The Harlem Public Library offers the program “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” for families with preschool children. This program encourages families to read with their children and track the number of books read. The library offers a start-up board book prize and other incentives along the way. Reading with your children is vital to prepare them for school and also is a fun way to spend time together. For more information contact the library.

This month’s Book Challenge is to read a book with a green cover or spine. We have a selection on display for you to choose from. When you finish reading a book for the challenge contact the library and your name will be entered to win a gift card from a local business.

Stop by and spend time at the puzzle table. Every little piece helps!

During the month of March you may “Buy a Bag O’Books!” You may purchase a grocery sack full of used books for only one dollar.

The library board of trustees will hold their monthly meeting March 29, 4:30 P.M. in the library meeting room. The library board members are Valerie VanVoast, Theresa Cornell, Lori Owens, Linda Tangen and Jackie Blackbird. We thank them for volunteering their time to support the library.

If you are still using the OverDrive app to access MontanaLibrary2Go it is time to switch to the Libby app or go to libbyapp.com in your browser. The OverDrive app will be discontinued May 1, 2023. If you have not used MontanaLibrary2Go this free service is availablefrom the Montana State Library. If you are a registered Harlem Library user you may download ebooks, audio books, and magazines. Contact the library for more information.

New suspense thrillers this week include “Murder at Black Oaks” by Phillip Margolin, “City Under One Roof” by Iris Yamashita, “No Plan B,” a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child and Andrew Child, and “All the Dangerous Things” by Stacy Willingham.

Jill Shalvis has written the humorous and heartfelt novel “The Family You Make.” Readers of Colleen Hoover will want to pick up “It Starts with Us” the sequel to “It Ends with Us.”

Two new additions to the Montana collection are “Where the Wind Never Sleeps: A Memoir from the High Plains of Montana” by Ruth M. Sherwood and “A Black Woman’s West: The Life of Rose B. Gordon” by Michael K. Johnson.

Fun Fact: Alma Smith Jacobs was the first black female librarian in Montana. She served as head librarian at the Great Falls Public Library from 1954 -1973. Then she served as the Montana State Librarian from 1973-1981.