Western State Hosptial

Kathleen Benoun at Western State Hospital Library has done it again.  Not only does she keep the patients and staff happy in the library— her love of history has drawn her to help create the historical museum on the grounds of Washington State Hospital.  Now that love of history and the library has combined to bring a great program to the hospital treatment centers.  This program is a great addition to the library services at Western State Hospital.  Check out the attached flyer to see how Kathleen showcases the hospital’s rich history.

Western State Hosptial

To re-new interest in the WSH Library, we began the year by participating in ILS Snapshot Day 1-11-11 and all branches shared stories and pictures on the State Library website.  A month later, a WSH Library newsletter was introduced on campus to highlight the collection’s offerings.  Starting mid-year, classes at the hospital treatment centers were entertained with a weekly show-n-tell—poetry—storytelling format library programming.  District #28 Rep. Troy Kelley accepted an invitation to visit the library and WSH history museum.  The Library is a major supporter of the hospital’s historical heritage and hosted a WSH Museum open-house in September.

In the spirit of thrift,  Eastern and Western State Hospital staff wrote to certain publishers to seek in-kind donations.  The donations received were shared with all 12 ILS branches.  The Forest Institute donated good quality psych education videos to the WSH Library.  Branches shared equipment and materials to maximize shelf-life.  WSH Staff and patients donated books, DVDs, music CDs and artwork throughout the year.