Great Falls Public Library

April at the Library

On Display

The Great Falls Public Library is hosting an art exhibit by quilters from The Quilt-Away during the month of April. Quilts range from traditional to abstract design and incorporate the latest in quilting techniques and styles.
Also back by popular demand is the work of Rich Charlson. Charlson is a wood turner who specializes in basket illusions. These are multi-segmented bowls, which due to their construction give the illusion of being baskets. Each bowl can be made from 2000
to 7000 pieces

Rx for Health Community Fair
Thursday, April 3
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Good health is your most important asset. The Great Falls Public Library wants to help you on the road to good health. This free event includes screenings for blood pressure, glucose, hearing, sight, bone density, flexibility, and bio-mechanical evaluations.

Massage therapists Marilyn Schneider and Jan Meyernick will provide chair massage. A wide array of health information will be provided by City/County Health Department Eating Disorder Task Force, Aging Services, and Center for Mental Health. Lots of free take-home information will be provided and folks can check out health-related DVDs and pedometers.
This fair is for all ages.

OpenBook Discussion
Thursday, April 3, 7:00 p.m.
Montana Room

The Great Falls Public Library in conjunction with the Humanities Montana continues its OpenBook discussion series. UGF Professor Penny Hughes-Briant facilitates. Books are available at the library two to three weeks prior to each discussion. Discussions are held the first Thursday of each month through May.

April's selection is Tough Trip Through Paradise by Andrew Garcia. Garcia was a "woolly Texan from Spanish America" who found himself on the Montana frontier in 1876, at the age of 23. These are his colorful reminiscences of his Nez Perce and Pend'Oreille wives, and hardships undergone among dubious characters. The essence of these stories ring true and will strike a chord with anyone whose heart has been taken by the lonely beauty of the High Plains and by longing for what once was, not so long ago, and is now out of reach forever.

Register early!
Free Computer Classes
2nd Floor Public Computer Area
5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

The free computer classes offered by the Great Falls Public Library continue in April. On Monday, April 7, Computer Basics will be presented and on Monday, April 21, the topic is Finding Quality Health Care Information. Classes are from 5:00 - 6:00 pm on the second floor of the library. They are taught by library staff. Class size is limited. Check here for the schedule through June of 2008, in addition to registration information..

Foreign and Independent Film Series

Films will be shown each month on the second Wednesday and the following Saturday. The series, which runs September through May, is free and open to the public. Be forewarned, some films may contain strong language or adult situations. They are not rated by MPAA but in our brochures we have tried to indicate content. Brochures are available at the library.
Who's Camus Anyway? April 9, 7:00 p.m. April 12, 2:00 p.m. Cordingley Room
April's selection is Who's Camus Anyway, the award-winning Japanese drama/comedy. The story is set on the campus of an arts/film school. On the surface, the film is something of a totem to the insular experience of film school, and much of its virtuosity and hilarity is how remarkably it conveys the complicated ways individuals interact with one another within such a setting. This is a film that demands to be filtered through and looked at in relation to our very personal relationship with movies. Who's Camus Anyway doesn't simply reflect our love for the movies, it responds to it as well. The featured short is Birthday Boy.
For more information call Jude Smith at 453-0349

Montana Library Association Conference

The Montana Library Association's annual conference will be held in Great Falls at the Heritage Inn from April 9 - 12. Librarians, trustees and members of the Montana Library Association from around the state will converge to share professional strategies, network, and engage in our community.

Dual Keynote Speakers George Christian and Peter Chase, two of the Connecticut librarians who were served with National Security Letters and accompanying gag orders in 2005 will highlight the many offerings of the conference.

Montana Book Award Reception
Thursday, April 10, 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Cordingley Room

The Great Falls Public Library is hosting a reception for the 2007 Montana Book Award winners. This year's winner is Deidre McNamer for her novel Red Rover. McNamer, a native of Cut Bank, lives in Missoula, where she is a professor of English at The University of Montana.
Three honor books were also chosen. They include Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis by Kim Todd; Evelyn Cameron: Montana's Frontier Photographer, with text by Kristi Hager; and One Woman's Montana, featuring the photography of Kathe LeSage.

The Montana Book Award is an annual award that recognizes literary and/or artistic excellence in a book written or illustrated by someone who lives in Montana, or dealing with Montana themes or issues.
Join us in honoring this year's winners and take this chance to meet these remarkable artists and authors.

DTV Transition
Thursday, April 17, 7:00 p.m.
Cordingley Room

Roy Davis of KFBB will speak about the upcoming transition from analog to digital TV in February 2009 and what we need to do to be prepared for this change.

Lewis & Clark As A Military Operation
Thursday, April 24, 7:00 p.m.
Cordingley Room

Come to this presentation to get another slant on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Historian Richard Liebert and Aart Dolman will present this unique look at how the Expedition was run and functioned as a military operation.

For more information on any of these programs call 453-0349.