UW Libraries Blog


July 29, 2020

UW Libraries Reopening Plans: A Message from the Dean

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

To our UW Community, Libraries are essential to research, teaching and learning at UW. We acknowledge how challenging the ambiguity of this time is, and the desire to confirm plans and expectations for Fall quarter and beyond. Our planning teams have been working hard to develop a phased reopening approach, aligned with public health requirements…


June 5, 2020

Responding to the Call: George Floyd, Black Lives Matter and Systemic Change

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

Dear UW Community: Thank you to our UW leadership across all three campuses,  President Ana Mari Cauce and Laura Cañate, UW MBA ’18, for your powerful words. We recognize the clarity of this moment and share a commitment to anti-racist work across the UW Libraries. Speaking on behalf of UW Libraries to all individuals and…


March 15, 2020

A Message from the Dean: FAQ and Libraries Response To COVID-19

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

Betsy Wilson

This post was updated on 3/21/20 6:40PM . Along with many other public institutions, businesses and community members in our region, UW Libraries has been working continuously to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in accordance with the University’s and Public Health – Seattle & King County guidelines. We recently announced additional changes to operations this…


February 14, 2020

HEALWA: The On-Call Library for Washington State Healthcare Practitioners

Patricia J. Devine, MLS and Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

Medicine, more so than many other disciplines, is a rapidly changing field. According to some estimates, medical knowledge doubles every few months, up from the fifty years it took to double in 1950.1 Using evidenced-based resources to provide the best care is imperative in the healthcare industry. Yet, unless healthcare workers are affiliated with an…


February 7, 2020

The Seattle Sound: A Tribute to Kearney Barton

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries and John Vallier

Seattle’s Evening show on KING 5 recently visited the UW Libraries to uncover the story behind the soon-to-be released tribute album Kearney Barton: Architect of the Northwest Sound. The album was made possible through the generous donation of Kearney’s masters and support to UW Libraries from Barton’s niece, Patricia Maltsberger (THANK YOU!). This work is…


February 4, 2020

Five Things You May Not Know About the Tateuchi East Asia Library

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

We are celebrating our new name at the Tateuchi East Asia Library in conjunction with the recently announced endowment from the Tateuchi Foundation – a transformative investment that will help us grow and provide more services and programs. Our dynamic librarian staff are always thinking of new ways to engage students, faculty, and the community…


January 30, 2020

Beyond Books: Building Community through Bothell/Cascadia’s Community Reads  

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

As public spaces devoted to teaching and learning, our Libraries have a duty and responsibility to steward diversity, equity and inclusion.  At UW Libraries, this is embedded in our Libraries Strategic Plan. At the UW Bothell and Cascadia College Campus Library, this work has long been a part of our professional learning and community engagement…


December 30, 2019

What We Can Learn from Ancient Chinese Inscription Rubbings:

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

I have been working at the UW East Asia Library  since I was a freshman. With a strong interest in ancient Chinese history and some good fortune, I got the opportunity to work on a collection of epigraph rubbings rich with historical information from the Northern Wei, Tang, and Song dynasties. The East Asia Library…


November 21, 2019

Mythbuster: The Facts About Greta Thunberg’s Photo Twin

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

One of the images within UW Libraries Special collections has garnered a lot of media attention lately regarding the resemblance of a young girl in a photograph from 1898 to 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg. Several creative theories abound from time travel to how Greta’s image may have been inserted into a historical…


October 22, 2019

UW Press and Libraries Collaborate on Open-Access Books

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson, vice provost for digital initiatives and dean of University Libraries

Reposted from UW Press Blog 10/21/2019 From October 21st to 27th, the University of Washington Press will be highlighting its open-access publications and partnerships as part of International Open Access Week. UW Press and Libraries Collaborate on Open-Access Books Thanks to a new partnership between UW Press and Libraries and a grant from the Kenneth…