Library Kicking It Into High Gear This Fall

Have you visited our Whitehall Community Library lately? Without a doubt, it is one of the busiest places in Whitehall, day in and day out. Librarian Jeannie Ferriss and staff have done an amazing job developing a plethora of fun and educational activities for all ages. Now, two major developments have happened at the library that will affect even more people in, and out, of our community!

The library receives a grant to create a Business Resource Center within the library system. Ferriss has been taking Montana State Library classes with the Accelerate Montana Rural Innovation Initiative (AMRII) in order to learn how to help new and existing businesses find the information they need.

“This is all about sharing and connecting with the right people, networking with other businesses and creating connections,” Ferriss said.

The library’s business resource center will work to help small businesses begin and to succeed, all centered on Whitehall and Whitehall’s needs.

A “Business Buzz” session will begin on September 14 at 1 p.m. and Montana Small Business Bureau Speakers are planned monthly. The library will have a dedicated computer for business assistance links and will also create a business library section with selections from business resource book lists.

Another exciting development is the library’s Democracy Project, which has gotten noticed by Progressive Magazine in New York for the Holocaust Project the library is about to begin in September. The Democracy Project is part of the Montana Humanities council and a $5,000 grant for the Holocaust Project was awarded to the Whitehall Library.

The project, which is based around the already-existing Holocaust Discussion Group, will be a peer-led group of twenty teenagers who will participate in museum tours, a Rescuer Survivor fair, classes conducted by a Rabbi on Judaism, a Holocaust oriented spotting fake news class, and more.

“Teaching these teens and them knowing that it can happen again, that’s the importance of this project,” Ferris said.

Recent WHS graduate Hope Schockley and WHS student Beau Cheuvront will be the committee leads with an adult supervisor assisting where needed. Only a few spots on this project remain and the first meeting will be held September 23rd. Please contact the library if you would like to participate.

Not only are these two projects coming up, but much more within the library system, including Reader’s Theatre for 2nd and 3rd graders, Art camp, STEM camp and more! Be sure to check out the library’s calendar (available to pick up at the library) or the community calendar in the Ledger on page 2.

The Whitehall Community Library brought in tens of thousands of people last year - helping them with books for work and pleasure, internet help, and more. The library is such a vital part of our community- make sure to check out all it has to offer.