Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana
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The next few weeks are going to be magical, literally! We have wizards, magicians, and, of course, the summer reading finale, all at the Whitehall Community Library. July Summer Reading Wednesdays will include Garon the Wizard on July 10th, Kyle the Magician on July 17th, a magical African Adventure on July 24th, and the magical treats, prizes, and surprises of the Summer Reading Finale on July 31st. These programs take place at 10:30 AM and are open to everyone. If your child is part of the school summer program, they can still come and claim...
Happy Fourth of July to everyone! The library will be closed on the fourth but open the rest of the week at regular hours. We will serve lunches on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week, then back to the regular schedule on Monday, July 8th. Lunches are served free from 11 AM to 1 PM to anyone 18 and younger. On Wednesday, July 10th, at 10:30 AM, our favorite wizard will be back in the library! He will perform his magical scientific tricks for everyone and explain the science behind...
This week, I attended the Belfer National Conference for Educators, presented by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., via the Internet. Technology is amazing, and this conference is an amazing national event that educates students and others about the Holocaust. Our Holocaust Book Discussion group will meet this month on June 27th at 6 PM. Anyone is welcome to come and join this discussion on Holocaust literature and history. Next week's schedule will be lighter as...
For those who like to be in the know, the Jefferson County Library Board meeting has been canceled for this month. Meetings will resume as usual in July on the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 PM. The Whitehall Community Library shares a board with Boulder, so the meetings alternate between the two towns. The meetings are always open to the public. Summer Reading continues to grow; next week, we will have two special presentations. Nao Fukumoto will be here on Wednesday, June 26th, at 10:30 AM for our normal program, and then at 2 PM, she...
Summer Reading & Feeding is off to a great start. Our Maker Space Explorers discovered the world of miniature robots as they set up courses for them to follow and learned how they worked. Maker Space meets every Friday at 2 PM. and is open to everyone. Summer Feeding is from 11:15 AM-1 PM for anyone 18 and younger. There is no registration, and the meals are in sack lunch form so that they may be picked up anytime during pickup hours. This week, the lunches are all cold entrée, but next week, th...
And so, it begins again! Summer Reading starts on Monday, June 10th, at 9 AM; Summer Feeding will begin serving the same day. The program will end on July 31st, but we will serve lunch on August 1st as it is a Thursday. This year's theme is "One World, Millions of Stories," and we will be providing stories from around the world. I love faerie tales and folklore, so this will be a great time to look at different cultures and legends. There is a complete calendar for June activities at the front...
Eric Beale will be at the Whitehall Community Library on Wednesday, May 29th, from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM from the Montana Department of Military Affairs/ Montana Veterans Affairs Division to share different services to our veterans in Whitehall and the surrounding area. He will be coming to the library on the last Wednesday of the month to help veterans with anything they need assistance with or have a chance to meet veterans so they will have someone to contact if needed. The Holocaust Book...
The library's new website is up and running! The new web address is https://www.mywhlmontana.com, which is short for My Whitehall Library Montana. The Friends of the Library are funding the site, which includes monthly calendars, information about programs, links, and more. As we organize it, we will post new things, including new pictures. If you have pictures to share with us, please send them to jferriss@mtlib.org so we can post them. Eric Beal from the Montana Veterans Affairs Division will...
The 21st Century Friday students took a step back in time at the library. This month, they have been exploring pioneer life with the library staff as they made covered wagons and then discovered they could make butter by themselves. After "finger" churning for 20 minutes, the students opened their jars to see sweet, creamy butter lumps. They then learned to salt and wash the butter, how to store it, and how different it tastes from modern products. Their butter was then served with fresh honey...
This Thursday, May 9th, the Friends of the Whitehall Community Library will meet at 5 PM to review their new website. The website will launch in the next few weeks and feature our calendar, links to the catalog, and other items of interest. They will also discuss the summer Reading and Feeding Program, so if you would like to attend a Friends meeting, this is a great one to pop in on. The Memory Café is back on Thursday! Dan and his crew from Montana State University will be here from 2 PM to...
Geology seems to be the theme of the month with the Rockhounders special speaker, and now we are having a special night of fossils for the entire family! Lauren Owen, from the Lewis and Clark Caverns, is coming Thursday, May 2nd, at 6 PM to share her knowledge of fossils and the caves! It will be a great night for everyone! Lauren presented our Arbor Day programs last Friday and is a great asset to the community. The staff is having inquiries about a summer children’s quilting class. If you have a school-age child who wants to learn how to q...
Last week was a plethora of learning as Zoa, Brandi, and I attended the Montana Library Association conference. I attended some amazing sessions, one in particular on AI (Artificial Intelligence). More and more, our students, businesses, and others are using free AI sources to edit and write first drafts of documents and educational papers. The session not only covered the different types of AI available on the internet but also the ethical concerns, problems with the programs, and costs of incorporating AI into libraries. I also attended...
Next Thursday, April 25th, the Holocaust book discussion group will meet. It seems impossible that a year ago today, I traveled to Los Angeles with a dedicated team of teens and adults to visit the Holocaust Museum in LA. We were privileged to attend the birthday party of a 99-year-old survivor named Renee Firestone, who survived Auschwitz. She was gracious in answering questions, sharing her experiences, and showing the tattoo that marked her for the rest of her life. This year, she turns 100, a milestone for anyone. I was saddened to hear...
The Whitehall Community Library is excited to announce it will host a “Memory Café” on Thursday, April 11th, from 2 PM to 3:30 PM. The program is for people with early dementia and their care partners to engage in social activities and raise dementia awareness. Please call the library at 287-3763 to register for this first free session. The University of Montana Geriatric Education Center and the Montana State University Extension Center will present the program. They will be bringing their Mobile Memory Café, and it will be a great time for a...
The Holocaust Book Discussion group will meet on Thursday, March 28th, at 6 PM. This group explores the many facets of history's darkest period by reading the stories of survivors, general historical accounts, fictionalized tales based on true stories, and young adult literature on the subject. Everyone is welcome, but the group is not recommended for children under twelve due to the content discussed. The Robotics program is taking off, with meetings for grades 1-5 on Fridays at 2:30 PM and...
One of the great things about belonging to the Broad Valleys Federation is the training they hold every spring and fall. Last week I enjoyed two days of learning, networking, and meeting the new librarians in our area. One of the training courses held was on leadership and taught by a retired Army Ranger who turned academic. His ideas on leadership definitely had a military slant but as the daughter of an army man who then worked with the military on construction projects, his presentation...
Spring is in the air, and everyone seems to think of outside activities! Our Rockhounding group will not be meeting in March because they are planning a huge meeting and planning session on Monday, April 15th, at 5:30 PM at the library. They will be hosting speaker Deb Hanneman, PhD, of the Whitehall Geo group. The Montana Geological Society (MGS) has a new quarterly magazine entitled Montana Applied Geosciences Magazine or MAGMA. The publication will reflect the birth of new rocks and the...
This will be a busy week at the Library with the schedule full of programs for young, old, and in-between. The Caregiver Retreat will occur on Wednesday, March 6th, from 10 AM to 3 PM. Then on Thursday, March 7th, at 6 PM "Robotics R What?" will kick off our new robotics programs for adults, teens, and elementary age patrons. The program is free and open to the public. Robotics 101 for elementary-age children will meet in the basement on March 8th at 2:30 PM. This program will begin to explain...
One of the great things about libraries is that the staff learns so many things from the patrons. A patron brought me information on a new Property Tax Assistance Program for the Tax Year 2024. There are applications at the Library and this program offers up to an 80% reduction in property taxes, depending on the owner's income. The applications must be filled out and delivered by April 15, 2024. For all of my favorite techies, the Library will be hosting an evening program on Robotics R What??...
It's beginning to look a lot like spring or maybe that is just wishful thinking. Just a reminder that the Library will be closed for Presidents' Day on Monday, February 19th. We will be open regular hours the rest of the week. The book drop is always open if patrons would like to return things after hours. If you saw the Library staff wandering around with their arms full of roses, it is just staff delivering for AARP's Cupid Crew. The Library was given 75 long-stem roses to share with our...
Just a reminder that the Library will be closed for Presidents' Day on Monday, February 19th. We will be open regular hours the rest of the week. The book drop is always open if patrons would like to return things after hours. Presidents' Day was first celebrated in the 1880s in honor of George Washington, commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Washington was the first president of the United States, and his birthday was declared a federal holiday. Abraham Lincoln was...
I would like to thank the Library Staff and the Friends of the Library for the lovely flowers they sent after my mother's passing. Thank you also to the many patrons for all the touching cards and well wishes. They meant a great deal during this difficult time. On a brighter note, the Library is starting several new programs including a Mommy & Me musical program on Mondays at 10 AM. Dads are also invited for this fun time of music and movement. This will run during February except for...
The Library will be starting a new book club in February entitled “Silent Readers.” The idea is for anyone who would like to come to the Library and read without having to engage in lengthy conversations. This is a great opportunity for those who spend a great deal of time alone and would just like to be around people without having to do a lot of interacting with them. The club will begin on February 6th from 4 PM to 7 PM. There will be snacks, drinks, and of course, lots of books to read. There is no need to sign up, just come and enjoy the...
The Library will be closed on Monday, January 15th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We will be open the rest of the week for regular hours. This is the 37th marking of the holiday and falls on Dr. King’s birthday this year. He is best known for his work in non-violent activism during the Civil Rights Movement. Mystery Book Club meets on January 16th at 5 PM. Mystery Readers are invited to come and share their favorite authors, latest reads, and other fun mystery trivia. The group meets after our Knitting Group, which meets every Tuesday from 1-3...
Happy New Year’s Day to everyone. The Library will be closed on January 1st but open the rest of the week for regular hours. The book drop is open any time the Library isn’t so feel free to drop things in if you are finished with them or they need to be returned. We will also be closed on Monday, January 15th, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and open regular hours the rest of the week. If you have older children who would like to sign up for the children’s quilt class on Friday afternoons, please call and let us know at 287-3763. We have limit...
