So Many Books!

• Posted on February 26, 2021
• by mcconelibrary
• in Uncategorized
• 2 Comments.

People who know me are aware of my unceasing passion for books, and I am so glad to share this with our community. One of the ways that we have been able to get more books into the library is through grant writing. Our library has had some success in this area and we are starting to reap the benefits. You may have read in previous posts, or in The Circle Banner about our Pilcrow Foundation grant. This grant enabled our library to receive over 100 brand new children’s books. What I may not have mentioned is the large donation that came in after the Pilcrow fundraiser ended. This generous donation was from Ruth Towe (nee James) who grew up here in Circle. Full disclosure, Ruth is my aunt, but I don’t think that influenced her donation any. She read about our fundraiser and sent a check for $500. This along with the extra we raised has allowed us to purchase even more children’s and teen books for our library. These books have arrived and are labeled with a sticker indicating that they were donated by Ruth Towe. We were so excited to get this donation and I had a blast picking out some new books for our library! My favorite book : The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket – a murder mystery that teaches children about the instruments of the orchestra while solving the murder of a composer who looks suspiciously like Beethoven,

We have even more good news. We received another grant for $3000 from Libraries Transforming Communities in conjunction with the American Library Association and Association of Rural And Small Libraries. It will be focused on encouraging civic literacy in adults and children. Of the $3000, $2500 went towards the purchase of a collection of books on civics and American History for adults, teens, and children. We will also be holding a series of community conversations around the topic. The first will feature our newly elected Representative Jerry Schillinger and will take place in May. We are still finalizing plans for this, but invite you all to attend in person or via Zoom if you feel more comfortable. The collection has started to arrive in the library and it is ALOT! We were able to purchase almost 200 books as well as some audio books, and even a movie.

The books in these pictures are organized up by topic. The collection will be displayed in April when it has been completed as there are still a few books that are running late. Until then, we invite you into the library to browse the selection until they are officailly displayed and available to be checked out.

What??? There’s more good news? I have just signed the contract to be a recipient of a $3500 mini-grant from the Montana Children’s Trust Fund. This grant will allow us to purchase enough supplies to start … drumroll please … A BOARD GAME LENDING LIBRARY!!! I know right. I can hear the screams of excitement from all the way over here. We will be posting a poll on Facebook next week to solicit community feedback about what general types of games interest you. We hope that this will enable families and friends to spend time together without electronics getting in the way. There will also be some 1 and 2 player games available for students to play after school at the library.

Thank you for taking the time to read all about our plethora of good news. We can’t wait to see you at the library. As always we wish you a great book to read, a cup of cocoa, and uninterrupted time to relax and enjoy the journey.