Photos by Sierra Hartman
We’re big fans of the Tacoma Public Library. Some of our favorite historic images and little history bits have come from their archives. So, when they asked us to help promote their limited-edition historic cards, it was easy to say yes.
Check out the new arrivals, designed by Faith Stevens, that celebrate Never Never Land, Bob’s Java Jive, and the You’ll Like Tacoma sign!
If you trade in your old library card for one of these new ones, you’ll pay a $1 fee and get a new serial number. (Be aware that this will affect your OverDrive account.)
If you don’t have a library card yet, now is the perfect time to get one. To do so, bring in a piece of photo ID with your current Tacoma address on it. If your current address doesn’t match your ID, bring a piece of mail addressed to your current abode.
The new cards are available at all TPL locations. Check out branch hours here. Should you decide to get your card at the Main Branch (1102 Tacoma Ave S), try popping into the Northwest Room. Pull open a drawer or two (yes, really, it’s ok!) and see what you find.
Some of my favorite areas to look in are tourism (old brochures advertising Tacoma), restaurants (including menus and grand opening fliers), and visitors (which has clippings about everyone from political figures to Mark Twain stopping by our city).
The staff there are also an incredible resource if there’s some specific bit of information you’re interested in.
You can also give this link a click to jump to the digital archives. It never hurts to try putting your home’s address in to see if anything turns up.
If you’re still not sure what kind of gems you can find, check out a few of our favorite Instagram posts that include info from both the digital archive and the Northwest Room: