Database Upgrade Complete!

After over a year of planning and preparation in partnership with Legislative Department IT, we’re thrilled to announce that SMA’s two main collection databases – Finding Aids and Digital Collections – have been migrated to new servers, allowing us to implement much-needed upgrades and improvements.

Finding Aids is our main records catalog and contains descriptions of all records in the archives – it’s the best place to start if you’re looking for archived materials related to your research project! Digital Collections is a great resource for visual materials, containing individually-cataloged records in digital format such as photos, maps, drawings, select textual records, audio, and film and video records.

You’ll find both databases at the same web addresses and functioning very much the same as before, though you may notice some slight differences in the look and feel of each one. If you have any questions or feedback about the changes, or need help navigating the databases, please let us know! We’re excited for the improvements these upgrades provide, including better security and performance, improved web accessibility, new features, and more flexibility for integrating future features as they become available.

Students Visit City Hall

Last month, we joined City Clerk Information Services staff to welcome fourth graders from Seattle’s Cascadia Elementary School to City Hall. Nearly 200 students and their teachers filled the Bertha Knight Landes Room to learn about Seattle city government and how the legislative, judicial, and executive branches work together to serve the residents of Seattle.

SMA was on hand to talk about the archives and share examples of archived photos, documents, and maps - like the one seen here illustrating how Seattle has grown over time through annexation. It was a lot of fun and we hope they’ll be back!

SPD Records Accession

We recently received a large accession from the Seattle Police Department of 70 boxes containing both documents and photos, with dates ranging from the 1930s up through the 2000s.

The boxes include public information files and departmental publications, subject files, old manuals and procedures, biographical information, and other departmental records that document the history and operations of SPD over time. We are busy going through the boxes and have already discovered some great finds. We’ll be sure to share highlights in the coming months – stay tuned!

Newly Processed Collections

Now processed and available for research at SMA are Mark Solomon Subject Files (Record Series 4685-02) containing records from Solomon's office during his term serving on Seattle City Council in 2025. Topics represented in the collection include public safety, housing, transportation, and parks, as well as updates on City departments and various concerns relating to District 2. Check out this post on our blog Primary Sources for more details.

Also recently processed is Greg Spotts Electronic Correspondence, a new subseries of correspondence from Transportation Director’s Records (Series 8100-03). Spotts was Director of Transportation from 2022 to 2025. Archived emails include both internal and external correspondence covering topics such as pedestrian and cyclist safety, electric scooters, and sidewalk improvement. Vision Zero, the Seattle Transportation Plan, and environmental sustainability are also discussed.

Contact us at archives@seattle.gov if you’re interested in accessing either of these collections or any others at the archives!