Tag Archive for 'blue book'

Sec of State Kate Brown to Sign Copies of New Oregon Blue Book at State Capitol

MEDIA ADVISORY

What: Secretary of State Kate Brown will sign copies of the 2013-2014 Oregon Blue Book with cover photographer John Pedersen, of Aloha, Oregon.

Where: Outside the Oregon State Capitol Gift Shop in Salem.

When: Thursday, March 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Note: The paperback edition of the Blue Book sells for $18. The Capitol Gift Shop will charge $15 for copies purchased on March 14th. The Blue Book order form is available online. Only 3,500 copies will be available.

Background: The Oregon Blue Book has been published every other year since 1911. It contains up-to-date listings and descriptions of government agencies and educational institutions. It includes an almanac, maps and facts about Oregon history and elections as well as information about the arts, media and other cultural institutions in Oregon. It also provides a concise analysis of Oregon’s economy, government finance and education strategy. About 2,500 copies will be distributed free to public schools, community colleges, public universities, public libraries, judges, elected officials, cities, counties, state agencies, boards and commissions, public ports and Oregon’s consuls.

Photo Contest Open for 2013-14 Oregon Blue Book

Amateur photographers may submit photos for the front and back cover

SALEM — Oregon’s amateur photographers are once again invited to submit photographs for the Oregon Blue Book Cover Photo Contest. The State Archives, which publishes the Oregon Blue Book, is seeking color photos that represent some aspect of Oregon to grace the front and back covers of the 2013-2014 editions.

The contest is open to amateur photographers who are residents of Oregon. Photographs must be taken in the state, and must have a vertical (portrait) orientation.

A state icon at over 100 years old, the Blue Book, published every other year, is the state’s official fact book and almanac with listings and descriptions of government agencies and educational institutions. It includes an almanac, maps, state history and election history as well as information about the arts, media, and other Oregon cultural institutions.

Previous front covers have displayed south-central Oregon’s “Diamond Lake at Sunrise” Oregon, fireworks lighting the night sky over downtown Portland, Oregon’s south coast “Shore Acres at Sunset”, and the Rocking OK Ranch north of Joseph on a stormy morning.

Previous back covers include Pinot noir wine grapes in a spider web, a great blue heron at Summer Lake in Tigard, a young bobcat in a Malheur County tree, and driftwood at Cape Kiwanda.

Entries must be original prints and must not have been previously published. All entries become part of the Archives permanent collection of Oregon photographs, and those not selected for the cover may be used elsewhere in the on-line Blue Book with full credit to the photographer. Entries must be postmarked by October 4, 2012. A committee chosen by Secretary of State Kate Brown will select the winner by Dec. 31, 2012.

Entry forms and rules are available online at http://bluebook.state.or.us/misc/cover/front.htm.  Questions should be directed to Blue Book Editor at 503-378-5199 or

bluebook.changes@state.or.us The web version of the Blue Book is updated regularly. The 2013-14 print edition Oregon Blue Book will be released in March 2013.

Willamette MBA students create QR codes to promote Oregon’s Blue Book

Press Release
May 8, 2012

Stevens State Park QR codeSALEM – In an effort to increase awareness and help the Secretary of State’s office promote Oregon’s Blue Book, students with Willamette University’s Atkinson School of Management created a marketing plan using Quick Response (QR) codes at Oregon State Parks. The codes created by the students contain interesting information, factoids, trivia and links to the Blue Book. People with smart phones and a free app can snap a photo of the code and be taken to the right web page automatically.

“This is a really cool project,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “We have always struggled to raise the public’s awareness of the Blue Book and all the great information it contains. I encourage Oregonians to take out their smart phone when visiting these parks and give these QR codes a try. They really are a lot of fun.”

The QR codes are placed at several of Oregon’s State Parks. Locations with a high number of visitors and good cellular coverage were selected. Oregon State Archives will host and maintain the website behind the QR codes. Oregon State Parks will place and maintain these QR Codes in the various locations and will collect website traffic statistics. This joint venture cost nothing to implement. State Parks and the State Archives will maintain and sustain the project without incurring any costs.

“We look forward to seeing how well these QR codes are received,” said Archives Director Mary Beth Herkert. “This is a new venture for us and we enjoyed working with the students and learning about this relatively new tool in marketing and public outreach.”

You can find the QR codes at the following state parks:
Fort Stevens State Park, Tryon Creek Park, Beverly Beach, Shore Acres, Valley of the Rogue State Park, Deschutes River State Recreation Area, Maples Valley Rest Area, Smith Rock State Park, Tumalo State Park, Yaquina Bay, D River, Crown Point Scenic Corridor, Wallowa Lake, Rooster Rock, Historic Columbia River, Champoeg and Silver Falls State Park.

For more information, please contact

Andrea Cantu-Schomus
Communications Director
Oregon Secretary of State
503-986-2368
503-507-0082

Editorial: A fine online Blue Book

An editorial from the fine folks at the Democrat Herald out of Albany:

The Archives Division of the Secretary of State has done a great job with the online version of the latest Oregon Blue Book.

The printed edition may be quicker to use in some cases, especially if you know where to look. But it’s not out yet, and the online edition is more extensive.

For one thing, it includes an explanation of the state budget that is both lucid and brief, a huge achievement. That description also reminds people of the unvarnished truth, namely that the overall budget approved for 2009-11 was 25 percent higher than the previous one, swelled largely by the infusion of federal stimulus grants. That postponed some of the economies that are all the more painful now.

The online Blue Book has extensive sections on counties including long lists of places that have public records. The one for Linn County for some reason includes the Corvallis School District but no Linn County districts. If that’s an oversight, it should be easy to fix because after all, this is only a virtual book.

The most entertaining part of the online version has to be the picture display related to Oregon’s efforts to allow women to vote. There are news photos, cartoons and campaign posters and cards — all amusing or instructive or both.

It’s nice to be reminded that contrary to Oregon’s conceit in several other areas, our state was far from the first to adopt the women’s vote.

Idaho was first in 1896, Washington followed in 1910, and even California beat Oregon on this progressive issue by granting women the vote in 1911. Oregon men didn’t get around to it until 1912, and not by much. They passed an initiative for women’s suffrage by 61,265 yes to 57,104 no.

That vote total is the kind if information you can dig up in a matter of seconds if you have a printed copy of an old Blue Book in your bottom desk drawer, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice.

Online, you have to click various places and wait each time. You get there too, but it takes awhile. Which is why people who rely on the book a lot are eagerly awaiting the printed version, which is coming out next month. (hh)

Archives Highlights Women’s Suffrage With New Exhibit

Abigail Scott Duniway (standing left) at a woman suffrage meeting. (University of Oregon Library)

On Monday, we announced that our Archives division had made the 2011-2012 Oregon Blue Book available online.

One of the new exhibits released alongside the online version of the Blue Book is the Woman Suffrage Centennial Web Exhibit.

With 2012 marking the Centennial celebration of Women’s suffrage in the State of Oregon, our Archives division has been digitizing some of the very best historical records surrounding Women’s suffrage for all Oregonians to take a look at.

We’ve said it once, and we’ll keep on saying it; our Archives division has the coolest online material you’ll find just about anywhere.  After you’re done taking a look at the Suffrage exhibit, take a look at some of the other amazing exhibits from previous Blue Books.

Online Now – Your 2011 Blue Book

The amazing Blue Book team in our Archives division has made the 2011-2012 Oregon Blue Book available online ahead of the print version being released in March.
Secretary of State Kate Brown would like to invite you to check out the new Web version of Oregon’s Blue Book and all the extras it has to offer. The 2011-2012 Blue Book online includes all the content of the print version plus much more including thousands of links and photographs.
This years Blue Book is also the centennial celebration of the publication, which is published every other year. It is the state’s official fact book and almanac including maps, information about state agencies, counties, educations institutions and public officials.
The online version will feature two special exhibits. The first takes a nostalgic look back at the 100 years of Oregon Blue Books from the evolution of the book covers to the wide-ranging subjects of photos inside. An additional exhibit celebrates the 2012 centennial of women’s suffrage in Oregon with colorful images and descriptive text.
Another advantage to posting the Blue Book online, is that the Web version is updated regularly, as new information becomes available. In addition you can find thousands of links to content including games, trivia, quizzes and biographical sketches of prominent Oregonians.
The print version of the Blue Book will be released in March. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of commemorative 1911 Blue Book will be available to purchase in addition to the latest print version.
For more information about purchasing a print version of the Oregon blue Book or a Commemorative 1911 Blue Book please contact Julie Yamaka at (503) 978-5199 or julie.a.yamaka@state.or.us

Q&A With Oregon Blue Book Editor Julie Yamaka

Every two years the Archives Division publishes the Oregon Blue Book, which issued its 50th edition in March 2009. Work is well under way for the 2011-12 Edition, which will come out in March 2011. We asked Julie Yamaka, the Blue Book editor, to give us a sneak peak at what the next edition will look like.

First, what will be on the cover?

We’re a long way from that decision. The photo contest is under way right now so we won’t know what the front and back cover photos will look like until the end of the year. Secretary of State Kate Brown will make the final choice.

This will be the Blue Book’s 100th birthday. How will be new one be different?

For starters, we’ve added a few things to the almanac section. We have, for example a new state crustacean. I heard there was debate on the Senate floor whether it should be the Dungeness crab or Peter Courtney. The Dungeness crab won out.

What else?

There’s more information on highways. We’ve added Notable Highways, listing some of the special designations, like the Veterans Memorial Highway, which is the Oregon portion of Interstate 205. And we’ve added to the alternative energy section. New to the National, International and Tribal section: each of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes will have a column that will be an informational entry about their history, points of interest, economy, their culture and their treaty or tribal restoration date.

What will be in the center photo section?

A few pages will focus on the Capitol Building. We‘ll take some new photos of the newly refurbished governor’s suite and the House and Senate chambers. The main portion is devoted to commemorating 100 years of women’s suffrage in Oregon. The centennial of suffrage will be celebrated in 2012. And possibly we’ll do something commemorating 100 years of the Blue Book.

What was the 1911 Blue Book like?

It was 133 pages, without a table of contents or index, of information on state, district and county officers; the constitution; agriculture; education system; financial condition; and population statistics. It includes a wide variety of photographs depicting scenes common in Oregon in 1911. It has pictures of the State Capitol in 1911, tall ships in the Portland harbor, views of the Columbia, stacks of wheat, and teams of horses pulling combine harvesters. I was struck by the scope and interesting nature of these photos.

How did it come into being?

According the Preface, it had been the custom of the Department of State to publish an official directory biennially. Increasing demand for more information on Oregon’s commercial and industrial development and natural resources necessitated an expanded publication that was compiled as the Oregon Blue Book.

What is the Blue Book Lite?

The Blue Book Lite will be an abbreviated version of the Blue Book containing all the important civics information, aimed at high school students, or students in general, really. It will have 42 pages, of content, great color and graphics. It’s adapted from information contained in the on-line Oregon Blue Book.

What will be in it?

The content is civics information, with discussion of our initiative and referral system, government’s legislative branch, executive branch and judiciary. There will be information on the distinction between state, county and local governments, about tribal governments and the national government. Additionally there’s a lot of fun stuff: state symbols, notable Oregonians, movies filmed in Oregon, sports trivia, Oregon oddities, and it ends with games, word scrambles, and a pop quiz.

What’s its purpose?

Secretary Brown wants to do more with civics education at the high school level. And while the regular Oregon Blue Book contains all of this, we wanted to extract the civics information and present it in a focused, abbreviated way. It’s the Blue Book in smaller pieces, tweets, if you will.

What oddities?

Well, there is the groundbreaking Oregon Bottle Bill in 1971 requiring a five-cent refund for bottles and cans; there are the world’s oldest shoes, 9,000-year-old sandals made of sagebrush and bark found in Central Oregon in 1938.  They’re in the museum at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. There’s the Tillamook Air Museum. It was a blimp hanger in World War II. It’s the largest wooden clear-span building in the world. The blimps patrolled the coastline looking for signs of attack by submarines.

What’s in the Blue Book online?

It‘s the print version Blue Book expanded. For example the print version doesn’t include the notable Oregonians. That’s a big section. The Executive Section in the print version lists basic information about the state agencies, boards and commissions, and the Local Government section lists all 242 incorporated cities all 36 counties with contact and basic information. The online versions of the Executive Section and Local Government Section are greatly expanded to include a lot more information and links. The online version is probably four or five times bigger than the print version. The online version includes a kid’s section with trivia, games, quizzes, coloring book and links – there’s everything necessary in there to complete a school project or report on Oregon. That’s where a lot of the really interesting stuff is. We’ve pulled some of that into the Blue Book Lite.