Book signing at the Washington State Book Awards
The Washington State Library has joined forces with The Seattle Public Library to lead the work of the Washington Center for the Book.
The Seattle Public Library was designated as the home for the Washington State Center for the Book by the U.S. Library of Congress back in 1989.
The mission of the Washington Center of the Book is to promote Washington’s literary heritage and the importance of books, reading, literacy and libraries.
There is a Center for the Book in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“We are very excited to collaborate with The Seattle Public Library to broaden the reach of the Center for the Book in our state,” said Washington State Librarian Cindy Aden. “We believe by combining our efforts, we can be more effective in strengthening Washington’s community of readers.”
She noted that some State Library programs – such as the Letters about Literature contest – will receive an added boost from the partnership, since they will now be produced jointly. Letters for Literature invites children from across the state to write letters to their favorite authors.
Washington’s three top winners for the 2017 Letters About Literature contest
Marcellus Turner, city librarian for The Seattle Public Library, said collaborating with the State Library will heighten awareness about many other activities local libraries offer to support writing, reading and literature.
“Events such as The Seattle Public Library’s annual Washington State Book Awards and the Seattle Reads program – which connects communities with books and authors through discussion – will benefit,” Turner said.
In addition to creating and calling attention to programs that highlight Washington’s robust literary heritage, future goals include offering unifying literary activities and promotions across our state. “We are just getting started, but we intend to explore opportunities to increase reading and literacy in Washington in new and innovative ways,” Turner said.
By now we hope you’ve heard about the new partnership between the Seattle Public Library (SPL) and the Washington State Library. Yes, we are talking about the Washington Center for the Book. As with all new endeavors, it can take a while for the behind the scenes work to emerge but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Lots of ideas and projects are being cooked up, and we hope to announce things soon. Meanwhile, if you don’t have your own Summer Reading Book Bingo going, SPL kindly adapted their Bingo card and shares it with you to give you a taste of things to come. So, here’s a Bingo card that your library can download, print and hand out to your patrons as we head into the dog days of summer. It’s never too late to read a book! How many do you think you can read before Labor Day? Happy Reading!