The Seattle Public Library

Celebrate and the freedom to read at the Library. Banned Books Week kicks off this Sunday (Sept. 22) with free letterpress printing at Central Library. Create your own posters about what books mean to you!

Banned Books Week is also a time to reflect on the fight against censorship. Our Books Unbanned program is one way we're helping teens and young adults across the U.S. access the books they want to read, no matter where they live. Cardholders across the United States get free access to digital books, and have checked out more than 250,000 books since we joined the program in April 2023. Their stories show how impactful this kind of access can be.

Learn more and join us in celebrating the right to read! www.spl.org/BannedBooksWeek

See some of the many reasons why people love the Library! (All great reasons to get a Library card for Library Card Sign-up Month!)

If you see one of these displays at your local branch, share what you love, and see what other patrons are saying. You might even discover a Library service or resource you never knew about!

A big thanks to all our patrons at the Southwest, Greenwood, Broadview, Lake City, Northeast and Wallingford branches and beyond for sharing what you love about Your Library.

Homework Help starts this week for K-12 students! This free, in-person program is available after school at 9 branches throughout the city.

Find a Homework Help branch near you at www.spl.org/HomeworkHelp

Can't attend in-person Homework Help? Students can also access free virtual tutoring (in English, Spanish and Vietnamese) through Tutor.com.

Our new fall hours schedule will start Wednesday, Sept. 25. Most locations will keep their current schedules, but some branches will see more weekend and evening hours for afterschool access! See the schedule for your branch at www.spl.org/FallHours

September is Library Card Sign-up Month! Here and in The Seattle Times we're highlighting a few of our favorite reasons to get a Library card (all back online and ready for you to use. Welcome back!)

Tell us yours in the comments 👇

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/seattle-public-library-shares-tips-on-what-your-library-card-offers/

Talk through your end-of-life documents and get your questions answered by professionals!

Join us tomorrow (Wednesday, Sept. 11) at Rainier Beach Branch for a free End-of-Life Planning Workshop, followed by free 30-minute sessions to walk through your end-of-life documents. Appointments for the consults can be held either in-person at Rainier Beach or virtually through Zoom.

The workshop starts at 1 p.m. See times and make an appointment for a consult: https://www.spl.org/event-calendar?trumbaEmbed=calendar%3Dkalendaro%26search%3Dend%20of%20life

September is Library Card Sign-up Month! We're back online and back from summer break. It's the perfect time to see what your Library has for you, from author events to job resources and much more!

If you don't have a Library card, it's free and easy to sign up. If you already have a Library card, tell your friends, family and neighbors to get one too. Explore everything your local library has to offer at www.spl.org/YourLibrary

Welcome back!

You might have seen film crews at the Douglass-Truth Branch this week. That was Look, Listen and Learn TV filming a new episode featuring stories about wonder and
gratitude.

LL+L is an award-winning, early learning TV program rooted in brain
development research, racial equity and radical joy. You can watch
episodes at https://www.looklistenandlearn.org/ (perfect for a rainy weekend).

🖥️ Access to public computers, pickup lockers, and the Suggest A Title form will come back the week of September 3rd!

We are also working on an interim solution for online Library card sign-ups, which will be available by the end of August.

Thank you for your patience as we work to fulfill the long list of new holds patrons have placed. Please cancel holds you’re no longer interested in, which will help us and help you!

To see more updates on our recovery, visit www.spl.org/Update

An exciting day for our friends at the Foundation!

Our next chapter starts now! The Board of Directors of The Seattle Public Library Foundation is thrilled to announce that following an extensive national search, Brian Lawrence is our new Chief Executive Officer.

Brian has a track record of success at the Foundation, a stellar reputation in Seattle and beyond, and a clear vision for advancing the mission of The Seattle Public Library. We’re so excited about how he will move the Foundation forward.

Read more: https://supportspl.org/2024/08/foundation-board-announces-brian-lawrence-as-new-ceo/

Meet the four local artists who created artwork for this year's Summer of Learning! Their unique styles and perspectives helped bring the theme of "Free to Read!" to life.

We actively seek out BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists to highlight the experiences of traditionally underrepresented people plus encourage art that expresses the artist's "own voice." If you are an artist interested in working with us, use the contact form on our website to share your information and a link to your portfolio: www.spl.org/Ask.

Need kid-friendly weekend plans?

We've partnered with Daybreak Star Preschool for StoryWalks in Magnolia, which you can visit until Aug. 31! Each StoryWalk highlights a different book by an Indigenous author, and it's a great way to get kids outside and exploring stories.

Read more in this article from KNKX Public Radio

Seattle Public Library StoryWalks highlight Indigenous stories In an effort to get kids and their caregivers reading outdoors, Seattle Public Library partnered with a local preschool to highlight Indigenous history and culture.

🙌 Good news: our online catalog is now available! This is an important milestone in our recovery! You are now able to...

💻 Log in to the Library's online catalog
🔍 See your checkouts and holds
📚 Place new holds on physical items

We may receive a lot of hold requests this week, so they may take longer than usual to fill. Please cancel any holds you're no longer interested in, that will help us and help you!

If you are missing holds or have questions, please contact us at www.spl.org/Ask.

Make a difference as a Homework Help volunteer for the 2024-25 school year! We especially need volunteers at the Columbia, High Point, Lake City, Rainier Beach and South Park branches.

Homework Help is our free after-school tutoring service for K-12 students. Last year our volunteers helped 1,100 students across the city.

⏲ Volunteer shifts are Monday through Thursday between 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. Each shift is two hours
✅ Volunteers must be 18 or older
📝 You'll help with homework, play learning games, read together or work on college essays
📚 Speaking another language is a plus! 90% of our students report their parents speak a language other than English at home

To apply, please contact the Library’s Volunteer Services Coordinator at [email protected].

Learn more about Homework Help at www.spl.org/HomeworkHelp.

That headline might look like it's from The Needling, but it's actually a real headline from the July 31, 1954 edition of The Marine Digest.

The ship-burning 🔥 was part of Seafair Festival's grand finale that year (something you won't see at this weekend's festivities). Previous years included lighting vessels on fire for demonstrations by Seattle Fire Department.

You can read about the early days of Seafair - and the history of the local maritime industry - in the pages of The Marine Digest, part of our Seattle Room Digital Collections. Explore back issues since 1922: https://cdm16118.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16118coll39

Museum Pass is back! Use your Library card to get free admission to participating Seattle museums. Enjoy exhibits on aviation, nature, science, and industry—all for free! Learn more at www.spl.org/MuseumPass.

¡Los pases de museo están de regreso! Utilice su tarjeta de la Biblioteca para entrar gratis a los museos participantes de la Ciudad de Seattle. Disfrute de exhibiciones sobre aviación, naturaleza, ciencia e industria, y todo gratis. Más información en: www.spl.org/MuseumPass.

Vé Vào Bảo Tàng đã trở lại! Sử dụng thẻ Thư Viện để được miễn phí vé vào các bảo tàng ở Seattle có tham gia. Thưởng thức triển lãm hàng không, thiên nhiên, khoa học và công nghiệp – tất cả đều miễn phí! Tìm hiểu thêm tại www.spl.org/MuseumPass.

博物馆通行证又回来了！ 使用借书证可免费参观参与活动的西雅图博物馆。免费欣赏航空、自然、科学和工业方面的展品！了解更多信息，请访问： www.spl.org/MuseumPass

Matxafka dhaaf waa soo laabtay! Isticmaal kaarka maktabadda si aad u hesho gelitaanka bilaashka ah matxafyada Seattle ee ka qaybqaadanaya. Ku raaxayso bandhigyada duulista,dabeecadda, sayniska,iyo warshadaha—dhammaan waa bilaash! Wax badan ka baro www.spl.org/MuseumPass.

ሙዚየም ማለፊያ ተመልሷል! በሲያትል ለሚገኙ ቤተ-መዘክር ነጻ መግቢያ ለማግኘት የቤተ-መጽሐፍት ካርድዎን ይጠቀሙ። በአቪዬሽን፣ በተፈጥሮ፣ በሳይንስ እና በኢንዱስትሪ ኤግዚቢሽን ይደሰቱ - ሁሉም በነጻ! http://xn--www-86o.spl.org/ ላይ የበለጠ ይወቁ

A concert series for those with memory loss, their care teams and the community! Join for the first concert on Monday, July 29. Free and open to all!

Coming up on Monday, July 29th! Join the Memory Hub community to kick off the summer season with food, friends, and fun!

Enjoy live music outside in Maude’s Garden together with people living with memory loss, family members, neighbors and professionals.

Mondays 4pm - 6pm

July 29 - Country Western

August 19 Oldies by Goodies

September 30 - Funk, Soul, and Motown

Register: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=W9229i_wGkSZoBYqxQYL0pL0ITUa7AFIvgyV16o1JWhURUZORVpFRzFIQktEUkJOVkEyMkNVMU1IOC4u

❗️E-books are back online️❗️

E-books and e-audiobooks are working on the Libby app and our OverDrive site once again after a brief outage. Please note, this outage is unrelated to the recent ransomware event and is expected to be mostly resolved later today, though impacts to some services may continue into the weekend.

Thank you for your patience and continued support! Additional updates will be posted at www.spl.org/Today

Some of our systems are currently down due to a technology outage that is impacting organizations globally. E-books, e-audiobooks and other online services are impacted. This outage is unrelated to the recent ransomware event and is expected to be resolved later today.

Check back here and at spl.org/Today for updates. Thank you once again for your patience and understanding!

——-

Interrupción tecnológica: viernes, 19 de julio

Algunos sistemas de la Biblioteca están actualmente fuera de servicio debido a una interrupción tecnológica que está afectando a organizaciones de todo el mundo. Los libros electrónicos, audiolibros electrónicos, otros servicios en línea y algunos servicios presenciales pueden verse afectados. Esta interrupción no está relacionada con el reciente caso de ransomware y se espera que se resuelva a lo largo del día de hoy.

⛰️ 📚 Peak Picks are back at your local branch! Check out new and popular books with no holds and no wait.

Peak Picks go quick but are replenished often - so if the book you want is not available, you will probably find another great read at the Peak Picks display. See our current Peak Picks titles: https://www.spl.org/books-and-media/books-and-ebooks/peak-picks/peak-picks-book-list

Fixed! The issue with accessing our e-book and e-audiobook collections through the Libby app and our OverDrive site has now been resolved. Thanks again to all our patrons for your support, patience and understanding through this challenging time.

Today some Library patrons are experiencing access issues with our e-book and e-audiobook collections through the Libby app and our OverDrive site, We are looking into this issue and appreciate your patience.

75 years ago, Seattleites celebrated the first Seafair with 10 days of parades, boat races, aqua follies and demonstrations from "the most powerful fireboat in the world" (complete with a boat on fire in Elliott Bay).

Read about the early days of Seafair - and the history of the local maritime industry - in the pages of The Marine Digest, part of our Seattle Room Digital Collections. Explore back issues since 1922: https://www.spl.org/online-resources/seattle-room-digital-collections