Watch Whitman County Librarians review their favorite books for PBS's Great American Read! See our reviews on channel 10 or click here!
Kristie Kirkpatrick, Library Director - Pillars of the Earth
Sheri Miller, Associate Director - Memoirs of a Geisha
Nichole Kopp, Teen Librarian - The Help
Rachelle Marshall, Librarian's Assistant - Rebecca
Sarah Phelan, Librarian's Assistant - Game of Thrones
For librarians, there isn’t anything more satisfying than recommending a great book to someone. And thanks to The Great American Read, our staff got the chance to do that in an exciting way, via public broadcast.
In cooperation with Northwest Public Broadcasting, librarians from Whitman County and other regional libraries are recommending our favorite books and encouraging people to vote for theirs in The Great American Read.
The Great American Read (GAR) is a list of 100 novels, shared in an eight-part PBS series. GAR explores and celebrates the power of reading with testimonials from celebrities, authors, and book lovers. The series debuted in May and so far, over 1 million people have voted!
If you are like me, you have to wonder how PBS could narrow the list to just 100 titles. Turns out they commissioned a survey of 7200 people from diverse locations and demographics. The results were tallied and organized based on specific selection criteria and overseen by an advisory panel of literary industry professionals. The process for choosing the top 100 list was exhaustive.
In looking over the list, I was thrilled to see many of my favorites but also, a number of classics I’ve always intended to read. For example, I’ve never read anything by Agatha Christie (gasp) so “And Then There Were None” is now on my nightstand.
For staff, the process of recording our reviews was really fun. We went to NWPB’s studio, sat in front of the green screen and read from a teleprompter. Even though they couldn’t airbrush my wrinkles or give me a broadcaster’s silky, smooth tone, the NWPB staff was really helpful and encouraging.
In celebration of The Great American Read, the Colfax Library invites residents to stop in and have their photo taken with their favorite of the featured GAR titles. We are posting these fun photos in our library and online as a way to encourage everyone to read and vote.
You can view the entire list of titles, where you can also vote at
https://www.nwpb.org/GAR/. Most importantly of all, you can obtain any of the 100 books listed in The Great American Read by contacting your local library.
by Kristie Kirkpatrick, Whitman County Rural Library District Director
Bedtime Math is a nonprofit organization that seeks to put the fun and discovery back into learning math. Its core product is a zany daily online math problem that parents can do with their kids, to make nightly math as common and beloved as the bedtime story. Bedtime Math has expanded to create lively, hands-on math experiences for youth in libraries and afterschool programs throughout the nation.
"Educated: A Memoir" by Tara Westover - Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills” bag. She stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife, and salvaged metal in her father’s junkyard. In this unforgettable true story, Tara - who has not stepped foot in a classroom until age 17 - goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. 
Whitman County Library can help reduce screen time with fiction and non-fiction baby board books, beginning readers, picture books, STEM themed bags, Bonnie's Book Bags, playgroup, and library programs! We can also encourage educational screen time with ABC Mouse and eReaders! 
In cooperation with Northwest Public Broadcasting, librarians from Whitman County and other regional libraries are recommending our favorite books and encouraging people to vote for theirs in The Great American Read.
If you are like me, you have to wonder how PBS could narrow the list to just 100 titles. Turns out they commissioned a survey of 7200 people from diverse locations and demographics. The results were tallied and organized based on specific selection criteria and overseen by an advisory panel of literary industry professionals. The process for choosing the top 100 list was exhaustive.
You can view the entire list of titles, where you can also vote at https://www.nwpb.org/GAR/. Most importantly of all, you can obtain any of the 100 books listed in The Great American Read by contacting your local library.
Next Wired Wednesday is August 22, 10 - 11 a.m.!
Ukulele Players of the Palouse will be performing and Library Business Manager, Shirley Cornelius, is sharing an Australia Travelogue! 
The STEM Supply Library was created for community members in
Moscow, Pullman, and rural Whitman County to have access to free STEM materials
and to inspire exploration into STEM topics. All of the supplies have
been donated by local individuals through the Palouse STEAM Coalition's annual
STEM Supply Drive. 
Whitman County Heritage documents the early culture, industry, and community life of Whitman County, Washington and locations throughout Washington’s Palouse Region. The collection is a project of the Whitman County Library and local partners, funded by a grant from the Washington State Library.
