Named Spaces and Collections
Learn about our Named Spaces and Collections throughout the Library.
Central Library
Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Plaza
Fourth Avenue entrance
The Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation seeks to promote and improve international understanding, knowledge and equality of relations between Japan and the United States. This grant reflects the foundation's appreciation for the important role libraries play in raising the international consciousness of their communities. The plaza bearing their name is the home to the fountain designed by the well-known Japanese American artist George Tsutakawa. Ina Goodwin Tateuchi received a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Washington and completed her master's degree in library science at Pratt Institute School of Library and Information Science in New York. Ina Goodwin Tateuchi is a former board member of The Seattle Public Library Foundation.
Faye G. Allen Children's Center
Level 1
As a teacher, Faye G. Allen spent her professional life sparking the joy of reading among children. In her personal life, her love of books is demonstrated even in the design of her home, built around her own library and filled with favorite works chosen by her and her children, Jo Allen Patton and Paul G. Allen. Fully half of her large collection is composed of children's books. The Central Library is proud to dedicate its children's center to Faye G. Allen, reflecting her celebration of the written word, her support of youth literacy, and her emphasis on libraries as a treasured resource for future generations.
Evelyn W. Foster Learning Center
Level 1
Evelyn Foster was an avid book lover who considered literacy to be an absolute right for everyone and was disturbed that there were people who were unable to read. She was also a patron of the arts and the original secretary for the Seattle Art Museum. Her husband, Albert, founded the Seattle Opera Association. Together, they formed the Foster Foundation in 1984 because they wanted to give back to the city of Seattle.
Anne Marie Gault Story Hour Room
Level 1
Microsoft Auditorium
Level 1
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft's history of community investments has fostered a variety of innovative community partnerships creating sustainable solutions that make real and lasting differences in people's lives. In addition to direct corporate contributions, Microsoft's employees have long recognized the importance of being engaged in supporting organizations in the Puget Sound region and in communities around the world.
SirsiDynix Gallery
Level 1
Since 1979, SirsiDynix has been providing software and services to libraries and their communities, with a belief that access to information is crucial to the success of individuals and communities everywhere. Its goal is to support libraries as they change and evolve in an increasingly digital world.
Joshua Green Foundation Arcade
Outside Fifth Avenue entrance
Joshua Green began his business career with a partnership in a sternwheeler steamer, became an innovative leader in the Puget Sound shipping and ferries industries, and changing course in his early fifties, became one of the region's leading bankers. He was active in business until he retired at age 102 and passed away in 1975 at 105.
Maria Lee Koh and Family Fiction Collection
Level 3
Maria Lee Koh, a longtime Seattle resident, is an ardent believer in the power of education, the written word and the public library system. She emigrated from Shanghai, China as a college student. One of Koh's favorite Chinese sayings was impressed upon her by her mother, a self-taught and voracious reader: "There are golden castles inside books." To honor her mother, Koh is proud to support the Library and promote the wisdom of this saying. She wants her family of children and grandchildren, readers of all ages and from all parts of society, and new immigrants and their American-born offspring and descendants, to experience the excitement of finding many golden castles among these stacks.
Norcliffe Foundation Living Room
Level 3
The Norcliffe Foundation is a private nonprofit family foundation established in 1952 by Paul Pigott for the purpose of improving the quality of life of all people in the community by the application of financial and human resources.
Starbucks Teen Center
Level 3
Contributing positively to its communities and the environment is an important part of Starbucks Coffee Company's mission. The company fulfills this commitment by helping build stronger communities. Starbucks has many programs that help the company contribute positively to the communities where its partners (employees) and customers live, work and play. It encourages and rewards volunteerism and participation in organizations that are important to its partners, including local schools, literacy programs, walk-a-thons and Earth Day activities. In 1997 the Starbucks Foundation was created to benefit local literacy programs in communities where Starbucks has coffeehouses. Its mission is to create hope, discovery and opportunity in communities where Starbucks partners live and work.
Boeing Technology Training Center
Level 4
With a heritage that mirrors the first 100 years of flight, The Boeing Company provides aerospace products and services to customers in 145 countries. Boeing is the world's leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense systems, human space flight and launch systems and services. By focusing intensely on customers and the dynamic, complex air travel marketplace, Boeing makes insightful innovations in technology that benefit operators. Boeing's family of products and services deliver comprehensive customer solutions. As part of its ongoing commitment to the Puget Sound community, Boeing is proud to sponsor Seattle's Public Libraries to make this home we share even a better place to live and work.
PACCAR Inc. Meeting Rooms
Level 4
PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of premium light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates. PACCAR also designs and manufactures advanced diesel engines, provides financial services, information technology, and distributes truck parts related to its principal business. PACCAR is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.
Washington Mutual Foundation Meeting Room
Level 4
With a history dating back to 1889, Washington Mutual was a national financial services company that provided a diversified line of products and services to consumers and small to mid-sized businesses. Washington Mutual operated consumer banking, mortgage lending, commercial banking, consumer finance and financial services offices throughout the nation. Washington Mutual made millions of dollars in cash grants each year to support affordable housing, community development and K-12 public education.
Howard S. Wright Family & Janet W. Ketcham Meeting Room
Level 4
Howard S. Wright is recognized widely for building and developing many Seattle landmarks, including the Space Needle, and for his leadership in guiding and inspiring Seattle's growth in the last half of the 20th century. Wright also generously supported the arts, education and many medical and civic projects with both his time and financial contributions. Wright's five children and his sister, Janet Wright Ketcham, joined together to dedicate this space in his honor.
Charles Simonyi Mixing Chamber
Level 5
The Hungarian-born philanthropist and software developer Charles Simonyi came to the U.S. at age 18. He earned an undergraduate degree in engineering mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley, and a computer science Ph.D. from Stanford University. Simonyi was one of Microsoft's original programmers, and the chief architect and developer of Word and Excel applications. In 2002, he founded his own company, Intentional Software Corp., which works to improve software productivity. He founded the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences in 2003.
Barry A. Ackerley Business Collection
Books Spiral 7
A Seattle business and civic leader, Barry Ackerley leveraged his entrepreneurial spirit and skills to build The Ackerley Group Inc. into one of the nation's premier media and entertainment companies. From its founding in 1975 as a small regional outdoor media concern, the company rapidly expanded into a leading media giant with 27 operating properties nationwide. From coast to coast, the company had a major influence on its service areas through its operations in outdoor media, television and radio broadcasting, as well as its ownership of the Seattle Supersonics (NBA) and Seattle Storm (WNBA). The late Barry Ackerley and his wife, Ginger, are icons in the Seattle philanthropic community. Today, through the Ginger and Barry Ackerley Foundation, the Ackerley family continues a long legacy of supporting dozens of organizations, including ArtsFund, Islandwood School, Pacific Science Center, Lakeside School and the University of Washington.
Maffei Family Collections Room
Books Spiral 7
Greg and Sharon Maffei and their four children are big believers in libraries and The Seattle Public Library. Greg Maffei is the former president of the Library Board and served as a trustee from 1998 - 2007. He is the president and chief executive officer of Liberty Media Corp., and previously was the chairman and chief executive officer of 360networks, and chief financial officer of Microsoft.
Peter F. Donnelly Arts and Literature Collection
Books Spiral 8
Over nearly four decades, Peter Donnelly has had a significant hand in developing this region's cultural life. He joined the fledgling Seattle Repertory Theater in 1964 and led it over the next 21 years to a position of financial health and national recognition. After a three-year break from Seattle leading the Dallas Theater Center, he returned in 1989 to head ArtsFund, a funding agency that supports arts organizations in King and Pierce counties. Under his leadership, this united arts fund has more than doubled funds raised, tripled the number of groups funded and has become a forceful advocate on many arts-related issues in the public and private sectors. A group of major donors recognized Donnelly's contributions to the arts community by naming the Arts and Literature Collection in his honor.
A. Scott Bullitt History and Biography Collection
Books Spiral 9
Scott Bullitt was a member of a prominent Kentucky family, a graduate of Princeton University, and a lawyer who came to live in Seattle after marrying Dorothy Stimson, the daughter of an influential lumberman. He was passionate about politics and was a staunch Democrat. A. Scott Bullitt organized the Democratic party in Washington state and ran for both senator and governor. Elected Washington State Democratic National Committeeman in 1929, he saw a kindred spirit in presidential hopeful Franklin D. Roosevelt. A. Scott Bullitt became an early supporter of FDR and helped unite the state behind him. He was scheduled to stand before the delegates in Chicago at the 1932 National Convention and place FDR's name in nomination but died of cancer in April of that year. The Bullitt family has gone on to make enormous contributions to the community.
Maritz Map Room
Books Spiral 9
The Maritz Map Room collection, located on Level 9 of the Central Library, contains over 50,000 circulating and reference sheet maps, and more than 100 current and historical atlases.
Eulalie and Carlo Scandiuzzi Writers' Room
Books Spiral 9
Eulalie M. Scandiuzzi is the founder and creator of Moonjar, a company whose line of products include the Moonjar moneybox, a tool that helps children learn to save, spend and share. She is executive director of a family foundation and past managing director of Coyote Junior High. She is a former board member of The Seattle Public Library Foundation, the University Medical Visiting Committee, Jumpstart Washington, and the Arbor Fund. A native of Switzerland, Carlo Scandiuzzi came to Seattle in 1978 and quickly became part of the arts scene. As a producer, actor and businessman, he possesses a rare combination of talents and serves on several boards, including Humanities Washington, On the Boards, and the Seattle International Children's Festival.
Albert Balch Autograph Collection
Level 10
Albert S. Balch (1903‐1976) was a Seattle builder and realtor. Born in Gem, Idaho, he graduated from the University of Washington in 1922. As a high school student in Blaine, WA, Balch obtained the autographs of Queen Marie of Romania and Marshal Foch of France, beginning a lifelong hobby of procuring autographs. Primarily obtained through letter writing, some were received in‐person, and others purchased. His father, Albert S. Balch, was a Whatcom County pioneer, settling in 1888. Balch was awarded numerous awards for his homes and communities, including View Ridge and Wedgwood, for which he received Award of Merit from the National Association of Home Builders. Balch donated the entirety of his collection to the Seattle Public Library in 1946 and then continued to add to the collection until his death in 1976.
Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room
Level 10
The Fergusons were longtime supporters of The Seattle Public Library whose interests included local history, collecting books on Northwest history, and helping others learn more about our region. The collections in the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Seattle Room include the Seattle Collection, the Seattle Public Library Art Collection, the Library's photograph collections, Special Collections of rare and fragile materials, and the Albert Balch Autograph Collection.
Betty Jane Narver Reading Room
Level 10
Well-known civic activist Betty Jane Narver was a tireless advocate for the Library. Narver helped found The Seattle Public Library Foundation Board in 1980 and also served as president from 1986 to 1987. In 1992, then-mayor Norm Rice appointed her to The Seattle Public Library board of trustees. She was reappointed to a second, five-year term in 1997 and served as board president in 1997 and 1998. Narver was a senior research fellow at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington and director of the university's Institute for Public Policy and Management. She also served as chairwoman of the board of the Seattle-King County Municipal League and was on the boards of the national Urban Libraries Council and the National Civic League. As a Library Board member, Narver helped oversee the implementation of the voter-approved $196.4 million "Libraries for All" bond measure, which funded the new Central Library and improvements to branch libraries throughout the city. Narver died Dec. 9, 2001.
Virginia Burnside Board Room
Level 11 (Staff area)
A former president of Library board of trustees, Virginia Burnside was the impetus behind the formation of The Seattle Public Library Foundation in 1980. It was the first library foundation to be established on the West Coast. She had a long career in journalism at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, hosted a political talk show in the 1950s called "Question before the House," wrote speeches for politicians and promoted the Seattle World's Fair.
Ballard Branch
Miriam Twitchell Alberg and Thomas A. Alberg Meeting Room
Miriam Twitchell Alberg and Thomas A. Alberg were longtime residents of Ballard, where they raised their five children. The family’s Swedish heritage was a touchstone. Mrs. Alberg was an enthusiastic reader of novels, and her husband read widely in business, finance and scientific publications. Knowledge of the important and the obscure was pursued and honored. They passed onto their children a love of reading and learning. The Albergs encouraged civic involvement, and this meeting room is named in their honor by their son, Tom A. Alberg and his wife Judi Beck on behalf of the entire Alberg family.
Ian McKenzie Black Reading Area
An anonymous gift honors Ian McKenzie Black with this named space.
Helen G. Rosen Children's Reading Area
Helen G. Rosen and her husband William raised their seven children in Ballard and were active members of the Seattle community. As an avid borrower from the Ballard Branch for over 55 years, her love for books instilled the enjoyment of reading in her children and grandchildren. An omnipresent volunteer around Seattle, Mrs. Rosen was involved with the Red Cross during and after World War II and raised money for the “new” Ballard Hospital; she also served on the board and helped run its gift shop and volunteer program. She enjoyed acting as an extra at the Seattle Repertory Theatre, tutoring students in reading, and generously contributing to a myriad of charities and causes. The children’s reading area is named in her memory by her children and their families, honoring all that she did for so many during her lifetime.
Rotary Club of Ballard Study Room
U.S. Bancorp Foundation Quiet Room
Beacon Hill Branch
Friends of The Seattle Public Library Meeting Room
Since 1941, the Friends of the Seattle Public Library has been a grassroots volunteer organization that has supported the Library as an essential institution in society.
Broadview Branch
Ruth and Ralph Jacobson Meeting Room
Ruth and Ralph Jacobson always surrounded themselves with books, art, music and exceptional plantings in their precious garden. Through their own efforts and explorations, they developed their knowledge and love of the arts and gardening and wanted the same opportunities for self-improvement and enjoyment to be available to others.
Capitol Hill Branch
Eulalie Bloedel Schneider Family Reading Area
Eulalie Bloedel Schneider returned to Seattle after living in Geneva, Switzerland for 40 years. Her interests include her children, friends, opera, and cultural and political events. She created a foundation to support economic self-sufficiency. On a personal level, the Reading Area echoes Schneider's celebration of quiet and reflection.
Douglass-Truth Branch
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter Exhibit Area
The African American Collection was established in 1965 at the Douglass-Truth Library (formerly the Yesler Branch Library) through the advocacy and grit of the sorority members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc., the Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter, who built the African American Collection and saved the branch from closure in the 1960s. Roberta Byrd Barr, Dr. Millie Russell, Shirley Wilcox, Ruth Marie Brown, and the other tenacious women of Delta Upsilon Omega worked alongside librarian James Welsh to build a collection that reflected the Black community in the Central District to stimulate circulation and engagement in the library. The African American Collection became a point of pride and dignity for the Central District and the Black community. Through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the collection was entirely funded and supported by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority members and the Black community, who would hold annual library teas and arts-related programs to raise donations to grow the collection.
Gayton Family Meeting Room
John Thomas Gayton, son of enslaved people, came to Seattle in 1888 from Yazoo County, Mississippi, as the coachman of a white physician. Gayton married Magnolia Scott soon after he arrived and created a family that ultimately included four children, 17 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Gayton set a formidable example for his family as a dedicated father, an industrious worker and a leader with the Black community. Over the years he rose from being a coachman to becoming law librarian for the U.S. Court of Appeals, serving in that capacity for more than 20 years. Gayton's family has excelled as executives and professionals in a wide variety of careers. All have followed their ancestor's example by giving back to the community through their volunteering.
Rae and Harry Kersch/Schultz Family Foundation Children's Area
Rae and Harry Kersch had a love of children, books and reading, which they instilled in their children. Their daughter, Sheri Kersch Schultz, and her husband, Howard Schultz, chose to dedicate the Children's Area at the Douglass-Truth Branch in loving memory on behalf of the entire Schultz family.
Louise Jones McKinney Reading Area
Louise Jones McKinney is an educator, businesswoman and community activist whose compassionate commitment to excellence and community has been widely recognized throughout her more than 50 years of work in the Seattle area. Her range of contributions has included work for organizations specializing in youth education, senior services, HIV/AIDS, and all of Seattle's theaters. She has volunteered for more than 20 years including for the ACT Board, nurturing emerging organizations like Boys to Men, a praise dance team, and the Hansberry Project, which in 2007 named a playwriting fellowship in her honor. Through her work with Mount Zion Scholarship Ministry, she has raised thousands of dollars over 25 years to support academic excellence in an effort to lessen the belief held by many that children of color are incapable of high achievement. In addition, she has lead the effort to fund the Mount Zion Scholarship Endowment, managed by the Seattle Foundation.
Green Lake Branch
Mary Alice Cooley Meeting Room
Mary Alice Cooley was a talented drawer and painter, a certified pilot, an avid reader, a generous philanthropist, and a loving mother of six, stepmother of five, and wife of Richard P. Cooley. She is remembered for her courageous spirit, her great sense of humor, her love of life and her love of family.
Greenwood Branch
Susan and Glen Beebe Study Room
Long-time Phinney residents Susan and Glen Beebe believe that access to libraries is important. Susan was first a journalist and a lawyer before earning her library degree at the University of Washington in 1990. She combined her talents by working at a Seattle law firm as a lawyer-librarian. As a community volunteer, she has taught citizenship at The Literacy Source, worked on the Phinney Neighborhood Association newspaper, assisted at her daughter’s school libraries, and quilts with the Stone Soup Quilters. Glen worked as a graphic designer at the Boeing Company for 30 years. In retirement he has continued to create designs primarily for musicians and other non-profit groups, as well as producing a book on the history of Northwest psychedelic posters entitled: “Split Fountain Hieroglyphics”. He is a photographer and an avid art collector.
Terry R. Collings Reading Area
In 1989, Terry Collings was hired as The Seattle Public Library’s first development officer and served as executive director from 1989 to 2007. During his 18-year tenure, Mr. Collings built a robust fundraising operation to include annual and capital giving programs along with major endowments that provide ongoing support for collections, programs and endowed staff positions. He is a longtime Rotarian and active with the Ballard Club.
Friends of The Seattle Public Library Meeting Room
Since 1941, the Friends of the Seattle Public Library has been a grassroots volunteer organization that has supported the Library as an essential institution in society.
International District/Chinatown Branch
HSBC Study Room
HSBC-North America is one of the top 10 financial services companies in the United States, bringing with it a rich heritage of partnering and investing in the communities in which they operate. HSBC-North America places a high value on corporate social responsibility and believes that the generosity with which they give back to communities is a central component of its corporate character.
Maria Lee Koh Children's Area
Maria Lee Koh, a longtime Seattle resident, is an ardent believer in the power of education, the written word and the public library system. She emigrated from Shanghai, China, as a college student. One of Mrs. Koh's favorite Chinese sayings was impressed upon her by her mother, a self-taught and voracious reader: "There are golden castles inside books." To honor her mother, Mrs. Koh is proud to support the Library and promote the wisdom of this saying. She wants her family of children and grandchildren, readers of all ages and from all parts of society, and new immigrants and their American-born offspring and descendants, to experience the excitement of finding many golden castles among these stacks.
Atsuhiko and Ina G. Tateuchi Reading Area
The Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation seeks to promote and improve international understanding, knowledge and the quality of relations between Japan and the United States. It particularly seeks to foster educational opportunities for students involved in contemporary Japanese studies and artistic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Mrs. Tateuchi is a former member of The Seattle Public Library Foundation's board.
Lake City Branch
Henrietta H. Davis Children's Area
The Lake City Branch children’s area is named in honor of Henrietta (Retta) H. Davis, whose family created a named endowment to support children’s books and programs. Davis was a long-time elementary school teacher and community volunteer. For many years after she retired, she priced rare books at the Salvation Army and educated visitors at the Seattle Aquarium and Pacific Science Center. She also loved literature and frequently traveled with her family to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She and her husband Aubrey Davis, former mayor of Mercer Island and CEO of Group Health Cooperative, lived full lives centered on family and service to their community. She passed away in 2008.
Nancy O’Leary Pew Project Room
When the community campaign to re-imagine the Lake City Branch began, more than two dozen community members saw an opportunity to raise funds to honor the branch's beloved children’s librarian, Nancy O’Leary Pew. The result was a namesake project/meeting room that was created as part of the 2018 remodeling project.
Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch
Mimi Howard Reading Area
Macon "Mimi" Howard believed in the important role of libraries as a community resource, as a forum for public discussion, and as a special place where all members of society are warmly welcomed. Once a librarian herself, Howard had settled into a second career as an investment adviser and securities broker when she joined The Seattle Public Library board of trustees in 1982. Following a decade on the Library board, where she served as its president, Howard accepted an invitation to join the board of The Seattle Public Library Foundation. Altogether, Howard dedicated more than 25 years of service to the Library and the people of Seattle. After retiring as a vice president with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Howard trained for a third career as a volunteer chaplain working with people experiencing homelessness and mental health challenge. She was often found at Harborview Medical Center comforting those facing pain or loss. Howard's daughter, Lee Rhodes and her husband Peter Seligmann, along with their children Hector, Sale and Cedric, honor her commitment to the Library with the Mimi Howard Reading Area.
Magnolia Branch
Jim Thixton and Carol Bennett Thixton Meeting Room
Jim and Carol Thixton met as high school teachers in 1962 in Kern County, California. A few years later, a fellowship took Jim to Hawaii where he taught U.S. history and psychology until his retirement. Carol eventually left teaching to work for McCall's Pattern Company doing fashion shows and making local TV appearances all over the country. In 1973 Carol opened her own fashion design and manufacturing company in Hawaii which she ran for 23 years. Books were at the center of the Thixtons’ life together. Despite living in small spaces and moving several times, the couple collected more than 5,000 books. Each time they moved, the books were carefully boxed as prized possessions. The Thixtons moved to Seattle in 1996 and made their home in Magnolia. Carol volunteered at the branch library and continued a lifelong dedication to books and learning.
Dean and Mary Thornton Children's Area
Dean Thornton was the former president of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. Thornton believed that reading creates an open mind, develops imagination and lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning.
Montlake Branch
Betty Bennett Simpson Reading Area
Betty Simpson was born in 1919 in Ohio and grew up in Oak Park, Ill., where she married her husband, Francis M. Simpson. During her early married life, Simpson worked with psychologically disturbed adults and children and then later as a teacher. Due to her husband's work, she moved their family of four children a total of 29 times. An avid reader, she often says that were it not for reading and libraries, she doesn't know how she would have made it through all those years of moving. When Simpson learned that her family was naming a room at the Montlake Branch near her home in her honor, she responded that she hadn't done anything important enough to deserve it. However, her family understands better than she, that raising four children who all went to college and have productive, good lives is an accomplishment worth honoring.
Don G. and Jane Markham Abel Meeting Room
Don G. Markham practiced law for over 40 years. He was a leader in numerous civic affairs, including president of the Metropolitan Democratic Club, president of the Municipal League, president of the World Affairs Council, president of the English-Speaking Union and a scout master in Cub Scouts. In his later years, he served on the boards of the Arboretum Foundation and the Puget Sound Blood Bank. Jane Markham Abel raised three children and was active in community groups, including Cub Scouts, Campfire, PTA, P.E.O. Sisterhood and Colonial Dames of America. She was a board member for the Seattle Opera and the Salvation Army.
Luke and Annalee Pigott Children's Area
NewHolly Branch
Edward and Lillian Bishop Foundation Learning Center
Lillian Fleet Bishop was born in Montesano and lived in the Grays Harbor area until her death. Her civic involvement included the YMCA and Children's Orthopedic Hospital auxiliaries, along with the Grays Harbor College Foundation. Edward. K. Bishop was born in Alton, Ill., and worked his way west as a cook, teacher, tallyman and reporter. In addition to his numerous business interests, he was a founder of Grays Harbor College, and with his wife established the Bishop Foundation for Eye Treatment and Research, and helped create Camp Bishop for the Aberdeen YMCA. The Bishops established the Edward and Lillian Bishop Foundation for the youth of Grays Harbor, providing financial assistance to organizations and programs that benefit young people.
Northeast Branch
Faye G. Allen Reading Area
As a teacher, Faye G. Allen spent her professional life sparking the joy of reading among children. In her personal life, her love of books is demonstrated even in the design of her home, built around her own library and filled with favorite works chosen by her and her children, Jo Allen Patton and Paul G. Allen. Fully half of her large collection is composed of children's books. The Northeast Branch is proud to dedicate its Reading Area to Faye G. Allen, reflecting her celebration of the written word, her support of youth literacy, and her emphasis on libraries as a treasured resource for future generations.
Fred and Barbara Guptill Meeting Room
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 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. 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 after retirement, serving as co-president of the League of Women Voters. Barbara died on March 31, 2003.
Jodi Green and Mike Halperin Children's Area
Jodi Green and Mike Halperin love words and books and are committed to a lifelong pursuit of learning. Along with their two children, they are library groupies who love to visit libraries wherever their travels lead them. Green and Halperin take pleasure in belonging to The Seattle Public Library system. They consider it a free community resource that welcomes everyone with open arms and offers a quiet place for the pursuit of knowledge. They love the words of Andrew Carnegie posted in the Central Library at the entrance to the administrative offices on Level 11: "There is not such a cradle of democracy upon the earth as the Free Public Library, this republic of letters, where neither rank, office, nor wealth receives the slightest consideration."
Queen Anne Branch
Lois and Nelson Anderson & Anne Anderson Questad Children's Area
Gilbert W. Anderson, longtime library supporter and former president of The Seattle Public Library board of trustees, honors his parents and sister at his childhood branch. Anderson lived with his parents, grandmother and sister near the Queen Anne Branch for 27 years. His parents were avid readers and the house was full of books. He found refuge in the library, which also was a source of lifelong knowledge and entertainment. As an adult, Anderson continued his interest in libraries by serving on the boards of the Gates Library Foundation and The Seattle Public Library Foundation.
Linda Larson and Gerry Johnson Family Reading Area
Queen Anne residents Linda Larson and Gerry Johnson believe that public libraries and the free access to information that they provide are essential to our democracy. Larson was a member of the board of trustees for The Seattle Public Library from 1997 to 2006, serving as board president from 2002-2003. She is a former member of The Seattle Public Library Foundation board of directors. Their children, Nora and Peter Johnson, grew up walking to the Queen Anne Branch. The Johnson children began with story times and picture books, then moved on to homework help and reading for pleasure. They lost and replaced many Library cards along the way.
Stuart H. Prestrud Meeting Room
Stuart Prestrud lived in Seattle from his birth in 1919 until he passed away in 2012. In the 1920s, he frequented the Queen Anne Branch. There he pursued an interest in stamp collecting and developed a lifelong love of reading. Prestrud majored in history at the University of Washington. Reading at the Library and college gave him a broad knowledge and perspective that helped him as a trust officer and in his service to charity and the community. Reading helped Prestrud form his life's values. He worked with civic leaders and philanthropists, yet never lost the common touch. His public contributions were consistent with his personal ones. An early environmentalist, he aided the Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society in preserving large and far-flung wildlife areas. He also cleaned up his neighborhoods by picking up trash on his daily walks. Though never rich, he contributed to charity as though he was. One of his favorite positions was serving as one of the three original members of the board of managers of the Norman Archibald Charitable Foundation, where for 25 years he helped direct grants to organizations great and small throughout the Puget Sound area. The Norman Archibald Charitable Foundation is a supporter of The Seattle Public Library Foundation's Campaign for Seattle's Libraries. It has chosen to honor Prestrud for his outstanding years of service. The Norman Archibald Charitable Foundation was established to make grants to charitable organizations that provide benefits to the Puget Sound region.
Rainier Beach Branch
Friends of The Seattle Public Library Meeting Room
Since 1941, the Friends of the Seattle Public Library has been a grassroots volunteer organization that has supported the Library as an essential institution in society.
D.V. and Ida McEachern Charitable Trust Children's Area
The D.V. and Ida J. McEachern Charitable Trust was established in 1969 to help give a better start in life to all children, both educationally and physically. The Trust is interested in making better lives for our community's children through artistic and cultural programs.
South Park Branch
Guiseppe and Assunta Desimone Reading Area
Giuseppe and Assunta came to Seattle from Italy in the late 1800s. They met and married in the early 1900s. Their first home was on a farm in the Georgetown area. Shortly after, they moved to South Park where they operated a large truck garden farm and raised their family of five. In the 1920s, Giuseppe Desimone urged the Pike Place Market to focus on local farmers and their produce. He was involved with major finances and management in the Market. The City of Seattle acquired the Market from his family in the mid-1970s. Today it remains a major tourist and local attraction. In the mid-1930s, Desimone's concern for the economic growth of our community led him to donate waterfront property on the Duwamish River to The Boeing Co. for $1. This helped Boeing remain in our area and provided the land for to develop Boeing's Plant 2. This room is a tribute to the many contributions immigrants have made to the South Park community and our city.
Satterberg Foundation Children's Area
The Satterberg Foundation’s mission is to maintain and enjoy the interconnection of its family members and to provide funds to non-profit organizations that enrich and support our communities. The children's area of the South Park Branch is a wonderful base for supporting the foundation's mission. The whole Satterberg family grew up loving libraries and the worlds within books. The Foundation hopes that the kids and families using the South Park Branch will enjoy the same experience.
Southwest Branch
Janet Maurer Daggatt Children's Area
University Branch
David R. Davis Reading Room
David R. Davis grew up in Idaho, where his love of books quickly became evident. As a youngster, he worked for a printer who paid him in books, which Davis thought was a good deal. He entered the Navy in 1943 and studied medicine while serving in Korea. After the war, he moved to Bellevue where he was a general surgeon until 1997. Davis has served on the boards of the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Library Foundation. Recalling a book discussion with Russell Banks at the University Branch in 1998, Davis said: "I think that everyone there shared in the warm aura of intellectual excitement and humanity. It had been a serious involvement with the problems of living and dying. I looked around the room with its books packed with knowledge and ideas, its comfortable chairs and tables and the wonderful old Carnegie building itself -- everything free and open to the public -- and it struck me what a wonderful institution the public library is! The spirit of that day still inhabits this place; the 'genius loci' is there to inspire everyone who comes here."
West Seattle Branch
Stim Bullitt Reading Area
Stimson Bullitt was many things: lawyer, decorated soldier, outdoorsman, civil rights activist, developer, sponsor, broadcaster, environmentalist and community leader.
One of Bullitt’s legacies is his lifelong belief in equal opportunities for all. While fighting in the Pacific in WWII, he wrote letters to Congress opposing the internment of Japanese Americans. As President of King Broadcasting, he was one of TV's first executives to hire women and African Americans. Bullitt served on the board of the Seattle Urban League and as trustee of the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington. Bullitt helped to build and sustain important local institutes like the Seattle Parks Foundation, the Bullitt Foundation and the Library Foundation. He saw our Library as a place that shared his commitment to equal opportunities for all. Through the gift he made to the Library Foundation, and with his wife Tina's continuing work, Bullitt’s commitment lives on in programs, resources and opportunities at the Library.
Anne and Langdon Simons Children's Area
Anne and Langdon Simons moved to Seattle from New England. Our young city's pioneer spirit was exciting to them. Seattle’s businesses and culture were a big part of the Simons' lives, and they especially loved our Library. With three daughters and six grandchildren, four of whom lived in West Seattle, the Simons were delighted to support the Children's Area of the West Seattle Branch.