Learn About Local Journalism with News-Argus Staff | Alissa Wolenetz, Director - One of my birthday presents this year was a renewed subscription to my hometown newspaper, “The Ekalaka Eagle”. It’s a weekly paper that’s been in circulation for over a century. Many of the best (and worst) parts of my life have appeared in its pages. Baby announcements. Graduations. Obituaries. Tornadoes, blizzards, floods, and fires. Annual…
Fabulous Fiber Arts Picks at the Library | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - I recently rediscovered a passion for knitting after falling in love with the fiber arts exhibit at the Art Center earlier this year. I love snuggling up with a heated blanket and a cup of tea to listen to an audiobook (usually dark, twisty sci-fi checked out from the MontanaLibrary2Go) while I knit away the…
Chili Bowl! | by Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - Chili Bowl is back! Join us for a night of trivia, chili and fixings from Harry’s Place, and good fun on Friday, January 20th at Jack’s Hanger. Doors open at 5:00 PM, chili starts at 5:30 PM, and trivia will get rolling at 6:30 PM. You can come as you are or on a team…
Resources for Native American Heritage Month | Alissa Wolenetz, Director - It’s Native American Heritage Month, and we have resources at the Library and online so that you can learn more. One of our best-attended programs from Humanities Montana over the past year was Chris La Tray’s “The Day that Finally Came,” a presentation about the history of the Little Shell Tribe and the Métis. Don’t…
Learn about Latino History in Montana with Bridget Kevane | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - During our Adult Summer Reading Program, many of you enjoyed presentations on Thursday evenings from Humanities Montana Speakers. We’re looking forward to bringing in more of these Montana-based authors, writers, researchers, and presenters throughout the year. Our first speaker this fall is MSU professor Bridget Kevane, who is giving a talk called “Latino History in…
Adult Summer Reading Program Starts with a Bang with “Kid Gloves and Brass Knuckles: The Life of Nancy Russell” – by Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - We can’t wait to see you at the Library this summer! Nancy Sackett and I have been working on the adult program, and it’s going to be a blast. Starting on May 31st, you’ll be able to pick up your “ticket” at the Library. As you read, attend events, and complete activities, you’ll earn points…
Documentarian Lailani Upham to Discuss Storytelling and Human Connections at Library Program | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - Please note that this event has been rescheduled. Check our website and the paper later for more information. Thank you to everyone who came to our program with Chris La Tray. I’m excited to announce that the Library will be hosting another Hometown Humanities program through Humanities Montana soon. Here’s the scoop: The Lewistown Public…
Try the Lewistown Public Library’s “Caption This!” Challenge | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - I love our local history section. Thanks to this community — and especially our former local historian, Nancy Watts — we have an amazing collection of records, including photos, interviews, newspapers, yearbooks, and rare local history books. They’re fascinating to browse through. You can find them here at the Library or online at mtmemory.org. As…
The Library Was “Groovy” in the Sixties | Alissa Wolenetz, Director - “No more is the library thought of as a place of narrow, book-lined corridors where people speak in hushed whispers.” That’s what Roberta Donovan, editor of the Lewistown Daily News and News-Argus, wrote in 1969. She was right. The Library scrapbook from 1969 contains all kinds of new things at the Library, especially for young…
Connecting with Folk Tales and Fables with Mo Reynolds + Other Upcoming Events | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - This week, I’d like to highlight three upcoming programs at the Library. For those who love a good story, we have “Connecting with Folklore and Fables” with Mo Reynolds. If you’re interested in creating opportunities for education and job training, come join the next meeting of the Lewistown Training and Education Coalition. If you’re a…
Free SAT/ACT Prep and Online Courses through the MTLibrary2Go | Alissa Wolenetz, Director - For the next year, anyone with one of our library cards will have access to free SAT/ACT test prep and online courses through the MTLibrary2Go! The Montana State Library has purchased a year-long subscription to these services with ARPA funds. All libraries that pay to be part of the MTLibrary2Go have access to these services.…
Books for Winter | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - I love winter. It’s the perfect season to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and read. These books are all set in icy, wintry, terribly cold places, and are perfect for a snowy day. If you’re a nonfiction reader, try “Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod” by Gary Paulsen. Most people…
A+ Adaptations | Alissa Wolenetz, Director - I love TV, and I love books. Some TV adaptations are simply horrible. These ones are not. You can find all of these TV shows and the books they’re based on here at the Library. I’ve spent ages watching and rewatching BBC One’s “Miss Marple” series. It stars Joan Hickson as Miss Marple, a sweet…
Nonfiction Book Picks | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction lately, so I thought I would pass along a few recent recommendations. These books are great windows into other times and places. They left me interested in subjects I’d never really thought of before. Right now, I’m reading “How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian…
Coffee Table Books | Alissa Wolenetz, Library Director - Coffee table books. They’re heavy, expensive, and unwieldy. They’re also the perfect kind of book to browse through on a chilly fall or winter day. One of my favorite books at Stanford was a wildly oversized coffee table book about the Hubble telescope. I brought it home one winter break to show my family. On…
Montana Library2Go | Alissa - If you have a library card, you can check out thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines online for free. (I did that a lot in Japan. It was hard to find English books there.) The Lewistown Public Library subscribes to a statewide service called the Montana Library2Go (https://montana.overdrive.com/). You can check out items online and…
Alissa’s Favorites - I love a lot of books, but I wanted to introduce you to some of my favorites. You can find everything here at the library or through Montana Library2Go, where you can check out e-books and audiobooks for free with your library card. Fiction Agatha Christie, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories. A bundle of…
