Programs & Services

  • Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Children’s Book Blogs

    Have you ever wondered how to keep up with the thousands of children’s books that are published in a year? Have you always wanted to be able to know more about a book than what you can look through at a bookstore or read the reviews about on amazon.com? Well, here are a few blogs… Continue reading

  • March Question of the Month: An irregular series

    The reference librarians at The Seattle Public Library are pretty darn amazing. They don’t know everything, instead they know where to find everything. As part of an irregular series of posts we salute the talented and dedicated reference staff at your local library. Names and other identifying information have been removed from the questions we… Continue reading

  • Have you heard about “Seeds of Compassion” ?

    A historic five-day gathering to focus the world’s attention on the importance of nurturing kindness and compassion will take place at large-scale venues in Seattle from April 11 to 15, 2008. This spiritually-significant event will include public presentations by the Dalai Lama, as well as other luminaries. For a complete listing of events see Seeds… Continue reading

  • Gardeners, Start Your Engines

    It’s Spring, and a young (or not so young) gardener’s fancy naturally turns to PLANT SALES! Of course we’ll all run off to our favorite members of the Washington State Nursery & Landscape Association and the Specialty Nursery Association of Western Washington. But don’t stop there. There are dozens of local plant sales every year… Continue reading

  • Synchronicity in the Backyard

    Even with the gardening season right around the corner, the thoughtful gardener will still always find time to read, dream of and ponder the natural world around us. After reading about global warming via the lengthy series of New Yorker articles excerpted from Elizabeth Kolbert’s acclaimed recent book Field Notes from a Catastrophe, documenting the… Continue reading

  • Sleuthing for a good mystery?

    I don’t know why, but somehow reading a good mystery has a soothing effect on me. Go figure. The Library has lots of mysteries, but how to know which ones you will like? Librarians are always happy to talk to you and try to match up your tastes with the “right” book. There are also… Continue reading

  • Northwest author Jo Dereske creates a ‘loving sendup’ to librarians in Miss Zukas mysteries

    Turns out my favorite librarian in the universe will be making an appearance at our very own Green Lake Library this week. Okay, make that my favorite fictional librarian, created by Northwest author Jo Dereske, who will be reading from her popular Miss Zukas mystery series and discussing writing mysteries (she has a new series… Continue reading

  • Tapping your feet at the Ballet

    Ballet is a feast for the eyes. But don’t forget your ears. DIRECTOR’S CHOICE, the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s March 2008 program, includes some material from new choreographers and some unusual composers. Musical selections by Mikel Rouse, Arvo Paart, Phlip Glass and Thom Willems will be previewed in the Microsoft Auditorium of the Seattle Public Library’s… Continue reading

  • Spun to distraction – surviving life between the primaries and the general election

    This is probably the most exciting election year I’ve ever seen. It’s exhilarating and exhausting. Just keeping track of the code words and the spin cycles, not to mention the charges and counter-charges is enough to give even a committed political junky a headache. Enter unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation. Written by… Continue reading

  • Fields of Blood and Sacrifice – Christian Fleetwood and his brothers in the Black Regiments of the Civil War

    Uncommon Valor: a story of race, patriotism and glory in   the final battles of the Civil War, by Melvin Claxton.   Christian Fleetwood was a 23 year old free-born Black man living Baltimore when the recruiters of the 4th US Colored Infantry began assembling their forces.  He joined the ranks on August 17th 1863 and was… Continue reading

  • Using Your Databases

    Many of the databases that the Seattle Public Library subscribes to for you offers information found nowhere on the Web, and most can be accessed from any computer with Internet access. Here’s how: Go to the SPL homepage at  www.spl.org Click on the Databases and Websites link in the middle of the page under the… Continue reading

  • TV Terror: Feb. 17, 2009?

    I was part of the TV panic.  I heard the warnings that my TV would not work in 2009.  Patrons called and asked the same question.  Do we have to throw our televisions in the trash and buy a new one?  Don’t panic! The truth is that you will be able to use your analog TV in… Continue reading

  • Goats do roam…in Seattle

    Why is our book Home Cheese Making : Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses so popular?  Perhaps because it’s authored by home cheese making superstar Ricki Carroll.  In Seattle,local artisan cheese is readily available at farmer’s markets and grocery stores.  Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival takes place each year, even though we are far from Wisconsin.  It’s highly… Continue reading

  • America’s Genealogy Bank – an enticing new resource

    Genealogy is the Internet’s second most popular past-time.  At Seattle Public Library we love to work with Genealogists and we’re excited to present a great new electronic resource for our patrons. America’s Genealogy Bank is the perfect complement to our other fabulous genealogy services. From one very easy to use search screen you can review millions… Continue reading

  • Shelf Talk: The Seattle Public Library Blog

    Shelf Talk is created and maintained by the staff of The Seattle Public Library. This is our first post! Seattle loves its libraries. Four out of five Seattlites has a library card (what’s with you other fifth, anyway?), and our per capita library circulation is among the highest in the country. We’ve been ranked the nation’s… Continue reading