Free Family Reading Program in October

Prime Time Family Reading starts Oct. 10! This program is a humanities-focused and outcomes-based literacy program designed to engage families with children ages 6 - 10 in the joy of reading and learning together.

There are six 90 minute sessions and all INCLUDE a meal for the entire family. SPACE is LIMITED! Call 397-4366 or contact Sheri at the library to register.

Submissions Needed for Popular Barns of Whitman County Calendar

Photo by Catalina Flores

Each year, sales of “The Barns of Whitman County” calendar support valuable programs and services in all 14 locations of Whitman County Library. The library is seeking donations of local barn photos to be included in the 2020 calendar.

Photo by Otto Stevens

Steve Van Vleet from WSU’s Whitman County Extension Department graciously donates his time and resources to produce the calendars but local photographs are needed to make this effort complete. To participate, email your submissions to Stephen Vanvleet at svanvleet@wsu.edu or call him at 509-397-6290 for more detail

Learn to Play the Ukulele...Sign up today!

Intro to Ukulele starts Wednesday, October 2 with Scott Hallett

The ukulele has recently made a huge comeback in popularity and is the easiest of all stringed instruments to learn to play.

Join instructor Scott Hallett for Introduction to Ukulele Plus on Wednesdays beginning October 2 through October 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Colfax Library. The emphasis is on fun rather than theory. This class is for absolute beginners, as well as those who have taken the previous introduction to ukulele or ukulele plus classes or already know simple chords. Information about purchasing a ukulele is sent after registration. Ukuleles are not provided in class, but Whitman Co. Patrons can check one out from the library.


Cost is $17 for four workshops. For more information or to register, call Community Colleges of Spokane at (509) 279-6030, visit http://sccel.spokane.edu/act2 or call Whitman County Library at (509) 397-4366 for registration forms.

Health & Wellness at Your Library

Learn how Whitman County Library can improve your wellbeing! Stop by the SEL Wellness Expo on Wednesday, September 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for information on health, wellbeing, and education from various community organizations and businesses, including the library.

The Expo will be held at the SEL Event Center, located at 1825 Schweitzer Drive in Pullman. Don’t forget to drop by the Whitman County Library table and learn about everything we have to offer. Did you know Whitman County Library System offers history, art, music, and exercise classes along with ebooks, language learning, and online tutoring?

Whitman County Library is also hosting an info session at the Expo from 12 to 1 p.m. The first half of the presentation focuses on fitness, specifically the free and low cost exercise classes we offer as well as a short demonstration of how to “exercise at your desk.” Besides our classes, learn about healthy eating and mental health programs, community and historic hikes. The second half is a step-by-step instruction of how to use Mango Languages, one of WCL’s many free online resources providing over 70 language courses and 20 ESL courses. Mango makes learning a new language fun, easy, and incredibly effective!

For more information about the SEL Wellness and Education Expo, please contact Sarah Phelan at (509) 397-4366. For a complete list of events at all 14 branches of Whitman County Library, visit the Events Calendar at www.whitco.lib.wa.us. 

THANK YOU P1FCU!

The Center at Colfax Library is getting a sound system thanks to a $3062.59 donation from P1FCU. The facility is used for public events, educational classes, voter forums, receptions and other activities that will benefit from better microphones, speakers and music capabilities.

The idea came about when local manager, Anne McRae attended an event last winter and noticed that the master of ceremonies could not be heard above the crowd. McRae suggested that funding a new system would be a valuable way P1FCU could support the community.

Photo: Anne McRae, Colfax P1FCU Manager and Chris Loseth, P1FCU President award a check to Kristie Kirkpatrick (Director) and James Morasch (Technology Systems Administrator) of Whitman County Library

Journey through the Portals by Molly Rice comes to the Libey Gallery September 3-October 30

Step through an exquisite and varied collection of portals by Molly Rice through her exhibit “Journey through the Portals,” September 3-October 30 in the Libey Gallery South in The Center in downtown Colfax, WA, 102 S. Main. The portals are composed of varied canvases, acrylics, and intuitively selected three dimensional fibers and objects.

What is a portal you may ask?  Rice says, “Portals are an opportunity to open your mind.  They serve as windows of time, entrances into color and texture as an experience, passages to your next enlightening dreams, doorways to different dimensions, and answers to unspoken questions.”
Molly Rice has been an artist local to the Palouse Region since 1984. Born and raised in the mid-west, Molly's life path led her to the east coast of the states, as well as Europe before landing in Colfax to raise her children. Molly’s career is long and varied working as an art instructor, a Certified Arborist in Horticulture, Landscape Design and Arboriculture, Reiki Master, Dream/Art Interpreter, Spiritual Consultant, Certified Life Coach, Ordained Minister and dedicated artist.

Exhibit hours are Monday-Wednesdays 10-8, Thursdays – Fridays 10-6, Saturdays and Sundays 1-5. For more information, contact Libey Gallery at 509-397-4366. Contact the artist, Molly Rice, at journeyforward1111@msn.com

September is Library Card Sign Up Month!

Do you know someone who doesn't have a library card? Remind them if they sign up this month they gain access to FREE books, movies, and other items plus all of our digital resources AND are entered to WIN a $25 gift certificate!

Register for a library card at any of our 14 Whitman County Library branches and get a chance to WIN $25 from the Friends of the Library

This month, the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries nationwide join together to remind parents, caregivers, students, and everyone else that signing up for a library card is the first step toward academic achievement and lifelong learning!

Use this calculator to see how much money you save just by using your library card!

Bedtime Math's Crazy 8s Math Club at Colfax & St. John Librarues

Bedtime Math's Crazy 8s Math Club

Can kids learn to love math as much as playtime or dessert? According to educational experts, the answer is, yes! Whitman County Library agrees by combining literacy and math for an over-the-top after-school club designed to gets kids fired up about numbers. Libraries in St. John and Colfax are hosting Crazy 8's Clubs for wacky math adventures this fall.

Grades K-2 at St. John Library

Grades 3-5 at Colfax Library

Click here for times & dates

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 afterschool programs throughout the nation.

"There hasn't been anything the kids didn't have fun with, from glow stick shapes and tessellations to the zip-line and dice throwing," said Sheri Miller, Youth Services Manager. "The kids come in and cannot wait to find out what we're doing next!"


IT'S MATH GONE WILD!!!

Kids will learn math with fun activities like bouncy dice explosion, glow in the dark geometry, toilet paper olympics

"The Hidden Cocktail Threatening Lake Coeur d'Alene"

Tonight, Monday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m., hear the fascinating talk, "The Hidden Cocktail Threatening Lake Coeur d'Alene" here at the Colfax Library

Learn the past, present, and future of one of North Idaho's glacial lakes with Rebecca Stevens, Restoration & Hazardous Waste Program Manager for the CD'A Tribe. Hear about the people who inhabited the area for thousands of years, land management legacies, historical effects, and the future health of the lake.

“Science on the Palouse" on the 2nd Monday of each month; regional experts explore new topics. Sponsored by Whitman Conservation District, these presentations are geared toward adults but youth 10+ are welcome to attend. For more info, call the Colfax Library at 509-397-4366 or Whitman Conservation District at 509-288-4644.

Come See Us at the Fair!

Join us at the Palouse Empire Fair 2019! "Baling Generations Together"

September 6 - 8 at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds, be sure to visit the library booth! Kids can spin the wheel for a prize, while everyone enjoys photos featuring barns of Whitman County! 

Friday, Sept. 6 - 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 7 - 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 8 - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.










Give it a SPIN and see what you can WIN!

The main goal of the Palouse Empire Fair is to promote, develop, and improve the agriculture, livestock, business, industry and home life of residents and visitors. Honoring traditions while conducting fairs, exhibits, entertainment, and educational programs further this goal.  All activities should promote the fostering of good fellowship, good sportsmanship, and good citizenship and encourage the conservation of the soil and other natural resources of Whitman County...read more

Pick up your Palouse Empire

 Fair booklets at any of our 14 Whitman County Library branches!