Summer is just around the corner. And while it’s a great time to enjoy the outdoors, it’s also a good time for summer reading. There’s no better place to find good reads than at the West Shore Community Library.
Located at 100 Bierney Cr. Rd. in Lakeside, the West Shore Community Library has been serving thousands of area residents for the better part of two decades.
The library is staffed entirely by volunteers who graciously donate their time to keep the library open. The board of directors are also volunteer.
While it has grown quite a bit from its original one room in 1996 to the 2,400-square-foot facility it is today, the library could still use your donations.
Donating money can certainly help the library, but contributions of magazines and books are greatly appreciated as well.
Donated magazines are added to the library’s magazine section while books are used one of two ways. If the library does not already have a copy of the book, it will be added to circulation. Otherwise, books are added to the library’s used bookstore, the proceeds from which are used to buy new books and other needed materials.
The library’s used bookstore houses a collection of fiction, nonfiction, reference books, cook books, textbooks, children’s books and more. It’s a great place to find old, new, obscure, and useful books – all at cheap prices too. For example, a set of new law school study guides (that cost over $150) were recently sold for just $1.50.
On Saturdays, you can name your price for used books: by donation, by the book, or by the bag (yes, you can buy a bag of books for less than the price of a new paperback).
The bookstore always has new editions, so it pays to stop by frequently to search through the new books for sale – and perhaps donate some of your own as well.
If you can’t donate any magazine or books, there are two great events in July you can attend to help support the library. As part of the Lakeside Community Fair (scheduled for July 13), the library holds its annual summer sale. This event allows the library to make room for new books by selling used ones at bargain prices.
On Wednesday, July 31, the library will host a summer Wine Tasting and Art Auction Fundraiser at Glacier Camp Spruce Lodge, just south of Lakeside.
Even a small donation or just one donated book can help the library to help make a difference in our community. Just ask any of the kids who attend story time on Monday mornings (and their parents too) and hear great stories and make fun crafts afterward.
Or ask anyone who has read some of the fascinating books in the “Montana History” section or enjoyed any of the DVDs available on loan at the library.
Or just ask the patron who is completing his online college degree –exclusively using the library computers.
Indeed, you’ll find plenty of proof about how donations help the library – and how much the library helps them and our community.