Collecting things — box cars, coins, stuffed animals, you have it—is a childhood right of passage it seems. The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is adding one more option to the list.
In honor of Library Card Sign-Up Month, SPL is inviting city residents to take home a new series of collectible postcards. The postcards were created in collaboration with local artists, and there is one for every library in the Seattle Public Library system.
Each car highlights the art, architecture, collections, and programs that make SPL each location unique
“We hope that our Seattle community will use these unique postcards to connect to their libraries and to each other,” said Chief Librarian Tom Fay said in a release this week. “Surprise a friend or loved one with a postcard, send one in service of a cause you believe in, use them creatively and collect them. We’d love to know how you use them!”
How to Collect Them All
Each library location will carry a limited supply of postcards about its branch. All you or your kids need to do is head to the circulation desk and ask for one. Invite your kids to the challenge of visiting every library in Seattle to collect all 27 in the series.
Once caveat: The University Branch is currently closed for renovation. To pick that library’s postcard up, just ask at nearby library locations.
What’s on the Postcards?
The postcard designs are a blend of original art, photography, and descriptions, highlighting Seattle Public Library features and programs, including:
- the Beacon Hill Branch’s Dream Ship art and weekly English Conversation Circles;
- the Broadview Branch’s art and architecture, influenced by Native American longhouse design;
- the Central Library’s spaces, including the Red Floor, music practice rooms and gallery spaces;
- the Douglass-Truth Branch’s African American Collection, created in partnership with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Delta Upsilon Omega Chapter;
- the High Point Branch’s seed library and puzzle lending library;
- the unique teacup art installation at the International District / Chinatown Branch.
Postcards comes with a jacket that includes spaces to collect branch-specific ink stamps in certain categories.
Meet the Artists Behind the Designs
Three local artists collaborated to create the Library postcards: multidisciplinary artist Jeremy Goodie; Seattle-born visual artist Sloane Miller; and first-generation, Mexican-American artist and illustrator Victoria Urrutia.
Find more information on the postcard artists on the SPL website.
