Washington State Library owns some of the issues from 1880-1890, and has digitized the issues and made them available online. (Warning – some of the PDFs are large and do take some time to load.)

According to its tagline from the 1885 issues, the West Shore is “An illustrated journal of general information devoted to the development of the Great West” and is published in Tacoma and Portland. It is meant to serve as a booster for the whole Northwest region, encouraging investment and immigration. It also serves as a general news journal for western residents, keeping them informed on both local issues and developments from back east as well.

By the early 1880’s, each issue looks in depth at a couple of locales, discussing their suitability for farming or raising a family. The articles report on local industries, the economy, churches, types of farming, climate, and transportation. In the illustrations the locale is represented by drawings of public buildings and private homes. 

The issue for Aug. 1883, covers Jackson Co., Ore. and Vancouver, W.T. May 1885 takes a good look at North Yakima in “Building a Town” (p. 135). The issue for Jan. 18, 1890 examines the charms of Kittitas Co., the history of St. Joseph’s Mission near Coeur d’Alene, and Ashland and the Rogue River Valley.

In the early years, the editors were in the habit of reprinting articles, stories or poetry from other publications. The Jan. 1880 issue attributes material to the New England Farmer, Rural Press, The Alliance, North American Review, Reno Gazette, London Telegraph, and Harper’s Magazine.

By May 1885 there are fewer articles from other journals, although it’s possible that the editor is just not attributing as carefully as before since there are short articles on such diverse interests as: Hindu temples, Jugglers of India, Iguanas, and the Japanese city of Kumamoto. More space is given to short local news notes. The emphasis on exploring the characters of a variety of regions and towns continues, as do extensive coverage of railroads, lumber, coal, fishing and other commercial interests.

The magazine also presents articles on many topics of general interest, such as:

• Women in Massachusetts being allowed to vote in the school board elections for the first time (Jan. 1880, p. 19)
• Poisons and their Antidotes (Jan. 1880, p. 2)
• Microscopic Discovery of Malarial Poison (Jan. 1880, p. 30)
• Immigration problems (May 1885, p. 130)
• Great indignation about suspected census fiddling. “Grand larceny of 50,000 people is what Oregon charges against Superintendent Porter and his beer-guzzling subordinates…” (Oct. 25, 1890, p. 162)
• Agriculture report gathers reports from various local papers (Aug. 1883, p. 176)

The West Shore also includes poetry, short stories and jokes, but one of its most significant characteristics was the wonderful illustrations scattered throughout the issues to illuminate articles or to picture the northwest cities and towns that it featured. Even an article on a particular breed of chicken , Langshan Fowls, in the Jan. 1880 issue (p. 22) includes this wonderful engraving.

The cover art for the May 1885 issue attempts to portray the abundance of natural resources in the Northwest.

The issue also gives the reader a Bird’s Eye view of the growing city of North Yakima.

Bird’s Eye View of North Yakima

By 1890, the West Shore has begun to experiment with color!

And even with some ‘social issue’ illustrations.

The West Shore was an ambitious undertaking and had the largest circulation of any Northwest publication for a time. It provides a unique record of the Pacific Northwest in the last part of the 19^th century, and the State Library is happy to make its issues available online.

To see other digital collections at the State Library visit the Library web site:

The Washington State Library is a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

Brain Science tells us that you need to “use it or lose it”. Lately, between retirements and re-organization the State Library is providing plenty of opportunities for brain development to two long time employees. First, Carolyn Petersen is transitioning back to her roots.

Carolyn Petersen

Martha Shinners the long time Youth Services Consultant for the Washington State Library, retired at the end of May and Carolyn has happily stepped up to the plate to fill the very large hole left by Martha. As our Youth Services Consultant, Carolyn will be returning to her roots in Youth Services, only this time for Library Development at the Washington State Library.  This won’t be a huge departure.  Carolyn spent the first ten years of her professional life as a children’s librarian.  Early in her career she chaired the CAYAS interest group, the CAYAS institute and became a founding committee member of the Washington State Children’s Picture Book Award.

Carolyn has kept abreast of trends in Youth Services even as she strengthened her skills in other areas of librarianship.  When she joined Library Development she assisted Martha Shinners by carrying What’s the Big Idea?, a math and science readiness program, out to tribal and rural libraries.  In the immediate future Carolyn will be implementing the third year of the Teacher-Librarian Common Core Cadre (TLC3) with the support of the TLC3 advisory committee.

As Carolyn was already one of the busiest and hardest working members of the Library Development team obviously something had to give. Thankfully another long time WSL employee, Shirley Lewis, has joined the Library Development Team as an Assistant Program Manager.

Shirley Lewis

Shirley began work at the Washington State Library in 1988 as a consultant in Library Planning and Development. She went on to serve in the Washington/Northwest Room, as a Northwest collection specialist, then as Head of Acquisitions, and, most recently, Head of Technical Services.  In addition to her Assistant Program Manager duties, Shirley will work as a project manager developing and implementing statewide projects. She will transition into the role of one of Library Development’s consultants and take on greater responsibility for public library consulting, trustee orientation and similar work over time as Carolyn moves away from that role and into her new role as Youth Services Consultant.

We are very happy to have two such experienced and hardworking people to serve the libraries and citizens of Washington State.

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library was awarded the 2014 Library Institutional Excellence Award by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums. Included in the recognition were Tribal Planning Director Leanne Jenkins, library staff including Siri Hiltz, MLIS, Tribal partner JKT Development, Inc.(an enterprise of the Tribe’s Economic Development Authority), and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal community as a whole.

Photo by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

Established in 2007, the Guardians of Culture, Memory, and Lifeways International Awards Program identifies and recognizes organizations and individuals who serve as outstanding examples of how indigenous archives, libraries, and museums contribute to the vitality and cultural sovereignty of Native nations.

In making the award, ATALM commended the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe for bringing its library services into the 21st century, offering opportunities for digital access to treasured tribal collections from anywhere in the world and providing a state-of-the-art library serving an active and integral role in community activities. The creation of the tribally-owned and managed “House of Seven Generations” online archival resource website connects current generations with the tribe’s cultural roots and allowing a glimpse into the rich history of the Jamestown S’Klallam people. In 2012, the tribe renovated Heron Hall, a former community meeting space, into a dynamic center that serves the cultural and information needs of the tribal community, and shares the rich cultural history of the tribe with the world. The library provides materials to homebound elders, conducts reading/literacy programs with children and youth, enhances language-learning services and resources, and collaborates with other tribal programs to develop activities for the benefit of tribal citizens and the public.

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library first opened in 1988, and has always been open to the public. It is located on the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Campus in Blyn at 1070 Old Blyn Highway. Library hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Library Institutional Excellence Award recognizes an indigenous library that profoundly demonstrates outstanding service to its community. Nominees must have developed innovative and effective services and programs that can be replicated by other libraries; partnered successfully with other institutions to improve and enhance services; or demonstrated excellence in service that has impacted the community in a measurable way.

Kudos to Leanne and her team!!!!

Do you know what you can find in a city directory?

If you want to research your home, your family history,
or local history you’ll want to use city directories.

They are similar to telephone books in that they were published every year, and they list the people living in a city….but city directories have so much more information.

You can find out the name of a spouse, both living and deceased.

Everett City Directory 1939

You can find out someone’s profession.

Wenatchee City Directory 1936

You can look up a company, and find out who was in charge.

Spokane City Directory 1893

If you are researching the history of your house you can search most city directories by street
address, instead of by a name, and find out who lived at a particular address.

Bellingham City Directory 1939

This is a partial list of people and businesses located on Meridian Street in Bellingham in 1939.

In 1939, the Fountain Plumbing Co. could be found at 2309 Meridian.  Today, over 70 years later,  there is still a home improvement business at that address.

Not a plumbing company,  but a store selling recycled and salvaged building supplies.

You can track your ancestors year by year.

You not only find out if their address changed, but also if their employment or marital status changed.  These 1936 and 1938 Wenatchee city directories tell us that Don Miller got promoted during those years, becoming the President/Manager of North Central Chevrolet.

1936

1938

City directories also provide a historical snapshot of the city.  There is usually a profile of the city
at the beginning of each one, along with some statistical data.

Ellensburg City Directory 1968

The information provided varies from year to year and city to city.

This example from the 1968 Ellensburg City Directory tells us what their population was, and what their media, entertainment and transportation options were.

It gets even more detailed, and tells us how many beds the hospital had, how many volumes the library held, how many telephones were in use.
*click on the image to read those numbers*

There might not be surviving data from the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce, but since they provided these statistics, along with the historical and economic data for the directory, we still have this historical snapshot of Ellensburg in 1968.

The directories after about 1920 usually have a yellow pages section where the businesses, churches, and government offices are listed by subject.

You can find out who all the local officials were….the mayor, police chief, and so on.
If the town happens to have Federal Government offices, you can find out who was in charge of them, as we can see in this  1955 Moses Lake city directory.

Moses Lake City Directory 1955

You can even find a future president….living with his mother in Seattle in 1961-1962.

Seattle City Directory 1961-1962

The Washington State Library has a collection of city directories for cities all over the state.

This page on our web site lists all of the city directories in our collection.
www.sos.wa.gov/library/cityList.aspx#washington

Contact us if you have any questions about using our city directory collection.
[email protected]   /   360.704.5221

Double Trouble in Walla Walla.

The Adventure on Klickitat Island

What do these titles have in common?

Well, they contain two of Washington State’s very unique place names.  Walla Walla and Klickitat are just fun to say.

They are also part of our collection of children’s books here at the Washington State Library.

We don’t just have history books and microfilm here at the State Library.  We collect any book written about, or set in, Washington State.  That includes picture books.

Double Trouble in Walla Walla by Andrew Clements is a wonderful tongue twister of a tale that is great fun to read aloud.

In Lulu’s English class one morning, there is an outbreak of “lippity-loppity jibber-jabber.”

Everyone is double talking – the students, the teachers, the nurse and even the principal.

He tries to deny it by saying “Tut-tut, sounds like silly-willy hocus pocus to me”.

It seems he has caught the double talk bug too.

Adventure on Klickitat Island by Hilary Horder Hippely is a beautifully illustrated nighttime adventure.  A little boy and his bear head out to help animals on the island who are wet and cold in a thunderstorm.

“On Klickitat Island
just think of the rains,
now soaking the otters
and poor baby cranes”

Once they get to the island, all of the animals work with him to build a shelter.  They triumph over the cold rainy night.

“With deer hauling driftwood
and cranes helping sort,
soon standing up tall
was a Klickitat fort!”

Come and visit us, or browse our catalog, if you’re  looking for a children’s book set in, or written about, Washington State.

Are you ready to innovate in your community? Would your library like to:

• Hold a community-wide tech fair?
• Teach computer classes to senior citizens?
• Recruit teen volunteers to help teach tech classes at the library?
• Implement a video production lab with the latest technology?

If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” apply now for a Digital Literacy Grant from WSL. The purpose of this grant cycle is to provide funding to help public, academic, college, tribal, and school libraries implement Digital Literacy projects that focus on the skills and resources needed by a library’s community and its patrons. Projects should meet at least one of the following objectives:

• Encourage the development of skills required to communicate and perform business transactions in a digital environment;
• Use diverse technologies appropriately to retrieve quality information;
• Support the development of skills to collaborate with others or to enhance employability in a digital and evolving world.

Digital Literacy grant applicants are urged to utilize project partners such as non-profits, hospitals, credit unions, and local businesses. Overall funding to support this grant cycle is $75,000, with a limit of $7,500 per application. It is anticipated that ten (10) or more applicants may receive awards.

Due to staffing limitations, WSL staff are not able to offer detailed one-on-one consulting on the final application. However, they are available to answer questions from potential applicants and can help them determine if they should adjust or proceed with their proposal or modify the proposal budget before expending the resources necessary to fully plan the project and prepare a full grant application.

For grant guidelines and specifics, go to sos.wa.gov/q/grants. For contact information for Digital Literacy staff, consult “Section 10” of the guidelines. To find out more about Digital Literacy initiatives, visit sos.wa.gov/q/DLwa.

Applications deadline: Postmarked or hand delivered by Friday, April 18, 2014.