history

  • 10th Anniversary Of Greenwood Library: Feb 8th!

    ~posted by a Teen Blogger Greenwood library is celebrating a very special birthday this year. It’s turning a decade old! To celebrate this fantastic achievement, the library is throwing a special celebration. On the 8th of February, many fun activities will be held; all are totally free and open to the public. The celebration will be… Continue reading

  • Alaska beckons

    It’s been quite the hot summer — it has many of us dreaming of going even further north to catch some cool breezes and gain additional daylight hours to play in. Alaska beckons! Ann says: Alaska is vast, beautiful and unforgiving. Many men (and a few women) have been lured to Alaska by its beauty and its… Continue reading

  • Attention Soccer and History Fans!

    By Richard C. GOLAZO! As the 2014 World Cup descends on Brazil (perhaps with diverse impacts?), here’s a terrific book for soccer fans and Latin American history buffs alike. How has soccer shaped Latin America, from forerunner games in Mesoamerican cultures to the dynamic nations of today? Writing clearly and engagingly, author Andreas Campomar reveals… Continue reading

  • Where East Meets West

    For hundreds of years, Turkey has been a crossroads between European and Asian culture, politics, business and art. Turkey’s influence has also been wide-ranging– the Hungarian fondness for paprika is a remnant of the time that Hungary was part of the Ottoman Empire, and the pungent spice was brought to its citizens from the motherland.… Continue reading

  • Columbia Branch Staff’s Favorites

    The Columbia Branch staff put up a popular Staff Picks display throughout July to celebrate this year’s Summer Reading Program. Here are some of the books the Columbia Branch staff loved: Blankets by Craig Thompson This graphic novel tells a story of coming of age, first love and early adulthood. Thompson captures those timeless themes perfectly… Continue reading

  • Strange History

    One hot July day a woman walks out of her house and starts dancing. She dances for hours and then days. Soon other people become infected with the dancing plague and before long hundreds are uncontrollably dancing in the streets. Sounds like a great science fiction story, right? Well it actually happened in Strasburg, Germany… Continue reading

  • Extreme outdoors

    Although I’m fairly wimpy in “real life,” I enjoy the vicarious experience of reading about other peoples’ travails in harsh climates. Here are some favorite tales of true adventure and survival (with a bit of history thrown in): The Cruelest Miles by Gay Salisbury When isolated Nome, Alaska, was struck by a diphtheria epidemic in… Continue reading

  • Sad when that big ship went down…

    This month marks the hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, yet the passage of time has not reduced the drama of, and questions about,  that cold spring night in the North Atlantic. The most familiar controversy has to do with the inadequate number of lifeboats, and the seeming indifference of the passengers. The… Continue reading

  • How do I love the Seattle Public Library? Let me count the ways.

    Today’s guest blogger is Diana E. James, author of the newly published Shared Walls: Seattle Apartment Buildings, 1900-1939 (and co-author of one of our library’s own talented teen librarians). How do I love Seattle Public Library? Let me count the ways. Where else would a staff-person patiently sift through a drawer of maps until the perfect one… Continue reading

  • Into the Unknown: Pacific Northwest Maritime and Overland Exploration

    While the story of Juan de Fuca’s tale of an inland route, later known as the elusive Northwest Passage is of doubtful reliability, the later major sea explorations of the Northwest Coast during the late eighteenth century are well documented. Noteworthy coastal explorers include Vitus Bering, Dionisio Alcala-Galiano, George Vancouver, Robert Gray. Lewis and Clark,… Continue reading

  • Question of the Month: What’s the difference between ‘medieval’ and ‘middle ages’?

    Could you clarify the difference between the “medieval” and “middle ages”? Are they related or do they represent two different time periods? I am writing a paper and I am not sure what to use. I was under the impression that medieval is earlier than middle ages, the year 1000 maybe, and middle ages is closer… Continue reading

  • Seattle Camera Club’s Vision of Beauty

    The beauty of our city, and its surroundings — how often have these been noted and commented on? Every fine day we get another opportunity to be grateful for Seattle’s location, and every rainy or cloudy day, the beauty is still present but cloaked in different covering. We’re lucky to be reminded of this simple… Continue reading

  • Citation chase

    If I were to think of all the books I have read because they were mentioned in another book, why I would be thinking for quite a while here.  It is so often the case that I follow an author’s mention of a title and look for and read that title, that I don’t even… Continue reading

  • Who Was Here First?

    “In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” That was the little mnemonic we used to remember the exploits of Christopher Columbus when I was in grade school. What an amazing voyage that must have been. I take nothing away from those brave sailors. That is, except their claim to being here first. If not Columbus and… Continue reading

  • History Gone Missing

    Once upon a time, I was a history major and I think I stay pretty current, historically speaking.  One day, not too long ago, I realized that I had basically missed an entire era and civilization.  Byzantium – hummm, wasn’t that some sort of precursor to the Ottoman Empire.  Decadent and short lived right?  Wrong.  In… Continue reading

  • February Question of the Month – an irregular series

    During the French Revolution of 1789-1799, a woman was executed. She was married to a member of the nobility. Her husband was a well known scientist (?), as was she. What was her name? Thank you for your question. The French husband and wife scientific team were Antoine and Marie Lavoisier. Lavoisier, a chemist and physicist, established… Continue reading

  • January Question of the Month – an irregular series

     I would like to know how long it would have taken to travel by train from Seattle to Boston in 1910. Thank you for your assistance. Thank you for using our Ask a Librarian service with an inquiry about the length of time it would take to travel by train from Seattle to Boston in… Continue reading

  • Solidarity Forever! Celebrating Seattle’s Workers and Labor History

    As we enjoy our Labor Day barbecues and picnics, it’s a good time to reflect on Seattle’s extraordinary labor history and honor the men and women whose struggles and hard work not only built this city, but won us cherished rights. The Seattle Public Library is a great place to start research before going to… Continue reading