We’re throwing a party for the community! Come on Thursday, Nov. 9 to the Seeley Lake Public Library (located in the high school on 456 Airport Road), at 5:30 p.m. We are celebrating for a couple of reasons. First, my Seeley Reads Podcast co-host and I, Ms. Hailey Haines, want to celebrate the many local Reading Challenge 2023 participants and podcast listeners. This group of folks have been working through a list of 50 book/topic categories, and we want to recognize them and give people the opportunity to hear and share about all the things they’ve been reading.
Second, we’re celebrating an amazing 35 years of partnership between the high school and public libraries. Archives are important! I learned from the mid-September issue of The Pathfinder’s Archives page, this 35th anniversary (on Oct. 4). What a gift to have the exact date – and the timing was great, too.
When I first began at the library two years ago, I wanted to know the history of the formation of the library here in Seeley. I heard from a handful of folks who were around at the time about how the community really came together to bring the partnership about. There was an overwhelming sense of pride and camaraderie evident in these stories. And so, we’d like to extend a special invitation to anyone who remembers this time or took part in the process. We’ll have the podcasting equipment ready to record these stories for posterity.
As luck or providence would have it, I recently encountered Loretta Cooper (the high school librarian who wrote the piece from the Archives) in our local supermarket, and we began chatting about this amazing 35 years of service the partnership has brought to the local Seeley community. She even agreed to do a podcast interview in the future!
While there have been quite a few changes over the years (e.g. we don’t carry many periodicals any longer), much has stayed the same. The titles from the public library change very regularly through a rotation with books from the main library in Missoula. Also - new books are added all the time. Donations of books are still welcomed. If I can’t find a place for them in the library system, they’ll either be sold to raise money for the Summer Reading Program, or put on the “Free Shelf” for any patron to take home.
You can follow your Seeley Lake Public Library on Facebook. We always post there when a new episode of the Seeley Reads podcast comes out, as well as other happenings or events at the library (like puzzles, book club, summer reading program, etc.).
You are invited to celebrate this wonderful local partnership and the love of reading. Free homemade goodies and non-alcoholic drinks will be available. We can’t wait to see you!
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