Library News

Huge thank you to James Grady who AGAIN shared his generosity and success with our library!! We are beyond blessed to have Shelby natives like James who continue to support the community from near and far! Please be sure to check out American Sky here at the library or nab a copy for yourself at all major book retailers! As always thank you to Jennifer Tronson for your diligent work and support as well! Also feel free to check out Chatterbooks, the podcast that James was featured on, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Also check out the article by Mrs. Tronson here: 

We had boatloads of fun at our Summer Reading Program this year! Some of our activities included clay animal sculpting, werewolf hunting, bubble bath kickball, and so many others. And while we didn't have much time for pictures we did snap one of our grand prize winner, James, who won this awesome 1,000 piece drawing kit courtesy of the Friends of the Library. Thanks to the Friends we were also able to give each student who attended a $10 gift certificate to the Dash-In! (We have certificates for students that attended previous weeks but were unable to attend the last day). Thanks to all who attended and supported Summer Reading Program! We can't wait to do it again!

We are pleased to announce that Clem Pellett will be in town to celebrate the launch of his new book "Murder on Montana's Hi-Line"! We will be having a launch party AND a book signing at St. Luke's Lutheran Church on Wednesday, May 28th from 6PM - 8PM. There will be refreshments provided as well as books for purchase at the event. Mark your calendars and come on down for this fantastic event!!

Our Kid Librarian program has officially launched here at the library! We started this program as a way for kids to recommend their favorite books to other kids. All children ages 12 and under are welcome to apply to be a kid librarian and if chosen, make a display at the library of their favorite books! Pictured left you can see our very first Kid Librarian Kanon who made a fantastic display full of graphic novels such as Hilo, Press Start, and Dog Man. Come on in to the library and add your child to our list of future kid librarians!

Winners abounded last week here at the library! Jennfer Hofer (right) won our "Guess the Hearts" challenge with a guess that was only three hearts off of the actual number. We were so impressed with her guess we just had to give her a very February themed prize of chocolates to go with her jar of hearts. 

We've been quite busy as we've settled into the new year! Our blind date with a book event is BACK, and has so far been very well received! We also brought back our Guess the Hearts, Win the Jar contest, with nearly one hundred entrants. Friends of the Toole County Library has been busy this month as well as, they've not only started a Movie Night Gift Basket raffle courtesy of Stephanie Gullixson; but also they've restarted the book sale. So please come on down to the library to browse for some books to purchase at the best price, which is your own! We about every genre for every age group, so bring the whole family and pick up as many books as you'd like for a low price that ALSO benefits an amazing group. But be sure to come by early and often as we're bringing up more selections all the time, and the sale will only be going on for a limited time. There's no better deals than that!!

By Jen Tronson for the Shelby Promoter : On Saturday, Dec. 28, many families took advantage of a wonderful holiday opportunity provided by the Toole County Friends of the Library, a Christmas party at the Shelby Carousel! Free carousel rides, the opportunity to play on the cars and the pedal helicopter and a free ice cream cone were all included for anyone who came between 2 and 4 p.m.

Books for DAYS! We're thankful for the Pilcrow Foundation and the Friends of the Toole County Library for the generous donation of over 100 brand new children's and young adult books! The Pilcrow Foundation is a non-profit organization that grants books to libraries for community enrichment. We can't wait to get these out!

Our bookmark contest winners are in! All four winners will have their bookmarks printed and distributed at the library. They've all also won a gift card to Whistle Stop Bakery and Coffee Shop!

We've been hard at work the last few weeks on some exciting new improvements at the library! We'll have lots of new features for all of our patrons ready soon. So make sure you follow us to stay up to date on these changes! Here's a small sneak preview!

Do you seek adventure? Fantasy? Excitement? Are you or your child between the ages of 10 and 18? If so, gear up and get your dice out, because D&D is coming to Toole County Library! Every Saturday from 1-4 downstairs in the library we will having our very own fall campaign that is slated to run from October 5th through November 16th with a meeting for character creation taking place September 21st. All skill and experience levels welcome! Snacks will be provided!

Looking for all local artists! For the month of August we will be hosting a bookmark design competition, where selected winners will have their design featured and printed here at the library! To enter, simply come down to the library, pick up a blank bookmark template, and let your creativity flow. Whether you're versed in paint, pencil, charcoal, or digital art we can't wait to see what you come up with!

Huge thank you to the many who came and supported Janet Skeslein Charles as she discussed Miss Morgan's Book Brigade at St. Luke's Lutheran Church last week! Thank you to the Friends of the Library for helping organize the event. Thanks you to Hannah O'Shields for taking photos. And of course a huge thank you to Janet for taking the time to share this exciting new work with our community!! We can't wait for the next!!

We're happy to announce that local author Janet Skeslien Charles will be in town discussing her new book, Miss Morgan's Book Brigade, at St. Luke's Lutheran Church on July 10th, 7 PM. Please come by and celebrate her new release!

Our summer reading program has already gotten off to a scorching start. Not due to the weather but to the over 40 students we've had attend so far! This, coupled with the nearly 200 books those students checked out, has positively smashed our expectations for summer reading! Our students started the fun by being sorted into two teams, the Spelunkers and the Scuba Divers, who together took part in a number of riddles, games, and challenges to earn points for their respective teams. Both teams have solved and played incredibly hard the last two weeks and we love the positivity that they've brought to our library!

Congratulations to our Guess the Jelly Beans Winner, Gracelin Weishaar! Gracelin won with a guess of 298 when there were 318 in the jar. She won the entire jar of jelly beans, and a box of Martinson's peanut brittle. Thanks to everyone who participated! We'll have more fun challenges at the library soon!

By Jennifer Tronson for the Shelby Promoter : Shelby High School alumnus and world renowned author James Grady's latest book, "The Smoke In Our Eyes," is receiving rave review and has garnered the attention of many, including members of the podcast, Chatter on Books. Chatter on Books is a group of individuals who discuss best sellers, interview the authors and discuss different matters, big and small. The group is a huge supporter of independent bookstores and local libraries, at times offering the authors they interview grant money to be given to one of their choosing. Not only will Grady be featured on their podcast scheduled to air on the morning of March 26, but he was also offered a $750 grant to be given to whatever bookstore or library he chose. Never one to forget his hometown, Grady stated without hesitation that he would like that money to go to his hometown library, the Toole County Library in Shelby, Montana.

Congratulations to Kamryn Kinyon for winning our February Jar of Hearts Contest here at the library in celebration of I Love To Read Month! Not only did she win the jar of candy hearts and a box of Valentine's Day chocolate, she also won a place on the front page of the newspaper along with her sister Kaelyn and our library director, Heidi.

February is "I Love To Read" month and we've been celebrating it the best way we know how; reading amazing books! Come by and check out what we've got prepared for our readers this month.