state library

Since 2022, more than 170 books valued at more than $2.6 million, according to Europol, have vanished from the National Library of Latvia in Riga, Vilnius University Library, the State Library of Berlin, the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the National Library of Finland in Helsinki, the National Library of France, university libraries in Paris, Lyon and Geneva, and from the Czech Republic.

The novel is believed to be where the state’s name came from, Alex Vassar, a spokesman for the California State Library, told me, though the matter isn’t entirely settled.

The Washington State Library will distribute the kits at no cost to public, tribal and community college libraries that apply by April 1.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget for the upcoming year does not include funding for what’s known as the California State Library Parks Pass, which was launched two years ago to provide more equitable access to the outdoors.

In April 2022, California State Library and California State Parks launched the three-year pilot program that handed out the passes — hangtags that fit over a vehicle’s rearview mirror — to all public library branches across the state, including mobile libraries.