Whitefish Community Library

Our readers read a stupendous amount this year. Not only did they meet the Whitefish Credit Union challenge to raise $500 for the Whitefish Lake Institute, but they read enough to earn 1,503 prize tickets.

Let’s put that in perspective:

Each one of those prize tickets means that a reader crossed off a row in their reading log. Each book on that row meant an average (of the 4 reading levels in the Challenge) of 31.25 minutes was read. Eight books on a row, so 8 books x 31.25 minutes means each row = 250 minutes of reading. 250 minutes in a row x 1,503 tickets = 375,750 minutes of reading.

Divide that by 60 (minutes in an hour) and you get 6,262.5 hours of reading.

Divide that by 24 (hours in a day) and you have 260.93 days of reading. Remember, this is reading during the entire 24 hours in the day.

Divide that by 7 (days in a week) and you get 37.28 weeks of reading.

Divide that by 4 (weeks in a month) and you get 9.32 months of reading – 24/7!

OUR READERS ROCK!

We’ve had great fun this summer and there is still more to come – but temporary scheduling issues have revised our August schedule.

Here is the rest of August in a nutshell:

Thursday, August 11: Write Your Memories with Carol Buchanan (Adults) 7:00 p.m.

Monday, August 15: last day to turn in reading logs for a prize ticket – until 7 p.m.

Tuesday, August 16: North Valley Music School brings “Music Together” to the library – preschool music class. 10:30 a.m.

Wednesday, August 17: Summer Reading Challenge prize winners drawn and winners notified.

Thursday, August 18: Game On! Kids Chess and Game Day, 4-6 p.m. in the Depot Park Gazebo.

Thursday, August 25th: Author Reading – Carol Buchanan reads from “Vigilantes of Montana.”

And don’t forget! The free lunch truck for anyone 18 or under is in front of the library every weekday from 11:20 to 11:40 through August 20th.

We are so sorry to announce that this year’s Edible Book Contest must be postponed until a later date due to temporary scheduling issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause and assure you that we intend to hold this event in the near future. We’ll provide information about the new date as soon as we can.

EXTENSION OF READING LOG FINAL DATE: Since the library is closed on Saturday, August 13th due to Huckleberry Days, we will extend the time to turn in Reading Challenge Logs to Monday, August 15th at 7 p.m. Last year’s People’s Choice winner: Smaug the dragon from “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Our Summer Adventures schedule for Thursday, August 4th appears to be cursed. Over the course of the summer, 3 events scheduled for this date have been cancelled or moved.

Depending on which version of the Summer Adventures schedule you picked up at the library, you may see an Art Project planned, or a “Write Your Memory” program for adults, or Game On!, the game day for elementary & middle schoolers.

Art with Sue Couser was moved to July 14.

Write Your Memory was rescheduled for August 11.

Game On! will skip the August 4 session and return on August 18th.

We apologize for any inconvenience due to these schedule changes! To make you feel better, we’ll share a picture of one of the Summer Reading Challenge prizes, the cuddly and comforting Snoozle the baby dragon. (And we’ll still be open to 10 to 5 to check out books, DVDs, and books and music on CD.)

The trombone and steel drums were favorites when North Valley Music School took over the library’s portico for an Instrument Petting Zoo on July 28th. Kids and adults tried stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass and percussion. And especially in the case of the trombone, it was a blast!

Summer Adventures slows down for a week (while we go to the State Library Convention) and heats up again the second week of August.

We host Flathead Valley Disc Golf in our Big Back Yard (Thursday, August 11 at 10:30 a.m.), and

The 5th Annual Edible Book Contest & Feast on Saturday, August 13th. Details here.

And take a look at the Whitefish Lake Institute Mural – the lake is full of Whitefish stickers! We’re getting pretty close to the 500 mark, which means that Whitefish Credit Union’s full donation of $500 will go to the Whitefish Lake Institute to help them do the research necessary to keep our water resources clean.

The Reading Education Assistance Dogs were featured guests at last Thursday’s Summer Adventures program. Susie Gonaver and her dog Ande presented with help from two other dogs, Shelby and Kate, and their R.E.A.D. partners. Ande meets a new friend: R.E.A.D. is an outreach of the Intermountain Therapy Animals organization based in Salt Lake City. Ande, Shelby and Kate are certified Therapy Dogs. They and their partners have undergone another layer of training certifying them to be powerful allies to children practicing reading skills. A family reads to Kate: Coming up at the library on Thursday, July 28, North Valley Music School brings their Instrument Petting Zoo. Join us at 10:30 a.m. for a look at strings, percussion, woodwind and brass instruments.

Our guest this week was Sue Couser, art instructor and board member for Stumptown Art Studio. She read “Larf” by Ashley Spires. Larf is a sasquatch who likes it when things go as planned. He’s never met someone like himself. Is he willing to risk uncertainty to meet another sasquatch? Read the book to find out! After that, we dressed Larf and Shurl, including feathers and jewels!

WHAT’S NEXT?

Coming up next week:

Monday, July 18th – pre-registration begins for the 5th Annual Edible Book Contest & Feast. Pre-register only if you are entering an edible book. Pre-registration ends on Friday, August 12.

Thursday, July 21, 10:30 a.m. Meet the Reading Education Assistance Dogs, known in the library as the “R.E.A.D. dogs.”

Thursday, July 21, 6:30 p.m. Author visit by James L. Thane. “From Glacier to Blue Deer to Poisonville and Lakeside: Crime Novels set in Montana.”

And here’s someone showing off Larf, complete with bling!

For more pictures visit Whitefish Community Library’s Facebook page.

See you at the library!