November 2015

  • Getting Educated on Startup Weekend EDU

    ~posted by Di Z. One week ago, The Seattle Public Library hosted another successful Startup Weekend EDU Seattle. For the second year in a row, participants gathered at the Central Library throughout the weekend to tackle issues in education and craft amazing presentations for Sunday’s finale. Continue reading

  • Oh the Hilarity!

    ~posted by Jenny C. It’s been a while since I shared my favorite silly picture books with you, and I have a whole new crop of ridiculous and delightful picks! McToad Mows Tiny Island by Tom Angleberger This book is both completely ludicrous in plot and remarkably satisfying. McToad loves Thursdays, because on Thursdays he mows tiny island.… Continue reading

  • Gift Books for Kids (Nonfiction is your friend!)

    ~posted by Selby G. If you are reading this post to get ideas about what book to gift a child for the holidays you are probably envisioning a fiction book. Maybe a classic like Treasure Island or an award winner such as Brown Girl Dreaming. And although I fully support loading a kid’s life with… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Thanksgiving Films

    ~posted by Frank When you hear about holiday films, most people wax nostalgic for heartwarming Christmas films. But what about Thanksgiving? While four of the most popular Thanksgiving flicks may tug at the heartstrings, eventually, it’s usually dysfunction and family drama that’s front and center. Continue reading

  • Congratulations National Book Award Winners!

    Congratulations to the winners of the 66th National Book Awards! FICTION: Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson. You can also listen to an SPL podcast of the author reading from this very book! NONFICTION: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. POETRY: Voyage of the Sable Venus by Robin Coste Lewis. YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE: Challenger Deep by… Continue reading

  • A Taste of Turkey from the Seattle Room Menu Collection

    ~posted by Jade D. Looking for inspiration for your Thanksgiving menu? Take a look at our Seattle Room Menu Collection to start gathering ideas for your turkey dinner from some of Seattle’s historic restaurants. Continue reading

  • BookFlix: A Fun Learning Database for Children

    ~ posted by Duan As a Seattle Public Library card holder, you can not only check out books, books on CDs, DVDs, and music CDs for your children by visiting your local branch, you can also remotely access many library-subscribed databases at home. If you want to help your child become a fluent, confident, and independent reader, I’d recommend you to check out… Continue reading

  • Off-season? No problem.

    ~posted by Emily  Temperatures are dropping, we’ve turned back the clocks, and it’s safe to say that summer is long behind us. But that doesn’t mean the opportunity for travel has passed us by. In fact, there are several reasons why it’s advantageous to plan travel during the off-season. One of the biggest advantages of… Continue reading

  • Freegal Five for Free: Movin’ n’ Shakin’ Edition

    -posted by Cameron M. Did you know that each and every week, each and every Seattle Public Library cardholder has the option to download five free songs? It’s true! DRM-free and yours to keep forever and ever, at least until your hard drive crashes (but seriously though, back up your files). Here are five suggested… Continue reading

  • Seattle Repertory Theatre’s “Come from Away”: Beyond the Theater

         – Posted by David W. Most of us can remember where we were and what we were doing on September 11, 2001, but few outside the tragic loci of that day’s events can have as dramatic a memory of them than the residents of the small Newfoundland town of Gander. It was to Gander that 39… Continue reading

  • Veterans Day: Informational resources and recommended reading

              While the Library will be closed in observance of Veterans Day this Wednesday (November 11), we would like to highlight some materials and upcoming events that may be of interest to Seattle’s veteran community. On Thursday, November 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., we will host a Drop-In for Veteran Services event… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: Sci-Fi for Short Attention Spans

    ~posted by Frank I’m about to make a heretical statement, but I find many sci-fi films to be….boring. There’s never a lack of grand ideas to explore, but often I find them to be less than compelling on the screen. And then there are great sci-fi films like Interstellar – but at nearly three hours, it felt… Continue reading

  • Thomas Teller: A Swedish Musician Who Loves Libraries

    ~Posted by library staff. Swedish singer-songwriter Thomas Teller Jönsson loves libraries. His song “Library” is set in his hometown library in Malmö, Sweden, and this August he composed the song “Tomorrow” in the Central Library music room here at The Seattle Public Library. He later performed this song and others at the Swedish Cultural Center… Continue reading

  • Food And Dating

    One of the best things about the past year with my boyfriend Adam has been discovering our mutual love of food. We’ve searched for new restaurants to try together, showed off our favorite diehards, and have both created kitchen perfection for each other. Here are a few of our favorite dishes: Continue reading

  • Seattle Repertory Theatre’s “Buyer & Cellar”: Beyond the Theatre

        – posted by David W. The Seattle Repertory Theater’s current production of Jonathan Tolins’ hilarious one-man show Buyer & Cellar has been getting great reviews. The show, which envisions the curious professional and personal life of a man hired to staff a quaint shopping mall that actually exists in the basement of Barbra Streisand’s palatial Malibu… Continue reading

  • Coming to a branch near you: Assistive software for blind and low vision patrons

    On the first floor of the Central Library, there’s a room off the beaten path packed with our most exciting, cutting-edge equipment. To find it, enter on 4th Avenue, walk past the hold shelf, past the Word Languages desk (stop by and say hi!), past the restrooms, then enter the wide room on your left – there you… Continue reading

  • A Fall Of Pie

    One of my favorite things about the arrival of fall is getting back into the kitchen to bake. Cookies, cakes, breads, and most importantly PIE! I found three lovely pie books from the library and decided to focus on one recipe from each book located in their fall sections. Now the one thing I did… Continue reading

  • Movie Mondays: A Dozen Documentaries to Devour

    ~posted by Frank It’s fall, and the days are getting shorter and darker. For those of you who are underwhelmed with feature films and unable to commit to another TV series, I offer you a list of a dozen recent documentaries to fill the void. Continue reading