Programs & Services
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Kick Off with Women’s Soccer Part 2 – Fiction
The National Women’s Soccer League season is off to a thrilling start! You may have seen my last post about the NWSL with library resources to get you prepped and excited for the season. Ready for women’s soccer to take over more of your brain space? Here are some novels and movies so you can… Continue reading
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March 2025 Author and Community Events at the Library
The Library has many programs that will get you reading, talking and connecting this month, including a silent reading event, an evening with Torrey Peters and a celebration of community stories and Black memory at ARTE NOIR during the First Friday Art Walk. Find more events on our arts and author events calendars. All Library events… Continue reading
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Caring For Each Other Better: Podcast Features the Library’s Social Services team
Over the past several years, The Seattle Public Library has created an in-house Social Services team. Consisting of two community resource specialists and a Social Services librarian, the team is guided by trauma-informed care principles and the knowledge that you can’t enjoy full access to library services if your basic needs are not met. If… Continue reading
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Your Public Library Is an Untapped Resource for Young Entrepreneurs
Guest post by Mason Pashia, GettingSmart.com “Libraries have long supported small businesses. The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is one of the two oldest business-supporting organizations (alongside the Chamber of Commerce) in the city,” said Jay Lyman, librarian with the Community Engagement and Economic Development group at The Seattle Public Library. (Jay directs the Library’s business… Continue reading
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Get Free Tax Help at 12 Library Locations
Do you need help with your 2024 tax returns? The Library can help! We have numerous drop-in events at branches across the city where you can get free, in-person help with your taxes. The Library, United Way of King County (UWKC) and AARP are collaborating to offer free, in-person tax preparation service through mid-April at… Continue reading
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6 Ways We’re Expanding Access: Fine-Free Anniversary, Part 2
Last week, in honor of the Library’s five-year anniversary of no longer charging overdue fines, we shared stories from our patrons about what fine-free borrowing has meant to them. We wanted to shares other changes the Library has made to expand access and create a more worry-free, inclusive experience. If you have questions about any… Continue reading
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“A Huge Load Off My Shoulders”: 5 Fine-Free Years, Part 1
Five years ago, the Library eliminated overdue fines, a change that was overwhelmingly approved by Seattle voters when they voted in the 2019 levy (thank you!). We also forgave all outstanding fines to give as many people as possible a fresh start. We made this change because decades of research, as well as our daily… Continue reading
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2025 Seattle Reads Selection Celebrates Poetry and the Natural World
We are so excited to share this year’s selection for Seattle Reads, the Library’s citywide book group: Edited by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World,” celebrates our deep connection with the natural world and the collective power of poetry. For the book, Limón invited 50 American poets to observe… Continue reading
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February 2025 Author and Community Events at the Library
The Library has many programs that will get you reading, talking and connecting this month, including a sweet silent reading program at the Green Lake Branch; an event featuring Jennifer Finney Boylan talking about “Cleavage,” and Omar El Akkad in conversation with Ijeoma Oluo about his new book “One Day Everyone Will Have Been Against… Continue reading
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Impact Story: Digital Inclusion in Action at the Delridge Branch
What does it mean to have computer skills for the first time? On a Saturday afternoon in December at the Delridge Branch’s meeting room, 11 newly minted adult graduates of a 13-week basic digital literacy class organized by Villa Comunitaria, reflected on this question. One student, Abel, said that the class has helped prepare him… Continue reading
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Winter 2025 Arts Events: Pico Iyer, Schuyler Bailar, Jesse Hagopian and More
If your ideal winter night is an evening listening to authors discuss intriguing books and ideas, we’ve got you covered, from Pico Iyer to Schulyer Bailar to T.J. Klune. All library events are free and open to the public. Check the event descriptions at spl.org/Calendar for registration links. Find more upcoming programs at spl.org/Authors. Silent Reading Night at… Continue reading
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The Seattle Public Library Will Expand Open Hours at Nine Locations on Jan. 29
The Seattle Public Library will expand open hours at nine branches starting on Wednesday, Jan. 29. With this increase, all library locations, with the exception of the University Branch, which closes on Jan. 29 for renovations, will be open at least six days a week. Thirteen locations will be open seven days a week. “With… Continue reading
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Our New Horror Section . . . It’s Alive!
On Friday the 13th, the Central Library is hosting an exciting after-hours launch party from 6:30pm – 8:30pm for our new adult horror fiction collection, and we hope you join us! Register here. Local authors Tara Campbell and Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann will treat us to an adult horror Story Time and lead us in… Continue reading
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“Crash Course in College Life”: UW Magazine Covers Library Internship
We were thrilled to see a recent article in UW Magazine that told the story of a program for high school students that the Library has been involved in since the beginning. The UW Libraries High School Internship serves a small number of teens — 10 a year — but as writer Dan Parry documented,… Continue reading
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Museum Pass Program Currently Paused
June 11, 2025 update: As of today, our Museum Pass program has restarted! Go to www.spl.org/MuseumPass to find out more and to make your reservation. The Seattle Public Library’s popular Museum Pass program, which offers Library cardholders free admission to participating museums and cultural organizations, is paused temporarily. In December 2024, the vendor we used… Continue reading
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History Matters: Acclaimed Historian Talks Reconstruction at the Central Library on Dec. 5
On Thursday, Dec. 5, award-winning historian Dr. Manisha Sinha will come to the Central Library to give The Seattle Public Library’s annual Bullitt Lecture in American History, based on her book “The Rise and the Fall of the Second American Republic.” In her book, Sinha argues that the post-Civil War period of Reconstruction – what… Continue reading
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Rock Your Mocs! Native Youth Reading Challenge, Empowering Indigenous Voices Through Storytelling
This October the Native Youth Reading Challenge began, celebrating Native voices and connecting young readers with stories that reflect their heritage. The Challenge was created by a team of educators from public and tribal schools and libraries in Washington, and was officially launched at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center by the United Indians of… Continue reading
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LEAP Interns: What We Learned at the Library
This summer, the Library was thrilled to have Marcos and Mohammed join us as part of a multi-week summer paid program focused on career preparation for Washington’s blind and visually impaired young people. They helped out in the LEAP department, made zines that are being added to the ZAPP collection, and learned a lot about… Continue reading