“I feel like libraries are very sexy, but of course I’m biased.”
“I’m very much of this school of thought that a great library has something for everyone and a great library should have something that offends everyone.”
- Melody Skye Weaver, State Library
Washington’s new state librarian is seeking $4.2 million to stabilize operations and restore services after budget cuts reduced staffing and sharply restricted access to historic collections.
Melody Skye Weaver told TVW’s Inside Olympia that the state also has a rare opportunity to build a new Library and Archives Building on the Capitol campus. The Washington State Library moved from the Joel Pritchard Building on the Capitol campus to Tumwater in 2001, following the Nisqually earthquake, becoming what some staffers call the library in exile.
Weaver wants the proposed building to include public meeting rooms, exhibits and educational spaces.
An outspoken advocate who calls herself a “loud librarian,” Weaver says libraries are essential to preserving history, protecting intellectual freedom and helping people navigate an increasingly complicated information environment.