News & Stories

Thanks to a generous donor, your gift to The Seattle Public Library Foundation can be doubled on #GivingTuesday! This is a perfect opportunity to “pay it forward” and share your love for books and reading with your Seattle neighbors.

Make your gift on #GivingTuesday! Matching funds will double the impact of your gift, so give early, and help us reach our $50,000 challenge fund. Click here to give!

Thank you Google! Did you know that Google has contributed a total of $458,200 grants to the Library for technology and STEM programming?

Recently, a class of fourth- and fifth-graders from Concord Elementary received training on the basic concepts of computer coding with Juan Rubio, digital media and learning program manager for The Seattle Public Library. After their training the students raced the robots at a special event at The Seattle Public Library’s South Park Branch.

The Library’s finch program is made possible through a $58,200 grant from Google, The Library currently has 100 finches that it uses in a curriculum that introduces students to computer coding and develops skills in problem-solving and collaboration. This is one of several of the Library’s partnerships with Google to increase patron access to technology and digital literacy.

Google and the Library initially worked together to launch the highly successful Wi-Fi Hotspot program in 2015. Google has contributed more than $300,000 to the Library’s Wi-Fi Hotspot lending program. A Library survey revealed that 31 percent of Library patrons who check out the hotspots have no internet at home and 31 percent have incomes under $20,000 a year. The 835 hotspots have circulated over 18,000 times since the lending program began.

Google also has gifted $75,000 to the Library to put laptops and tablets in nine branches. Patrons can borrow them for use in the branch for 90 minutes a day. The eight laptops and two tablets will be loaded with the latest software, including Windows 10 and educational resources.

Thank you Google for your incredible support!

Congratulations to the finalists in the 2017 Washington State Book Awards! 

Thirty-eight authors and illustrators who make their home in our state are being honored for books that were published in 2016.  The 2017 Washington State Book Awards celebration is Saturday, October 14, at 7 p.m. at the Central Library in downtown Seattle. The Foundation will host an after party for all who attend on Level 3 of the Central Library.

Come toast the winners and finalists!

This October, the Library visits your favorite bars and pubs for Booktoberfest, our annual celebration of books, beer and good cheer. Join us in venues across the city for bookish happy hours, librarian-hosted trivia nights, spooky stories in bars and libraries, Karaoke, Books a la Carte and Literary Fortune Telling! Your gifts to the Foundation help bring these Library programs out into the community!

• Booktoberfest: Librarian’s Revenge Trivia Night Part 1 at Union Bar
  • Monday, October 2, 8:00 – 10:00pm
• Booktoberfest: Bookish Happy Hour at Trace
  • Wednesday, October 4, 5:30-7:30pm
• Booktoberfest: Bookish Happy Hour at Loretta’s Northwesterner
  • Monday, October 9, 5:00 – 8:00pm

Click here for more information.

“Rhythm in Colors” highlights our city’s storied past with jazz as a historic black art form that has influenced the world and animated our cultural landscape. Seattle jazz culture boasts a sweeping arc of talent including award-winning musicians and music education programs.

The exhibit features oral interviews of jazz musicians and advocates who have participated in the Library’s ongoing Seattle Jazz Archive project.  The Library has interviewed 13 individuals and will continue to add more interviews during the year. Rhythm in Colors also includes digital videos produced by Madeline Crowley, fully indexed transcripts and still photography of each interviewee.

The exhibit also explores how jazz educators have helped bring jazz into schools with opportunities for students to learn and participate, making Seattle a leader in youth jazz programs.

Bring your smartphones to the exhibit and you’ll be able to listen to audio clips of the oral interviews in the Library’s collection, see performances and access additional materials about jazz in Seattle.

Programs are scheduled for July and will include performances, a film screening and presentations.  Go to www.spl.org/audiences/all-ages/rhythm-in-colors for more information.

A very special thank you to Gary Kunis and you our donors for making this impactful exhibit possible.

We had a wonderful opportunity to dedicate a new named space in the Northeast Library for Barbara and Fred Guptill. The Guptill’s will forever be remembered as two library lovers who used the gift of reading to change the lives of those around them. Thank you Guptill family!

Fred and Barbara Guptill loved books. Their generous bequest to the Seattle Public Library was the last act in rich careers that centered on the role of libraries in empowering a literate populace.

Fred Guptill was born on July 14, 1930 in Seattle, as an only child of Fred Linden Guptill and Mildred Louise Carpenter Guptill. He was raised in Seattle, graduating from Lincoln High School and the University of Washington where he received his Master of Arts degree in History. He did a stint in the Navy and spent his career as a teacher and librarian for Seattle Public Schools. Fred loved to play bridge and was a master of the art. He also loved chess; one of his fondest memories was playing chess with John Wayne on one of the actor’s visits to Seattle. Fred also enjoyed traveling, history and art. Fred died on December 5, 2013.

Barbara Jane Guptill was born in Bonners Ferry, Idaho on May 30, 1931 to Lee and Enid Williams. She was the youngest of five children. She graduated from the College of Idaho in 1952. Barbara moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where she received her Master of Library and Information Sciences degree. She began working for the Seattle Public Library system in 1955. During her long career, she headed the adult-education department and then the Government Research Assistance Library before she became the director of downtown library services before her retirement in 1991. Barbara remained engaged in Seattle affairs post retirement, serving as Co-President of the League of Women Voters. Barbara died on March 31, 2003.

Fred and Barbara were married on Sept. 5, 1955. Fittingly, they met in the stacks of Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington where they learned of their shared love for books and each other.

 

The Seattle Public Library Foundation is pleased to announce the first-ever International Public Library Fundraising Conference to be held July 23-25, 2017 at the Central Library in downtown Seattle, Washington.

This is a fantastic opportunity for public library development professionals to get together and explore common areas of interest, network with others who successfully raise money for their libraries and hear from other fundraising experts.

We have an information-packed agenda with sessions that cover important fundraising topics, such as effective direct mail and digital fundraising strategies, proper messaging in today’s political climate, how to turn fundraising challenges into successes, and much more.

In addition to the fundraising topics led by library development leaders, we’re excited to have some inspiring keynote speakers, such as…

Deborah Jacobs, Director, Global Libraries Initiative, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Deborah oversees the Gates Foundation’s work toward improving people’s lives in developing and transitioning countries by providing them with public access to information and communications technology in public libraries.

 

Pam Sandlian-Smith, Director Anythink Libraries, Adams County, Colorado Pam is responsible for bringing Anythink Libraries from being the least funded system in Colorado to one of the most recognized library brands in the nation.

We also plan to host a sample exchange – where organizations can share materials, dashboards and annual plans – anything you are proud of and think others could benefit from. Plus, there will be time to socialize, take a walking tour of Seattle and maybe even check out a library or two!

Here’s a detailed schedule so you can plan your day of learning, networking, and site-seeing:

We look forward to seeing you this summer in Downtown Seattle!

The Seattle Public Library Foundation congratulates Duncan King, Ankitha Doddanari and Kristin Hayman, recipients of the 2017 Stim Bullitt Civic Courage scholarship.

Duncan King
$5,000 scholarship
“Kneeling for a Nation: How One Team’s Participation in a Nationwide Movement Developed Into a Force for Local Civic Change”

Duncan is attending Indiana University.

Ankitha Doddanari
$2,500 scholarship
“Seattle’s Forgotten Heroine of Unionization: Alice Lord”

Ankitha is currently attending the University of California, Berkeley.

Kristin Hayman
$2,500 scholarship
“John Singer & Paul Barwick’s Selfless Pursuit of Marriage Equality”

Kristin graduated from Redmond High School, Class of 2013. Attended Gonzaga University, 2013-2015 and is now at Providence College planning to graduate in 2018.

Shhh is something you rarely hear nowadays in the Library’s children’s areas. We encourage young children to explore and learn through play in our libraries. But many young parents still feel uncomfortable bringing babies and toddlers to the library. And some immigrant families don’t know children of all ages are welcome.

To remedy that problem, CiKeithia Pugh, the Library’s Early Learning Program manager, partnered with the Nurse-Family Partnership of King County to bring the first-time moms they work with into the Library. She hosts “Loud in the Library” events for parents and babies to get them comfortable coming to the library.

A recent “Loud in the Library” event at Rainier Beach Branch included sharing stories and early literacy tips plus time for free play, snacks, and socializing. One of the moms, a certified instructor of Zumbini (movement classes for babies and toddlers), led the group in a few dances.

CiKeithia’s innovative work connecting young children and their parents with the Library is made possible by support from donors to The Seattle Public Library Foundation. It’s one more way gifts to the Foundation help ensure the long-term vitality of The Seattle Public Library.

  

Ever wonder how books travel around the city to reach you?  Enjoy this short video about the day in the life of a library book. if you give $100 or more during GiveBIG you can see the incredible book sorting machine in action!