Story time for your preschool children.

I love story time! All those little kids who are so thrilled to listen to me, you can't beat that! This is our fall line-up:
Friday 10:30
November 9th Being thankful
November 16th A musical Thanksgiving with Donna Weldon
November 23rd Closed
November 30th Winter birds

Glorious numbers

Every month I prepare statistics for the Jefferson County Library Board and I am so sure you all would like to know all about it. So, here for your edification, are our monthly stats.

Jefferson County Library System
Whitehall Community Library
Fiscal Year 2007-2008
	Jul. 07	Aug. 07	Sep. 07	Oct. 07
Total Circulation *	2311	2444	2105	2275
Paperbacks	99	133	91	75
Computer Use	902	1067	885	943
Attendance	2301	2484	2164	2301
Hours	123	134	126	130
Storytime	15	24	37	27
Ill Requests	41	49	73	47
Titles Added (see *)	196	133	98	142
Titles Weeded	14	75	35	145
New Cards	18	20	15	15
Reference Questions	64	83	69	73
Programs	8	2	0	1
Program attendance	193	110	0	10
*mcn added	3	3	5	1
*donated	66	0	19	23
*purchased	67	130	74	142
		15
Ill In-state loaned	10	25	11	15
ILL In-state borrowed	24	21	21	17
ILL Out-of-state loaned	3	6	3	3
ILL Out-of-state borrowed *	16	25	11	16

Fall workshop

I'm currently in the lobby of the Yogo Inn at Lewistown, taking a break from library classes.

.

The library here in Lewistown is quiet old and very beautiful. The picture to the right is from the Lewistown Public Library web page. I just heard that this great library has suffered a huge budge cut. It is so hard to manage a library in Montana where money can be very hard to come by. I feel very fortunate that Jefferson County is doing okay money wise this year.

My next class is about econtent and libraries such as downloadable audio books. The State Library is looking in to a state-wide contrance with an e-book company to provide downloadable books for Montana libraries. The State Library is really most excellent! Off I go to learn more stuff so I can better serve my library patrons!

Live from the Montana State Fall Workshop @ Lewistown

I am sitting in the Web 2.0 class at the Fall Workshop in Lewistown, learning about blogs, Myspace and other social software. If only there were only more time in the day. I just learned how it's better to do a post in Edit Html rather than compose. A lightbulb goes off.

The drive here was so beautiful and I saw hundreds of antelope and wild turkey. I wonder if you can raise wild turkeys? Hmm, maybe I should get a book!

New summer reading!

We might not have a beach to do any beach reading on but the back fourty can be used for lounging and reading as well as for ropin'. Here are a few of our new books:

New Fiction
Simple Genius by David Baldacci
The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver
Web of Evil by J.A. Jance
Be My Valentine by Debbie Macomber
The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer
Spare Change by Robert Parker
Exile by Richard North Patterson
Robert Ludlum's the Bourne Betrayal by Eric Van Lustbader
The Quest by Wilbur Smith

New Non-Fiction
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Just a guy: notes from a blue collar life by Bill Engvall

Get a clue @ your library!

Wednesday June 13th was the big start day for the Whitehall Community Library's summer reading program. The reading program has special programs every Wednesday at 10:30 from now until August 8th. Summer readers can pick up their reading journals at the library any time. For every hour a child reads or is read to they are awarded a Mystery Dollar. The Dollars can be used to purchase coupons good for pop, candy video rentals, and movie tickets, or the Dollars can be used in a drawing for some great prizes. Schedule of events:
Friday June 15, 10:30 Montana Raptor Center
Wednesday June 20th, 10:30 Who Pooped in the Park with author Gary Robson
Wednesday June 27th, 10:30 Search and Rescue Dogs
Wednesday July 11th CSI with Sherif Steve Margolis
Wednesday July 18th Insect Guy Bryon Miller
Wednesday July 25th The Art Mobile
Wednesday August 1st Leapin' Lizards with County Extension Officer Cameron Clark

Mysterious Movies
Every Saturday starting June 23rd from 2 to 4. Bring a snack!

Mysterious Crafts
Every Tuesday starting June 19th from 4 to 6.
Call 287-3763 for more info.

What's up @ the library

April 28^th at 2:00 we will be showing the movie Ice Age: the Meltdown. Pop and snacks will be served too!

Some of the exciting new books at the library this week are: Simple genius by David Baldacci, Obession by Jonathan Kellerman, The good husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith, Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber, The marriage game by Fern Michaels, and Obsession by Karen Robards.

May 12^th at 2:00 we are having a fun and interesting program called “Handkerchiefs: The artful squares of history,” Terese Blanding of Fairfield Montana will be here with her collection of over 800 handkerchiefs to talk to us about handkerchiefs in history and literature. Don’t miss this fascinating historical program.

Call 287-3763 for more information.

Baby goats @ the library

Today we had some special guests at storytime. Two week old baby goats came to visit! They were so darn cute! Here's a little Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

Last day of Sirsi SuperConference

What a time I've had! Excellent food, interesting people from all over the US, Canada and other countries and really comfy beds. Oh, and interesting conference sessions. What more could a person want?
I've learned some interesting stuff about sharing library resources and getting them into the patrons hands. I heard about one library who partners with Netflix to get videos to their library patrons. Isn't that cool? So many new ways to serve the public and so little time to implement them. I intend to start a Whitehall Wicki soon and to have podcast available with Whitehall related stories.

Colorado Springs

I'm in Colorado Springs, CO attending the Sirsi SuperConference for users of the lSirsi ibrary circulation product. We are staying in the most excellent Broadmoor Hotel and Convention Center one of the most luxorious places I've ever stayed in. I keep exclaiming over everything. Robes in the rooms! Bath scales! Real cups and glasses! Outdoor fire pits! Art everywhere! Of course, things are on the pricey side but I tell ya, a person could get used to this. Well, gotta go attend a class. More later.

Long time no see

A bad, bad blogger that's what I am. So much work, so little time. So, where to start? I guess there's no point in talking about events that have come and gone so here's some upcoming events.

Our book club, Whitehall Reads, will be meeting to discuss Mary MacLane's book "The Story of Mary MacLane" February 22nd, 6:30 at the library. "The Story of Mary MacLane" was 20 year old Mary's diary and after its publication she became known as "The Wild Woman of Butte!" The diary revealed her innermost thoughts about her sexuality and how much she hated Butte, things one just didn't talk about in those days. The books sold 80,000 copies in the first month, something quite unheard of in 1902. Here's a link to a Wikipedia entry about her and a review of the book at the Montana Historical Society.

On March 17th, St. Patrick's Day at 2:00, we will be having Molly Kruckenberg with the Montana Historical Society present "A Taste of Montana: A history of cookbooks and cooking in Montana." "The history of food and cooking in Montana is as old and varied as the human occupation of the state, and cookbooks provide a window into this transient artform. Weaving together changes in food preparation and technology with the correlating changes in cookbooks, this program shows how cookbooks can be used to explore social and cultural changes in our history. Using illustrations from historic cookbooks, A Taste of Montana provides a delicious way to rediscover the past." Irish soda bread and tea will be served.

Pre-school storytime
Fridays at 10:30
Feb. 16th Chinese New Year
Feb. 23rd Fairy Tale Day

March 2nd Dr. Seuss Birthday
March 9th Bang-clang Day
March 16th St. Patrick's Day
March 23 Springtime
March 30th Crayola Day