Reading Lights and Newspapers

As part of our ongoing renovation we're getting our "Reading Room" ready for action. The idea is to give patrons a comfortable, relaxed area where they can sit back in a nice comfy chair and read while they're in the library.

We just finished the first stage, adding some nice warm bright lights - because reading under fluorescent lighting for any period of time isn't the most pleasant experience ever.

We also added some new newspaper racks to make way for more chairs with more cushions along with a couple of end tables. You can see the old newspaper rack in the background of the picture and the new, vertical ones in the foreground. It really opens up the space.

Coming up next - comfy chairs! Stay tuned.

Osprey Invasion!

Today the library was filled with baseball players, baseball fans, beauty queens and large diurnal, fish-eating, birds of prey. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game,"we invited members of the Missoula Osprey to come down to the library for a meet and greet. Ollie Osprey and Miss Teen Montana joined in the fun.

We handed out hot dogs, peanuts and cracker jacks to 50 plus people and sang the song we were there to honor. We also created some librarian trading cards to hand out - which you can see right here. After some autograph signing and photo ops, the players helped Linette, our teen librarian, read some Spanish language stories about baseball to the children in attendance.

Then, Ollie headed upstairs to meet with our staff, and get his very own library card!



Success! I wonder what he checked out? Maybe Winged Migration?

Now That's a Bookmobile!

Our very own maintenance guru Rob took the concept of altering a book to a whole new level. He didn't just alter a book, he altered a whole lot of books and made a cool "bookmobile."

The more you look at it, the more books you can see that he used.

He even used old discarded cassette tapes for the pedals.

The wheels are actually books!

If you want to check out the bookmobile in person, be sure to stop by the library on August 1st for our very first First Friday event. There's also time to get your own altered books into the show, just have them down at the library by 6 pm on said Friday. Tell your friends!

Word Woman

Welcome to another mind-bending episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! Train your brain for life-long learning by expanding your vocabulary. Here's a little gem from the vernacular of the Wild West, more for fun than for everyday use:

Cut your wolf loose: To go on a bender, to do something outrageous, to raise some h*ll while stimulated by strong drink. (See also "roostered") Ramon Adams' example is riding a horse into a saloon. He tells of a bartender who received a complaint from an Eastern customer about the horses in the saloon. The bartender answered that the Easterner had a lot of nerve coming in on foot. -- "Dictionary of the American West", Winfred Blevins, Facts On File, NY, 1993.

Example: If you really want to cut your wolf loose on Saturday night, Stockman's is the place to be.

Book Alterations

We're finally getting into the whole "First Friday" scene in Missoula this August! For non-Missoulians, First Friday takes place on the first Friday of each month and art galleries and other venues open their doors and display local artwork. Downtown Missoula is packed and it always turns out to be one of the most exciting nights of the month. We'll be hosting an Altered Book show. There's still time to submit an altered book for display.

You can see some of the submissions in the display case near the checkout desk right now, and get a sneak peak of a few right here!



Super cool. I like how the first one says no! to both Richard Nixon and Alfred Nobel (the inventor of dynamite). I think its was a good page to alter. And they are all stunning. Come check them out in person on August 1st. More details to come!

Word Woman

Welcome to another mind-bending episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! Keep your brain in shape for the long run with life-long learning. Now, get ready to work out those neurons with the Word of the Week:

Hyaline: (hi-alin) (adjective) glassy; crystalline; transparent. -- "The New York Times Everyday Reader's Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, Mispronounced Words", Laurence Urdang, Ed., The New York Times Book Company, 1972.

Example: The summer skies were far from hyaline on Wednesday night when Mount Sentinel burned. In fact, they were more fuliginous*.

*Bonus word: Sooty, murky, obscure

Mount Sentinel is burning!

It's not unheard of for my family to take a leisurely stroll over to Dairy Queen after dinner in the summertime. It seems like half of Missoula is there on any given summer night. Last night was different, however. Normally when we go for ice cream, we don't end up walking toward a massive pillar of grey smoke boiling up from the side of the mountain. Nor do we often get a chance to see a firefighting helicopter drop its load. Needless to say, I ran back for my camera. Here are some of the pictures I took:

After the 10:00 news, I stepped out to check on the fire's progress and was treated to the sight of a line of fire crawling down the mountainside like a stream of angry lava. Unfortunately, my camera is not set up to take pictures after dark, but I assure you that it is a sight I will remember for many years to come. Luckily, the library is well out of harm's way, so none of our materials are in any danger from the blaze, but Mount Sentinel will bear the scars for quite some time.

Word Woman

Welcome to another wild and woolly episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! While you're busy keeping your muscles in great shape with all of the fun outdoor activities available in Montana during the summer months, don't forget to work out your cerebral cortex by learning a new word or two. Here's a timely one brought to my attention by my co-worker and fellow blogger, Ben:

Staycation:

	A vacation that is spent at one's home enjoying all that home and one's home environs have to offer. -- Urban Dictionary Example: With no end in sight to rising prices at the gas pump, many people are choosing to take staycations rather than endure the high cost of travel.