Attendees at a program for older adults at the Broadview Branch Spring is in full swing and so is programming! Join us for some highlighted programs for older adults below. Events requiring registration are noted below; all Library events are free and open to the public. Find information and registration through the event links below or at spl.org/Calendar. Public Transit OrientationDo you want to feel more confident riding public transportation? Do you want to learn how to take the bus or Link around Seattle? Join us as we explore the University of Washington’s cherry blossoms through a ..read more

The Seattle Public Library is scheduling intermittent branch closures at several locations through Tuesday, June 4 due to limited staffing capacity. The temporary schedule listed below is being implemented to reduce unplanned closures and provide more reliable schedules to patrons. Several factors have impacted the Library’s staffing capacity, including changes to the Library’s minimum staffing levels and increased leave usage. Our impacted staffing capacity has led to unplanned closures, as the Library must redirect staff from one location to another if a branch doesn’t have the right number ..read more

Two years ago, Brooklyn Public Library launched Books Unbanned, an initiative to fight unprecedented levels of censorship by offering a free digital-access library card for young people across the U.S. The Seattle Public Library joined the effort one year ago. During that time, the two libraries have have received thousands of compelling stories from teens and young adults about why they were signing up for the card. Today, the two libraries released a new report, “In Their Own Words: Youth Voices on Books Unbanned,” which shares what we’ve learned from these stories about the devastating imp ..read more

Curious about what goes on in the mind of an author? Check out this deep dive with local author Robert Dugoni! Tell us a bit about your new book, A Killing on the Hill, coming out on Tuesday, April 9. What inspired you to write a book set in this specific time and place? I was cleaning out the attic at our house and found two large scrapbooks filled with newspaper articles from the 1930s. Turned out they belonged to my wife’s grandfather.  He was a prominent lawyer in Seattle, and he kept scrapbooks of his cases. As a young lawyer, he represented the business interests of George Moo ..read more

April is another blockbuster month for new fiction releases! Fan favorites Amor Towles, Leigh Bardugo, Julia Alvarez, and Emily Henry are back with new releases, alongside very enticing work from potentially lesser known authors. 4/2: The Audacity by Ryan Chapman Victoria Stevens, wunderkind behind a Theranos-like startup, has slipped off the grid just in time to avoid an exposé that will take down her company; she’s seemingly left her husband, Guy Sarvananthan, behind to take the fall. Naturally, Guy takes the company plan to a Caribbean retreat for billionaires. (satire/general fiction) 4/2 ..read more

April is the peak of the spring publishing season, and this month’s nonfiction books do not disappoint! Blockbuster author Erik Larson’s latest, The Demon of Unrest, is a saga of hubris, heartbreak, and heroism at the dawn of the Civil War; Hampton Sides’ newest book, The Wide Wide Sea, tells a tale of imperial ambition, first contact, and the fateful final voyage of Captain James Cook; and David Gibbins chronicles A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks through archeological discoveries. Karen Valby tells the forgotten story of The Swans of Harlem, a pioneering group of Black ballerinas ..read more

And the winner was the Loyal Heights’ The Sparky Beavers after 10 tiebreaker rounds. Ten was the magic number for Loyal Heights Elementary’s The Sparky Beavers at the Global Reading Challenge citywide finals on Tuesday, March 26, at the Central Library. That’s how many tiebreaker rounds it took for this team of fourth and fifth graders to eliminate eight other finalist teams and become the 2024 Global Reading Challenge champions.   A packed audience of around 275 parents, siblings and friends clapped for the Beavers and all the teams’ valiant efforts as the winning team received their t ..read more

To celebrate National Humor Month (which always begins on April Fools Day), here are some hilarious new titles for teens.  Enjoy! Chloe and the Kaishao Boys by Mae Coyiuto Chloe’s eighteenth birthday and acceptance to an American university mean she can finally leave home and her emotionally distant father, but her bossy aunt thinks it is time for her to marry, and sets her up with eighteen potential partners.  Luckily for her, her best friend Cia works to set her up with her brother, who Chloe has crushed on for ages. Gideon Green in Black and White by Katie Henry Gideon’s days ..read more

Get ready! On Monday, April 8, 2024, parts of the U.S. will experience a total solar eclipse. Seattle will experience a partial eclipse starting at around 10:39 a.m. and ending at 12:21 p.m., with the maximum coverage of the sun (20%) at 11:29 a.m. Here’s a reminder about how to experience it safely and how to pick up free eclipse-viewing glasses at The Seattle Public Library. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and earth, and the moon fully or partially blocks the sun. This eclipse will be a partial eclipse for most of North America, but a total eclipse will be visibl ..read more

Seattle Reads, The Seattle Public Library’s citywide book group, has announced its book selection for 2024: Parable of the Sower, by legendary science fiction author Octavia Butler. “We are thrilled to celebrate this incredibly influential author and book with new readers while celebrating her legacy with those who have been influenced by her work for decades,” said Stesha Brandon, Literature & Humanities program manager for The Seattle Public Library. As the story begins in the year 2024, Parable of the Sower was also chosen because of its prescient present-day setting, offering the chanc ..read more