WA Secretary of State Blogs

Washington State’s Letters About Literature Contest for 2016 is underway.

Sunday, November 8th, 2015 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, For the Public, Letters About Literature | Comments Off on Washington State’s Letters About Literature Contest for 2016 is underway.


“I truly believe that without your book, I wouldn’t be here writing this letter to you today.”

Teresa Zhan 2014 Level 3 winner

“The moment I started reading your books it changed me! “

Emily Cordero, 2014 Level 2 winner

“Pastwatch showed me that to be the person I want to be, I must face my fears and voice my beliefs – even if they are different from the beliefs of people around me.”

Owen Bernstein, 2013 Level 2 winner

Every year powerful statements such as these are written by students from all over Washington State.  The Letters About Literature contest encourages young readers in grades 4-12 to read a book and write a letter to the author about how the book changed their view of the world or themselves.  2016 marks the eleventh year that the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, has sponsored the contest as part of Washington Reads.  Washington is a strong state in the contest routinely receiving over 3000 entries every year.

The contest has a tremendous impact on students and their appreciation for the books they read.  Here’s what last year’s winners had to say about the contest.

 

Would you like to learn more about the contest or read letters of past winners?  Here’s where to find the information.

The 23rd annual writing contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries and other organizations.

 

 

WSL Updates for May 22, 2014

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014 Posted in For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for May 22, 2014


Volume 10, May 22, 2014 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) FIRST TUESDAYS – MAKE YOUR WEEDING EASIER

2) CE GRANTS FOR STARTING STRONG

3) WALE 2014 SESSION PROPOSALS

4) 2014 SUMMER READING LISTS AVAILABLE

5) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) FIRST TUESDAYS – MAKE YOUR WEEDING EASIER

Weeding – whether it’s in your garden or in your library, it’s a chore. Find out how to make weeding in your library easier at the next First Tuesdays, Weeding made easy. At this free webinar, Chris Rippel of the Central Kansas Library system, will demonstrate how to use “Collection Manager,” a free Excel spreadsheet that he has developed to produce data to make it easier for public librarians to weed their collections. Chris will explain how to use this tool to discover:

  • Which collections to weed;
  • Which collections to expand;
  • Which collections to decrease;
  • How many titles to purchase in each collection.

Designed as a continuing education opportunity for staff of libraries in Washington State, this free web presentation, which will take place on June 3, 2014, from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. PDT, lets attendees share their skills and successes and learn about new topics. Sessions are recorded so that others may listen at their own convenience. For more information about First Tuesdays, visit sos.wa.gov/q/tuesdays. For instructions on joining the presentation, visit sos.wa.gov/q/FirstTuesdays.

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2) CE GRANTS FOR STARTING STRONG

Each year, the Starting Strong Institute brings together members of Washington’s early learning community in a conference that facilitates the sharing of innovative ideas and strengthens the connections between early learning and K-12 professionals. The 2014 Starting Strong Institute will be held at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick, Tuesday, August 5 – Wednesday, August 6, 2014. The conference will include breakout sessions focused on P-3 (pre-school through 3rd grade) alignment and implementation including WaKIDS, the Early Learning Guidelines and Common Core, and Community Collaboration. For more information about the conference and to register, visit sos.wa.gov/q/OSPIStrong.

Librarians and support staff who need financial assistance to attend this event may be eligible for Continuing Education (CE) grants, provided they work ten or more hours per week (paid or volunteer) in a library or library consortia that is eligible to receive LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) funds. Training must meet one or more of the 7 LSTA priorities and have a direct benefit to the library customer. To provide additional support during these hard economic times, the Washington State Library is temporarily lowering the match for CE grants to 25%, and will cover the remaining 75% of eligible expenses. CE Grant applications must be postmarked no later than 30 days before the beginning of the conference. For additional information about CE Grants and to apply, visit sos.wa.gov/q/CE.

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3) WALE 2014 SESSION PROPOSALS

WALE (Washington Library Employees), an interest group of the Washington Library Association, is seeking presenters for its 2014 annual conference, “Prism of Possibilities: Lighting the Future,” which will be held October 27 – 29, 2014, at Campbell’s Resort in Lake Chelan, Washington. Please consider sharing the experiences that have enabled you to better yourself, your job, and those you serve. Potential topics include anything that you have developed, borrowed, or improved upon – a new tool for the trade, a new skill set, a new way of looking at things. Also – think outside the library. Presenters from outside of libraries are welcome to submit proposals.

To submit:

All conference proposals are due by Friday, June 13, 2014.

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4) 2014 SUMMER READING LISTS AVAILABLE

Starr LaTronica, president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of ALA, has stated, “Summer reading helps prevent the summer slide that affects many children each year. By encouraging children to stay engaged in reading throughout the summer at home and at their library they will be more prepared for the next school year.”

To encourage K-8 students to continue to read during the summer months, ALSC has updated and released three Summer Reading lists that offer a multitude of book titles to keep children engaged in reading throughout the summer. Each list may be downloaded for free from the ALSC website and is available in color or black and white. Lists can be customized to include library information, summer hours, and summer reading programs for children. To find out more and to download the lists, go to ala.org/alsc/2014-summer-reading-list.

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5) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, May 26:

  • ProQuest Administrator Module (Language: Spanish) (ProQuest); 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/PQ1040;
  • ProQuest Administrator Module (Language: Portuguese) (ProQuest); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/PQ1041;

Tuesday, May 27:

  • Secrets to Harnessing Powerful Employee Performance (Training Magazine Network); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/Harness;
  • Introduction to Fundraising Planning (GrantSpace); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/GS27May;
  • My Library’s Future – What is a MakerSpace and Deciding If Your Patrons Would Benefit From a 3D Printer (Texas State Library); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/TSL27May;
  • Understanding Software Agreements: The Legal Concerns Nonprofits Should Know (4Good); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/4Good27MayPM;

Wednesday, May 28:

  • NCompass Live: Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Introducing GAFE (Google Apps for Education) to Elementary Students (NCompass Live); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/NComp28May;
  • Diversity Awareness for Effective Nonprofits (4Good); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/4Good28May;
  • Transforming Novices into Experts – Faster and Cheaper Ways (Training Magazine Network); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/novice;
  • Feeding a Need: Helping Youth Find Summer Meals (TechSoup); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/feedneed;
  • Advanced Searching: Beyond the Single Search Box (ProQuest); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/PQ1038;
  • Health Happens in Libraries: Technology Planning for eHealth (WebJunction); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/WJ28May;
  • Getting Answers: OCLC WorldShare Management Services Online Chat (OCLC); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/OCLC28May;
  • Spotlight! on National Library of Medicine (NLM) Resources: Mobile Resources (National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/NLM28May;
  • 45 Great FUNdraising Ideas in 60 Minutes (4Good); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/4Good28MayPM;
  • Proposal Writing Basics (GrantSpace); 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/GS28May;

Thursday, May 29:

  • Introduction to the ProQuest Platform (ProQuest); 7:00 – 7:30 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/PQ1039;
  • Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want (Training Magazine Network); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/growgo;
  • Proposal Budgeting Basics (GrantSpace); 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. PDT: sos.wa.gov/q/GS29May;
  • Leading Without Authority (WSL); 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. PDT, North Central Regional Library Distribution Center, Wenatchee: sos.wa.gov/q/LeadWithout.

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WSL SDL RFP released

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 Posted in Articles, For Libraries, News, Technology and Resources | Comments Off on WSL SDL RFP released


Wordle: DatabasesThat little soupçon of alphabet soup is supposed to indicate the following:

The Washington State Library (WSL), a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, announces the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Statewide Database Licensing (SDL) project. The RFP seeks vendors to provide databases in one of three categories:

  1. A database package of primarily full text magazine and journal articles covering a wide variety of subject areas and topics providing a minimum of 2500 unique full text titles, with content that will be of interest to all types of nonprofit libraries and their patrons;
  2. A full text newspaper database of primarily Washington State daily papers with at least four WA papers, and at least two newspapers of national stature (such as the New York Times);
  3. One or more databases with content appropriate to children and students (K-6 and/or K-12) that include a search interface designed for the younger researcher, and with database content appropriate for elementary reading levels.

The RFP is available via the state’s online procurement system, WEBS, and also from the Secretary of State’s procurement web page. Proposals are due by March 7, 2011, and “Letters of Intent to Propose” are due by February 15. Any questions about the RFP and the procurement process should be directed to Will Stuivenga, the RFP Coordinator at [email protected] or 360.704.5217.

WSL Updates for November 24, 2010

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 Posted in For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates | Comments Off on WSL Updates for November 24, 2010


Volume 6, November 24, 2010 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT FACT SHEETS RELEASED

2) MISSING NEWSPAPER ISSUES

3) STEPHEN ABRAMS – LIBRARIES AT THE TIPPING POINT

4) LAURA BUSH GRANT PROVIDES BOOKS FOR K-12 LIBRARIES

5) GETTING READY IN INDIAN COUNTRY

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Read the rest of this entry »