Northwest Room Blog

The Big Burn

rdean — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 17:32:58 +0000

The Northwest Room has a new exhibit to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great Fires in the Northwest. This year’s “Spokane is Reading” selection is Timothy Egan’s The Big Burn and the Northwest Room’s exhibit should whet your appetite to read this fascinating book. Egan tells the story of America’s worst forest fire and the inception of the United States Forest Service by Tedd Roosevelt and chief forester, Gifford Pinchot.

A dry spring and summer in 1910 created the right conditions for a devastating series of fires throughout Idaho, Montana and Washington. The new forest service, created in 1905, had assembled nearly ten thousand men including college students, day workers, and immigrants from mining camps, to fight the fire. President William Howard Taft deployed around 4,000 soldiers to help in the battle. On the afternoon of August 20, a palouser, or hurricane force wind, whipped the smaller fires together into an enormous inferno, trapping fire crews in the forest. Several small towns were completely destroyed, and one third of Wallace, Idaho burned to the ground.

In addition to the “Spokane is Reading,” there are events throughout Idaho and Montana commemorating the fire. Check out the U. S. Forest Service website which has links to events throughout the region.

Documenting the Northwest

rdean — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:37:24 +0000

There is a new display in the Northwest Room called “Documenting the Northwest: A display of historic federal documents to celebrate Spokane Public Library’s centennial as a federal documents depository.” Congress established the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) in 1813 “to ensure that the American public has access to its Government’s information.” Government publications have both promoted and documented the explosive growth in the Northwest since the mid-nineteenth century. The federal government funded scientific explorations and surveys which reported back on the distant wonders of lands, animals, peoples to Congress, as well as to the general public.

The exhibit features the railroad survey report, which includes maps, etchings, and descriptions of the far northwest for the purpose of building the railroad. It also features documents, maps, and photographs showing the National Parks, Forests, the federal irrigation projects and more. Come on into the Northwest Room and see the exhibit, which will be up through July.

Washington State Roll of Honor

rdean — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:56:20 +0000

HistoryLink.org - Washington’s free online history encyclopedia has created a “comprehensive roster of Washington state citizens — more than 9,000 as of 2005 — who gave their lives in the service of their communities and country.” This includes the military personnel, public safety personnel, law enforcement officers and firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty. Check out the HistoryLink website - it has all kinds of great information.

Banned Books from the Library’s Collection

rdean — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:38:08 +0000

As part of The Big Read, the library’s Northwest Room presents a new exhibit of banned books. Books are generally banned or suppressed on political, sexual, religious or social grounds. To Kill a Mockingbird, this year’s featured book for The Big Read, is one such book. Since its publication in 1960, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird has sold over thirty million copies worldwide and often appears on high school reading lists. It also appears on another list: the American Library Association’s top ten list of frequently banned books. Reasons cited for its censorship include the language and the portrayal of race relations.

Other books in the display include Dante’s Inferno, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Ovid’s The Art of Love, and Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft. Come into the Northwest Room to see the full exhibit and discover why each book was banned or censored.

It is Archives Month

rdean — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:03:16 +0000

October is Washington State Archives Month. The theme of Archives Month this year is “Washington at Play.” The Washington State Archives has created a website to highlight collections across the state. “Archives, historical societies, museums, public libraries, and university special collections throughout the state invite you to explore how Washingtonians have enjoyed life in the Evergreen State.” Check out the wonderful collection of photographs submitted from special collections throughout Washington. See if you can find the submission from the Northwest Room.

At Work in the Northwest

rdean — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:57:26 +0000

In honor of workers in the Northwest and just in time for Labor Day, there is a new photographic exhibit up in the Northwest Room. Titled “At Work in the Northwest,” it features images of miners, loggers, farmers, railroad workers and others doing their jobs. The photographs illustrate the tremendous growth in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries based on the extraction of the region’s natural resources. Lumber, mines, and agriculture formed the basis for the growth in this region. In addition, the ore, timber and grain had to be moved, creating thousands of jobs building and operating the railroads. The exhibit also includes men building dams - both by local irrigation districts and by workers on the Grand Coulee dam. It also has men and women doing other jobs, such as blacksmithing, operating stores, and one library worker.

Early Washington Maps

rdean — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:17:58 +0000

The Special Collections at the University of Washington and Washington State Universities combined forces to create this digital collection of Early Washington maps. It’s easy to search and there are maps of the entire state from the earliest surveys through the completion of the Grand Coulee Dam. We have some of these maps in the Northwest Room, but using this collection, you can browse from home and make copies.

Postcard exhibit

rdean — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:43:46 +0000

We have a new exhibit up in the Northwest Room. It’s called “Wish You Were Here! Postcards from Spokane.” It features postcards of Spokane from the early twentieth century into the 1970s. It is divided into five areas - views of Spokane, picture postcards, postcards of Spokane’s parks and nearby natural areas, buildings, and one case of postcards from the Davenport Hotel. The exhibit has about 100 postcards and I think you’ll see some views you haven’t seen before, so be sure to come in and take a look. It will be up through August.

World War I Records

rdean — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:04:17 +0000

The Northwest Room has a collection of Spokane County World War I material. It is a collection of correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs and forms concerning Spokane County’s involvement in World War I. This includes the men who served in the military as well as the community involvement at home. In 1921, the Spokane County War History Committee compiled lists of men who served in the War, sending out forms to the men and their families. During the war, they also collected newspaper articles on any subject relating to the war overseas and at home, including the Red Cross, food conservation and the draft.

Several years ago, the Washington State Digital Archives digitized some of the material, not the entire collection. The digital archives has now added another World War I collection, which includes far more information. It looks like a great resource for finding those World War I military records.

Northwest Maps

rdean — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:01:11 +0000

The Northwest Room has an impressive collection of historic maps. The collection includes maps of Spokane, Spokane County, Washington, the West, exploration, railroad surveys, and mining. The maps have long been a part of the collection in the Northwest Room, but they are now accessible through the SPL online catalog. For example, if you want to see Spokane street maps, you can do a subject search under Streets — Washington (State) — Spokane — Maps and you will find records that show the location as NW DRAWER and then a brief location. Then just come into the Northwest Room and we’ll pull them out for you to view. For the most part, they cannot be photocopied due to their size, but if you bring in a digital camera, you can make a copy.