Between the Stacks: 2/26/2025

I can hardly believe March is just around the corner, but this week's lovely weather proves spring is on its way. I am ordering new books and loving all the summer blockbusters coming out in the next few months. Soon, the Whitehall Community Library will have new books by C.J. Box, Lisa Unger, Pam Jenoff, J.D. Robb, Lisa Black, Sandra Brown, Laura Childs, and more. For mystery fans, Harlan Coben, John Sandford, Fern Michaels, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, and Anne Hillerman have added to their series. There will even be a new Murder, She Wrote mystery in April! Watch the new bookshelf for these new books and others coming soon.

The end of March is the Montana Library Association Conference in Bozeman, and the staff will be in and out of the building the last half of the week. Why do we go, you may wonder? First, the conference is filled with educational classes aimed at all types of library work and issues. Each staff member is required to have 60 hours of class work over four years. Classes include subjects such as planning better and different story times, creating new children's and teen programming, linking with other libraries for adult speakers, and learning about current issues in the library world.

The second reason is networking with others to improve our services, building friendships between other libraries, and discovering different ways to conquer problems or share insights. Libraries are unique, but many things are the same for directors: staffing, lack of funding, buildings that are too small or in need of major repairs, working with multiple boards and agencies, and, of course, trying to provide the best services possible to our patrons.

Sharing ideas with other librarians in both big and small libraries is a terrific way to learn from other's mistakes and successes. It is also a wonderful way to recharge and enjoy new or old friends.

Last but not least is the chance to share our information with others. There are many new library directors every year, many of them in smaller libraries. I have had the privilege of assisting a new director this year, and during the first week of March, I will be doing a Zoom conference on creative programming for the new directors meeting. Those of us who have been in the business since Noah sailed the ark (a tiny human once asked me if I helped Noah pick out books), have a responsibility to assist the next generation in creating libraries that patrons love and staffs/volunteers who love their jobs.