Digitized materials such as photographs, maps, newspapers, posters, reports and other media selected from Special Collections’ holdings.
Digital Collections
Online Exhibits
Pacific Northwest
- An Injury to One is an Injury to All: The Legacy of the 1916 Everett Massacre and the Industrial Workers of the World in the Pacific Northwest
On November 5, 1916, a bloody confrontation known as the Everett Massacre occurred when 300 Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) members clashed with local police and armed vigilantes in Everett, Washington. The incident left several IWW members dead and wounded, following escalating tensions over labor strikes and free speech rights. This exhibit puts the events in a larger regional historical context and draws from the collections of UW Special Collections and the Labor Archives of Washington. - Author, Poet, and Worker: The World of Carlos Bulosan
Explore the digital version of LAW’s exhibit dedicated to Carlos Bulosan, a prominent Filipino American labor activist, writer, and poet. Delve into the world of Carlos Bulosan and discover the labor, activist, and ethnic communities that shaped his remarkable life and work. - A Ballot for the Ladies: Washington Women’s Struggle for the Vote, 1850-1910
- Blast! Mt. St. Helens 1980
- Clark Kinsey and the Documentation of the Pacific Northwest Logging Industry
- The Evergreen State…in Black and White
- History of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
- Japanese American Exhibit and Access Project
The Japanese American Exhibit and Access Project was created in 1997 to provide access to UW Libraries projects related to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. - King County Snapshots
Presents King County, Washington, through 12,000 historical images carefully chosen from twelve organizations’ collections. The 19th and 20th century images portray people, places, and events in the county’s urban, suburban, and rural communities. - Klondike Gold Rush: The Perilous Journey North
- Landback: Indigenous Sovereignty in the Urban Native Era
- Mount Rainier National Park: 100 Years In Paradise
- Northwest of the West: the Frontier Experience on the Northwest Coast
- “One Big Union”: The IWW’s Radical Imagery
- Researching the Roadside: Travel & Tourism in the Pacific Northwest
- Solidarity Centennial: The Legacy of the Seattle General Strike Era and the Centralia Tragedy of 1919
The Seattle General Strike of 1919 brought the city to a standstill for an astounding six days, uniting diverse groups across various occupations and political affiliations. Later that same year, a violent confrontation in Centralia, Washington, marked a tragic turning point in the aftermath of the strike’s success. This exhibit was part of a statewide series of Solidarity Centennial programming in 2019, and was made possible by the generous support of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies. - STRIKES! Labor and Labor History in the Puget Sound
- Washington State Farmworkers Struggles
Exhibit on the history of farmworkers in Washington state from the 1910s to the 2010s. - Women @ Work
Exhibit highlighting Labor Archives of Washington Collections women working in the building and construction trades. This includes professions such as bricklayers, roofers, sign painters, and electrical workers. Although more women are working in the building and construction trades today, it is still a male dominated industry. The Labor Archives has collection from Washington Women in the Trades, documenting the Electrical Trades Trainee Program activists at Seattle City Light, and individual activists, and related organizations such as Radical Women.
University of Washington
- Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, University of Washington Campus, 1909
- Dream, Design, Build: The UW Architecture Student Drawing Collection, 1914-1947
- New, Thinking, Agile, and Patriotic: “Hindu” Students at the University of Washington, 1908-1915
- No Finer Site: the University of Washington’s Early Years on Union Bay
- Spotlight on the Zygmunt William Byrnbaum Papers
- University of Washington : A Pictorial History
- University of Washington Presidents
- When the world came to campus, AYPE 1909
Collection Centered
- “Greetings from the Country”: the University of Washington Libraries Postcard Collection
- Illuminating the Material History of the Book
- Industrial Workers of the World Photograph Collection Exhibit
This exhibit provides a comprehensive look at the historical context surrounding the Industrial Workers of the World Photograph Collection. Immerse yourself in the visual narratives of this iconic collection. - Images of Labor and Social Justice: The Art of Richard Correll
Experience the digital version of LAW’s exhibit celebrating the artistry of Richard V. “Dick” Correll (1904-1990), renowned as one of the leading masters of printmaking in the West. Correll’s powerful black and white linoleum cuts, etchings, and woodblock prints reflect a wide range of themes, from landscapes and animals to political and social issues that remained close to his heart throughout his life. - Invisible Cities: The Prints of Giovanni Battista Piranesi and the Art of the Built Environment
- Just One Look: An Exhibition of Contemporary Book Arts Exploring the Theme of Women and Vision
- Looking glass for the mind : 350 years of books for children
- Under the Wings of Artemis: The Crossroads of Scholarship and Art
Podcasts
- This podcast takes a dive into the University of Washington’s archives and discusses a variety of queer content and issues. Queer Air (seasons 1 and 2) is a capstone project for our Library and Information Sciences Masters Program at the University of Washington.
- A podcast series which tells the hidden stories of women filmmakers in the Film Archive.
- This podcast explores the stories of important people that made an impact on Seattle’s history of racial justice and political activism. Using collections from the University of Washington Libraries’ Special Collections, host Stellan Harris will guide you through the lives of some of Seattle’s hidden figures.
We Do the Work “Learn Yourself” Segment
- The “Learn Yourself” segment on the “We Do the Work” radio program provides guidance on using primary and secondary sources in research. The goal is to inspire listeners to explore topics on their own, utilizing resources from the UW Special Collections, the Labor Archives of Washington, and related repositories. The segment features researchers who have utilized these collections, event participants, and community members involved in the discussions. By highlighting the voices of historically marginalized communities, this approach is part of a collaborative outreach strategy.
Oral History Projects
SeaTac-Seattle Minimum Wage History Project
- This digital archive comprises documents and interviews, including audio and video interviews with supporters and opponents involved in the struggles over a $15 minimum wage at SeaTac and in Seattle, as well as the broader national impact and ongoing efforts.
- The Pacific Coast Pensioners Association Oral History Committee (PCPA) has been collecting oral history interviews with PCPA members, officers, and convention visitors since 2013. Oral historian Harvey Schwartz, historian Ron Magden, and labor archivist and oral history project manager Conor Casey conducted interviews at the PCPA annual conventions.
The Working in the Time of COVID-19 Oral History Project
- A collaborative effort to document the impact of the pandemic on workers. This project, conducted between 2020-2021, comprises three main components: Working in the Time of COVID-19 Oral History Project Led by: Labor Archives of Washington Seattle COVID-19 Oral History Project Led by: University of Washington history student, Wendi Zhou Musical Work in the Time of COVID-19 Led by: UW Music faculty member, Mark Rodgers The Labor Archives provided training on oral history interview techniques and supported project and file management for the other projects. Project Collaboration This collaborative project involved: LAW Staff UW Faculty Students and Student Workers Community Stakeholders Component project leaders developed shared questions in consultation with each other and with community stakeholders, coordinated outreach efforts, and selected narrators. They worked with labor community members to develop core questions for all narrators and industry or community-specific questions for different groups.
The Seattle Labor Chorus Oral History Project
- Initiated and led by chorus member Cindy Cole from 2015 to 2017, was created in collaboration with the Labor Archives of Washington, part of the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections. This project involves interviewing and audio recording members of the Seattle Labor Chorus to capture their personal stories. The goal is to document the lives of these chorus members, focusing on their social activism, passion for music and labor, and their journey to joining the Labor Chorus. The interviews form part of the Labor Archives of Washington.
The Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action (PSARA) Oral History Project
- A collaboration between PSARA and the Labor Archives of Washington, a part of the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections. Spearheaded by PSARA activists Angela Bartels and Karen Richter, this initiative conducted a series of interviews between 2018 and 2019. The project features engaging conversations with PSARA members and retirees who have dedicated decades to activism within their unions, community organizations, or faith groups. This portion of the oral histories form part of the Labor Achives of Washington, while another portion on the PSARA website comprise the bulk of the project. The Labor Archives is backing up these as part of an web archives for longterm digital preservation.