The library will be open limited hours today, July 21st, due to staff scheduling issues. We will be open 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. We apologize for any inconvenience. Summer programs will continue through July. Story Walk at the Meadowlark will be Mondays from 11:30-1:00. We will not have a Story Walk this Thursday or next Thursday. Beat the Heat Movie Mondays at 1:30. Hangout for grades 7 & 8 Mondays at 3:00, Traditional Story Time Tuesdays at 10:30, Summer Reading Program Tuesdays at 1:30, Hangout for grades 5 & 6 Tuesdays at 3:00 and LEGO/STEAM Club for grades K and up Thursdays at 3:30. We thank Samantha at the Blaine County Museum for reading a story to our Summer Reading kids and for giving the kids a tour of the Museum. We would also like to thank the Border Patrol for doing a presentation at the library. We will have some special guests for our Traditional Story Time Tuesday July 27th at 10:30 a.m. Alyssa Hewitt with P.A.W.S. will be joining us for a special Story Time presentation and she is bringing puppies! You won’t want to miss out. Our final Summer Reading Program on Tuesday, July 27th at 1:30 p.m. will be a trip to the Wildlife Museum. Even though our weekly programs are winding down, we encourage kids to keep reading and turning in time logs. Friday August 13th will be the final day to turn in time logs. We will then tally up the hours read and draw for prizes.

Now that people are travelling again, we want to remind patrons about MontanaLibrary2Go. It is a consortium service that offers circulating downloadable digital e-books and audiobooks to patrons at participating libraries. Blaine County Library is a participating library. That means any patron with a Blaine County Library card can download digital content from MontanLibrary2Go. MontanaLibrary2Go offers a collection of over 25,000 contemporary, classic, and bestseller downloadable and streaming audiobooks and e-books (books in electronic, or digital, format). Recently magazines were added to the available content. There are currently 2,490 titles available. Patrons are allowed to check out up to five titles at once and can download those titles to nearly any mobile device, e-reader, or personal computer; or they can opt to stream audiobooks or read e-books through their preferred browsers. You need your library card number to access MontanaLibrary2Go, and if you do not know your library card number, just give us a call! Instructions for using MontanaLibrary2Go can be found on our website.

The COVID-19 pandemic greatly exacerbated the digital divide in Montana, which is why the State Library has invested in a hot spot lending program to help Montana libraries help their patrons in need. Funding for the hot spots has been extended through December of 2022. Blaine County Library has 3 hot spots available for checkout. You must have a Blaine County Library card and be in good standing to checkout a hot spot. Hot spots are checked out for a two-week period. However, if you only need it for a few days, we encourage you to return it early, so someone else can check it out.

Blaine County Library Board of Trustees will hold their regular monthly meeting Monday July 26th at 4:00 p.m. in the library meeting room.