Between the Stacks: Week of October 1st

Have you ever wondered what all those books by the back door of the Whitehall Community Library are there for?

Many of you may not realize that the library is a hub for the south-central libraries in the state. Books arrive here by courier and volunteers from all over the state to be distributed to libraries in the southern loop (Sheridan, Twin Bridges, Virginia City, Dillon, Ennis, and Whitehall School), the northern loop (Clancy, Boulder, and Helena), as well as the courier loop to Missoula, Butte, and other I-90 libraries. We also receive books from around the country through the mail from universities, larger library systems, schools, and more.

These books are requests from our patrons as well as returns from libraries that have borrowed books from us. This past month, we implemented a new computer program with tracking labels, allowing us to know the location of our books at any given time. It is much more efficient, allowing us to send and receive books much faster.

October calendars are now available, and we have added a few new programs and made some schedule changes. There is now one Preschool Storytime on Wednesday afternoons at 1 PM - this is a time of books, crafts, music, and more. The story times for younger children are Mommy & Me, for those under two, on Thursdays at 11 AM, and Reading Rangers, for those three to five years old, with a focus on Early Literacy Skills, every Wednesday at 10 AM.

Miss Amy will begin Homeschool Explorers on Tuesdays at 3 PM, beginning October 7th. This was a huge hit last year, and the elementary-age students shared all of their projects, facts, and artwork with the staff after class, so we also received a lesson on the Middle Ages. It was great fun for everyone. If you would like to attend, it would be nice to know how many people to prepare for, so please call the library at 287-3763. However, you're always welcome to pop in.

The Whitehall Community Library will be closed on October 13th for the Columbus Day holiday; the library will be open the rest of the week during regular hours. As a rule, the library is closed when the county offices are, but Thanksgiving week, we will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

I will be attending the Fall Library meetings on Monday, where I will give a presentation on recruiting and training volunteers. It is a wonderful opportunity to share the success of our volunteer program with other libraries that need assistance. I would love to take one of them with me, but they will be here helping the staff!