Do You Read Banned Books?

For the next week, September 24 through October 1, FCLS will be celebrating Banned Books Week, an annual nationwide observance to raise awareness of book challenging and banning.

Have you read a banned or challenged book lately? Books challenged in Montana in recent decades include The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger, Fools Crow by James Welch, and The Giver by Lois Lowry. Click here to see more lists of banned books.

Visit your local FCLS branch to learn more or read a banned book, and pick up a bookmark while supplies last.

Library Day Celebration a Success!

Last Wednesday, September 14, Flathead County libraries and libraries across the state celebrated Montana Library Day. We asked for comments from library customers, took photos, and gathered statistics. There were many happy library visitors that day, and storytime at the Main Library was a big hit, featuring stories about gardens and a sunflower craft.

Some of our favorite survey comments finishing the phrase "I love my library because..."

"The staff are friendly. They smile!"
"It gets my son excited about reading."
"I’d be lost without it!"
"A great selection at a great value...free!"
"It has manga!"

Flathead County libraries had 1,368 visitors and 1,797 checkouts on September 14. Our libraries issued 23 new library cards and answered nearly 200 reference questions.

Statewide results will soon be available on the Montana State Library website.

Celebrate Montana Library Day With Us!

Wednesday, September 14, is Montana Library Day!

Libraries across the state are taking the day to gather comments, photographs, and statistics chronicling a typical library day.

Stop by any Flathead County Library branch to take a quick survey and tell us why you use and love your library. If you can't make it to the library, you can take the survey online instead: http://www.msl.mt.gov/LibraryDay/survey.asp.

And don't forget storytime! There are three times and locations on September 14:

• Bigfork preschool storytime, 10:00 am
• Columbia Falls preschool storytime, 10:30 am
• Columbia Falls after-school storytime, 3:00 pm

Montana Library Day is a project of the Montana Library Association, the Montana State Library, all 750 Montana libraries, and the Flathead County Library System. For more information about Montana Library Day, please contact the State Library at (406) 444-3115 or visit http://msl.mt.gov/LibraryDay.