library staff

  • A Tribute to Old Dogs

    Our beloved dogs age all too quickly. Fondly remembered is this old and faithful companion. There’s no mistaking her senior status with that gray muzzle on black fur. It was some time ago when she departed for the great dog park beyond. But, as they say, old dogs don’t die – they just join cyberspace…… Continue reading

  • Say What?

    Have you ever wondered how our brains learn a language? What does your brain know about language that you don’t? Is it really true that kids are better at learning a new language than adults? This Saturday a University of Washington doctoral candidate in Neurobiology and Behavior will be at the Central Library discussing just… Continue reading

  • John Dore, Jr.: A Reader and a Sailor

    A visitor to the Seattle Room at the Central Library, which houses many of the Library’s special collections, recently asked to see a 1921 copy of Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates.  As I was putting the book away, the inscription in the front caught my eye: Continue reading

  • Itching to Start Stitching?

    With the Urban Self Reliance workshops in full swing, it’s easy to pick up sewing skills at many Seattle Public Library branches during the month of October. For instance, SewUpSeattle leads a ‘Costume Repair and Swap’ at the Ballard branch Monday, October 29 at 5pm and Capitol Hill branch on Saturday, October 20 at 1:30pm. Bring… Continue reading

  • She Makes Art!

    A rich mix of artwork greets us this fall when Seattle Art Museum presents Elles: Women Artists from the Centre Pompidou, an international survey of works by groundbreaking artists.  Not to be missed, too, are installations and exhibits of pioneering artists from SAM’s own collections that will be on view in Elles: SAM– Singular Works by… Continue reading

  • Country & (Mid)Western

    Gorgeous orchestral arrangements. Achingly beautiful vocals set against the sparkle of mandolin and glockenspiel. Nuanced lyrics that invoke the stark panoramas of an Ohio landscape. Could this actually be country & western music? Yes, but with a twist. Sometimes known as “alt-country” or “countrypolitan,” this relatively new form of country music has transformed an often-maligned… Continue reading

  • LGBT Pride

    June is here, which means LGBT Pride Parades are taking to the streets of major cities, including ours: the Seattle Pride Parade and Seattle Pride Fest take place on the weekend of June 23-24! Names like Ellen, Harvey, Elton, Dan, and Wanda will float about, rekindling our knowledge of famous gays and lesbians throughout our… Continue reading

  • The Phantom Tollbooth at 51

    One of my favorite books of all time, The Phantom Tollbooth, the novel by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, celebrates its 51st birthday this year. It is fitting that I am writing to mark its 51st birthday, rather than its 50th because the book itself is a celebration of the unusual in the… Continue reading

  • The Rules We Live By

    Society is constantly telling us how we should behave: behavior is enforced through rules and laws, schools and teachers have certain expectations, and religious leaders preach about conduct based on sacred texts. Most often, we learn how to behave through our parents and families. We are raised for the better part of our years by… Continue reading

  • Beautiful in the Mouth: On the Reading and Writing of Poetry

     What is a poem on a page but a Field of Light and Shadow where For Love of Common of Words, A Radiant Curve catches 19 Varieties of Gazelle gazing into Darkening Water becoming Human Dark with Sugar going Heart First into the Forest Meaning a Cloud, Torn Awake is coming to be torch song… Continue reading

  • Accessibility Camp Seattle 2012

    Accessibility Camp is an unconference focusing on the topic of digital accessibility. Events like this have been held throughout the country, as well as other countries including Canada, England and Japan. The Seattle Public Library will be hosting Accessibility Camp Seattle 2012 at the Central Library, on Level 4, all day Saturday, June 2 & Sunday, June 3.… Continue reading

  • A Mother’s Day tribute

    My love for books was instilled in me by my mom when I was a child. Mom became a high school librarian when I was an elementary school student. She would always bring home books that she checked out from her library for my siblings and me. We were extremely lucky to have books to… Continue reading

  • People who Give Big for Books …

    Tomorrow is Give Big Day in the Seattle area — and  your online donation to the Library counts even more.  Last year, 700 people donated to Seattle Public Library’s GiveBIG for Books — and we had the highest number of people participating. We want to keep that number one spot! This year, the first $25,000 donated to… Continue reading

  • Seattle Picks: Scary fiction for kids

    Reading scary stories can give kids the thrill of experiencing a fantasy — without the truly horrifying consequences that go along with it. Our children’s services librarians put together a list of 32 (yes, thirty-two!) spine-tingling tales for children. You can find the entire Scary fiction for kids list in our catalog. Here are just… Continue reading

  • Woodpecker Wake-Up Call

    Before the calendar told me that spring had arrived, a familiar visitor announced it in a very bold way. Every spring for the past several years, a northern flicker woodpecker (Colaptes auratus) has pecked away on my roof during mating season in spurts of rapid, repetitive motion lasting several seconds. The sound of a jackhammer… Continue reading

  • Exercise your mind!

    Do you ever find yourself missing your old college days of taking interesting classes and listening to thought-provoking professors? Or have you had to wake up extra early to beat all the other students to register for that most wanted professor? I remember my favorite professor who taught literary analysis in the evening. He was older and usually forgot what he was… Continue reading

  • Your Next 5 Books: An unexpected punch

    In this column we regularly highlight a Your Next 5 Books submission that we find interesting, funny, unique, or useful to other readers. Submit Your Next 5 Books entry now, or stop by and see us in person, and maybe you could see your (anonymous) reading habits on Shelf Talk! Continue reading

  • My Favorite Women Writers and Artists

     Advance Weekend Edition for Sunday, April 1, 2012 I’m always amazed at how an artist’s personality and distinctive voice come through in their work, especially with some of my favorite women authors. Case in point: Joyce Kilmer. She’s most famous for her beautiful poem “Trees,” which has also been set to music by Oscar Rasbach.… Continue reading