WA Secretary of State Blogs

WSL Updates for January 18, 2018

Wednesday, January 17th, 2018 Posted in For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates, Washington Center for the Book | Comments Off on WSL Updates for January 18, 2018


Volume 14, January 18, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) REPRISE – ADVOCACY, ETHICS, AND THE LAW

2) POET LAUREATES FEATURED

3) PROMOTING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

4) SPARKFUN MAKERS

5) MAKING YOUR JOB EASIER

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) REPRISE – ADVOCACY, ETHICS, AND THE LAW

Earlier this week, Rob Mead, the State Law Librarian for Washington, presented a webinar on “Advocacy, Ethics, and the Law for Librarians.” That presentation is now archived and available for viewing on the State Library’s YouTube channel.

For information on upcoming First Tuesday webinars, and links to other archived presentations, visit www.sos.wa.gov/library/libraries/firsttuesdays.

Do you have a topic to suggest that you think would make a good webinar? Something you’ve always wished for but never found? Send an email to Nono Burling at [email protected]. Good ideas are always welcome!

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2) POET LAUREATES FEATURED

Tod Marshall, outgoing, and Claudia Castro Luna, incoming Washington State Poet Laureates, will be celebrated at an upcoming poetry reading at the Seattle Public Library, January 31, 7:00 p.m. The event features readings from WA129, an anthology of poems collected and curated by Marshall. There are 129 poems in the published book—one for every year of statehood up to 2018, the end of Marshall’s term as State Poet Laureate.

The event is presented in partnership with the Washington Center for the Book, as well as several other organizations. For more details, visit sos.wa.gov/q/WA129.

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3) PROMOTING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Promoting Healthy Communities is a consumer health initiative of the Public Library Association (PLA) and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). The goal is to spread the word about the great consumer health-related programs already underway in the nation’s public libraries.

Libraries are encouraged to submit a brief write-up about a recent library health program to ALA’s Programming Librarian website. This free website contains a wide variety of program ideas for libraries. Library professionals are encouraged to submit their own programs for publication in a section of the website called Program Models.

To submit a program for consideration, please fill out the “Share Your Program” webform. Or email your submission (using the provided Word document) to [email protected]. Programs from all library types are welcome. Please limit your submissions to programs from the past two years. For questions, contact Sarah Ostman, communications manager for ALA’s Public Programs Office, at [email protected].

Thanks for your consideration! Together, we hope to inspire more public libraries to take on this important work.

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4) SPARKFUN MAKERS

The SparkFun Community Partnership Program facilitates one-time collaborations between SparkFun and its community partners to support the work of makers in the field. In exchange for support through the donation of SparkFun hardware, community partners provide content for SparkFun’s channels to share their stories with the maker community at large. SparkFun believes that amplifying the successes of makers in the field helps the maker community around the world continue learning and innovating.

SparkFun looks for individuals and organizations who embrace maker values of open source, collaboration, playfulness, learning at all levels, and making the world a better place. Their community partners will demonstrate a noble cause, a vital need, and an inspiring story. For example, SparkFun is more likely to sponsor an educator who is having students build robots for a school robot dance party that will benefit a local charity than to simply help a school stock its makerspace.

On the third Thursday of every month, the Community Partnership team reviews applications and will contact applicants with any questions if necessary. For more information and to apply: www.sparkfun.com/pages/sponsorships.

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5) MAKING YOUR JOB EASIER

Work smarter. Save money. Get answers. The Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) is a nonprofit organization that helps local governments across Washington State better serve their citizens by providing legal and policy guidance on any topic. MRSC believes the most effective government is a well-informed local government, and as cities, counties, and special purpose districts face rapid changes and significant challenges, they are here to help.

Presenting Making Your Job Easier with MRSC’s Services, a free webinar describing MRSC’s vast suite of services—from personalized inquiries to a vast collection of online tools and resources—all of which can help you, no matter what department you work in. Even if you’ve used MRSC’s services for years, you’ll learn something you didn’t know about MRSC!

Who should attend? Local government employees at all levels, elected and appointed officials, and private consultants or attorneys that advise local governments. Details:

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Monday, Jan 22

Tuesday, Jan 23

Wednesday, Jan 24

Thursday, Jan 25

Friday, Jan 26

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DISCLAIMER: The State Library regularly highlights third-party events and online resources as a way to alert the library community to training and resource opportunities. By doing so, we are not endorsing the content of the event, nor promoting any specific product, but merely providing this information as an FYI to librarians who must then decide what is right for them.

Subscribe to WSL presents: News from Washington Libraries!

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WSL Updates for January 4, 2018

Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018 Posted in Federal and State Publications, For Libraries, Grants and Funding, News, Training and Continuing Education, Updates, Washington Center for the Book | Comments Off on WSL Updates for January 4, 2018


Volume 14, January 4, 2018 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) LET’S TALK ABOUT RACE

2) ADVOCACY, ETHICS, AND THE LAW

3) 2018 WASHINGTON BOOK AWARDS

4) HISTORICAL US CODE ONLINE

5) EZRA JACK KEATS MINI-GRANTS

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) LET’S TALK ABOUT RACE

Storytime is the perfect place to model an open and welcoming environment for the whole community. No one should feel left out or erased from a larger narrative by never being able to see themselves reflected in storytime.

How can librarians practice talking about race and model inclusion for their communities? How can we help our storytime colleagues not be afraid of delving deeper in creating an affirming and inclusive storytime environment? How do you gain institutional support for including social justice advocacy in storytimes?

During January’s free First Tuesdays webinar, the conversation is intended to model storytime inclusion in ways that lead to tangible practice. Tuesday, January 9, 2018 from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. For more information or to register, visit sos.wa.gov/q/ftst.

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2) ADVOCACY, ETHICS, AND THE LAW

The Washington State Library presents “Advocacy, Ethics, and the Law for Librarians” on Tuesday, January 16, from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. This free webinar is an introduction to public advocacy and lobbying for librarians within the context of Washington law. As professionals, how can we make sure our voices are heard on issues of freedom, equity, truth, and justice? What is ethically required of us? Where are the legal (and political) danger zones? Register: sos.wa.gov/q/Mead.

Presented by Rob Mead, the State Law Librarian for Washington, who manages the law library at the Temple of Justice in Olympia and is a member of the Washington Bar. Previously, he was the Deputy Chief Public Defender for New Mexico, the NM State Law Librarian, and an academic law librarian at the University of Kansas and the University of New Mexico.

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3) 2018 WASHINGTON BOOK AWARDS

Do you know a Washington author who had a book published in 2017? The Washington Center for the Book is actively seeking 2017 titles by Washington authors for the 2018 Washington State Book Awards. The Washington State Book Awards are given for outstanding books published by Washington authors the previous year. Info, criteria, and the online submission form are available online. The entry deadline is February 1, 2018.

The Washington Center for the Book, a partnership of the Washington State Library and The Seattle Public Library, administers the annual Washington State Book Awards which are designed to bring attention to the quality of writing being produced in Washington. Books are judged on literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality of the publication.

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4) HISTORICAL US CODE ONLINE

More than 60 years of U.S. laws are now published online and accessible for free for the first time after being acquired by the Library of Congress. The Library has made available the main editions and supplements of the United States Code from 1925 through the 1988 edition.

The U.S. Code is a compilation of federal laws arranged by subject by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives. The Library’s U.S. Code Collection is fully searchable. Filters allow users to narrow their searches by date, title and/or subject. PDF versions of each chapter can be viewed and downloaded.

The collection is online at loc.gov/collections/united-states-code. This provides access to editions of the U.S. Code that previously were not available to the public online for free. For the full press release, visit sos.wa.gov/q/UScode.

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5) EZRA JACK KEATS MINI-GRANTS

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, which fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression in our diverse culture, celebrates the 30th year of its Mini-Grant program with a call for proposals. Approximately 60 grants of up to $500 each will be awarded to qualifying teachers and librarians in public schools and libraries across the country.

Since 1987, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has provided nearly $1 million in support of Mini-Grant programs spanning the 50 states and U.S commonwealths. To learn more about Mini-Grants, including this year’s criteria, visit Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants. The application deadline is March 31, 2018.

Founded by the late Caldecott award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Ezra Jack Keats, the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation fosters children’s love of reading and creative expression by supporting arts and literacy programs in public schools and libraries; cultivating new writers and illustrators of exceptional picture books that reflect the experience of childhood in our diverse culture; and protecting and promoting the work of Keats, whose book The Snowy Day broke the color barrier in children’s publishing. To learn more about the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, visit www.ezra-jack-keats.org.

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Tuesday, January 9

Wednesday, January 10

Thursday, January 11

Friday, January 12

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DISCLAIMER: The State Library regularly highlights third-party events and online resources as a way to alert the library community to training and resource opportunities. By doing so, we are not endorsing the content of the event, nor promoting any specific product, but merely providing this information as an FYI to librarians who must then decide what is right for them.

Subscribe to WSL presents: News from Washington Libraries!

The Washington State Library has gone social! Friend/follow us at:

The Logger Lawyer

Friday, March 15th, 2013 Posted in Articles, Digital Collections, For the Public, Random News from the Newspapers on Microfilm Collection, State Library Collections | Comments Off on The Logger Lawyer


Chas. Newton and CH MaynardFrom the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Naturally the word “Library” in the following headline is what first caught my eye, but as the story unfolded I knew it had to be shared as the tale of a true Washington State original.

This was found at random in The Oakville Cruiser, page 1 top of the fold, Jan. 28, 1916.

 Champion Designs New Saw in Law Library

“The law library of the University of Washington may be a strange haunt in which to find the champion cross-cut sawyer of the world, but that is the winter lair of Chas. A. Newton of Oakville, junior law, crew man, football player, and undisputed champion of the saw men of the universe. And between law classes, this lawyer forester is preparing to better his own unbeaten record with the crosscut saw by designing and manufacturing what he expects will be the fastest sawing machine in existence. In the husky logger who won the world’s championship sawing contest during Shriner’s convention in Seattle last summer, few recognized the young university athlete and barrister. And if the story about the remarkable new saw he is making, down at the crew house, hadn’t leaked out his exploit in defeating the best woodsmen in the country at their favorite contest would perhaps have remained unknown at the university and the law school would not have discovered its newest celebrity.”

logger lawyer 2

“Newton has handled a saw from the time when he used it to cut firewood for the kitchen stove with a little red bucksaw until the day last summer that his remarkable skill was first publicly demonstrated when he won the big sawing contest from thirteen other loggers at the Hoquiam splash, the yearly Grays Harbor celebration. There he created a sensation among the lumbermen by cutting his log of 34 inches in 4 minutes and 20 seconds, defeating Nelson Knight, a logger from near Malone, who had won the contest for the past six years.”

“Later in the summer he clinched his triumph by the exploit during Shriner’s week. The six men who contested then, and whom he defeated at Woodland park, were experts drawn from all over the timber country on this side of the Rockies. And as the west has the biggest trees, so has she the best lumbermen. Therefore the Shriners’ committee designated the winner from this sturdy band of six, ‘world’s champ.’ Europe being in no position to participate in either Olympian or sylvan games, Newton is the proud bearer of the world title.”

“It is seldom that a log sawing contest has been viewed in Seattle in the last thirty years, so the real excitement of the race is little known. When the lumberjacks hue up on a peeled fir log and, at the signal, start to saw like mad, the Poughkeepsie regatta is not half as exciting. The big log is lost to sight in the flying chips and the sawyers are hidden in a cloud of sawdust. The long saws rip back and forth across the green wood in a rending, grinding chorus and are seen only in the flashes of silver, like the oars of a racing shell. When there comes a final ripping crack, the winner emerges from the sawdust cloud, looking like ‘the scarecrow man’ in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ but the most envied man in all the lumbering towns in the west.”

logger lawyer 1

“This honor has twice fallen to Newton, and when his new saw which he is now working on is finished he will be in trim to once again pull down the laurels at the Aberdeen splash that is scheduled for early in July.”

“Newton’s new saw will be different from any other saw in existence. He has figured out a cutting edge that he says will be faster than any other present saw. His scheme is for a saw with fewer cutting teeth, more rakers and bigger gullets, weighing in all sixteen pounds, which will be a few pounds heavier than the average saw, but will give a better cut. He is now marking out the saw blank– and when he is finished it will be stamped out by the Simonds Manufacturing Co. He will then file it himself by a method which he claims has just a little bit the edge on all other systems.”

“Newton made the trip with the crew to California last year and only had three minutes more to play to make his football letter.”

“‘Rusty’ Callow hastens to say that Newton is one of the best saw pullers in the country, and the blond gentleman knows, for he tried to beat Newton twice. It’s wonderful how these lumberjacks get ahead.”

NW card file card

In an effort to follow up on the life and career of Mr. Newton I had to go no further than WSL’s own NW Card File. Thisfinding aid is the product of decades of indexing newspapers and books by WSL  staff from the former Washington Room in the old Pritchard Building. I am happy to say we are now in the process of making this file available online. This will take a long time to input and at this point I’d like to make a pitch for any volunteers with good indexing and data entry skills to step up and serve the cause of Washington State history and culture.

Anyway.

I not only found a couple cards leading me to Mr. Newton’s obituary, but also a nice Tacoma News Tribune Sunday magazine profile in 1970 (Oct. 4) by Roland Lund and Warren Anderson.

Charles Arthur Newton was born Mar. 5, 1888 in Oakville. He served in the Army, graduated from college at Ellensburg in 1911, and taught school in Nagrom, near Yakima.

His teaching career was brief, and he enrolled in the University of Washington law school while at the same time was involved in sawing contests and school athletics, playing football and as a member of the rowing team. After he graduated he worked as an assistant coach for the Yale rowing team.

Upon returning to Washington he married Elsie Ham in 1925 and settled back home in the Oakville area, on a farm along the Chehalis River. According to the 1970 profile, “stuffy courtrooms and dusty lawbooks didn’t appeal to a hearty outdoors person raised on a riverside homestead. ‘I could make $9 a day filing saws– or logging.’ The woods would be Newton’s choice– saws– machinery– working with huge hands that only a few years before gripped an oar handle and flipped through pages of thick books.”

Mr. Newton died Aug. 26, 1982 at the Veterans Home in Retsil.