Whitefish Community Library

Whitefish Community Library will close on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26th. The Library reopens Tuesday, May 27 at 10 a.m.

Memorial Day, also known as “Decoration Day,” is celebrated in the United States to remember those who died in service, and was first celebrated in 1865 to honor those fallen in the Civil War. It was later extended to honor all American military personnel who gave the ultimate sacrifice in all wars.

Want to know more about this tradition? Find out on this Library of Congress page which has links to historic U.S. newspaper archives chronicling the history of Memorial Day.

We just received our copy of the Summer Field Trip Guide from the Montana Native Plant Society. I counted 55 different trips from May until December, led by “ecologists, botanists, naturalists and natural scientists” and happening throughout the state. What an opportunity to soothe your soul with some good ol’ Montana nature!

Find the guide in the Library’s reading room, along with the Native Plant Society’s newsletters. Read the guidelines, contact the trip leader, and plan to take a mosey this summer.

If you can’t make it to the Library, the society publishes their Field Trip Guide online. Find it on their website HERE.

R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Education Assistance Dog and it’s no joke! These specially trained teams provide kids with an enjoyable way to practice reading.

Follow the puppy tracks through the Library every Tuesday from 3:30 to 4:30, to the children’s area where you’ll find Shelby, or Andi, or another friendly pup who will listen while you read your favorite story to them.

Sign up for a 10-minute slot, (you can do this ahead of time by calling the Library – 406-862-9914) and enjoy your time with a specially trained R.E.A.D. team (one dog and one facilitator) from Intermountain Therapy Animals.

The Library follows the City of Whitefish holiday closures including Good Friday on April 18th this year. We wish a safe and peaceful holiday to all.

Meanwhile, at the Library: some of us will be putting Peeps into the microwave to watch them swell up and burst. Others of us will actually eat them! And at least one of us will seal them in plastic so that they will keep forever (which they will do anyway….)

The Library re-opens on Saturday, April 19th at 12 p.m.

Why do you see that headline? Because an alert patron notified us that they were receiving solicitations to donate to Whitefish Community Library through an online source. This is an attempt to scam folks into donating to a community institution that they love.

We’re sorry that we don’t have much more information than that, but we do know that the Whitefish Community Library does not, nor has it ever, solicited donations via online ads. We don’t even have the capability to process card payments at our brick and mortar building (it’s just not sustainable given the small amount of funds we deal with).

If you fall victim to a scam like this, please contact your financial institution. Let them know what happened and allow them to see what can be done. Hopefully together we can stop this scammer in his or her tracks.

NOTE: the Whitefish Library Association is a nonprofit associated with the Library. It has its own website and donations can be made there, but they also do not buy advertising to solicit funds. https://whitefishlibraryassociation.org/

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us [406-862-9914].

Here are some crocuses to remind us that good things are still going on….

Spring Break for Whitefish Schools has arrived, and it’s also Montana Library Conference week. Because of this we will be short-staffed and some recurring events are cancelled until next week.

Books and Babies will still be happening on Wednesday, March 26 at 11 a.m.

Cancelled until next week are Wednesday’s “After School at the Library,” and Friday’s “Story Circle” and “Switch It Up!”

Our usual activity area and play cubby are always available.

We’ll be all trained up and ready to go with our usual programs on Monday, March 31st.

The Montana Shared Catalog App makes it easy to access your account, renew books, and place holds using your phone, tablet or any device that uses apps. You can also look at your account to check the status of your holds. And my favorite feature? I can scan the barcode of any book I see to find out if the Library already has it!

Find it free at any app store: The Montana Shared Catalog App.