Grant supports Hot Springs library
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HOT SPRINGS – Fiction allows readers to connect with far-away places and unfamiliar characters, but in Hot Springs it also builds bridges within the community. The Preston Hot Springs Library book club brings people together to talk about a designated book.
“It’s a chance for people to get together with something in common to talk about,” said Library Director Starla Rice. Thanks to a grant from Humanities Montana, the book club will meet for many months to come. The library received a $500 “Big Sky Reads” grant to support the discussion group. Humanities Montana works throughout the state to promote humanities through public programs.
Rice said the library would use the funds to purchase copies of the books discussed by the club. According to Rice, acquiring a number of copies of the same book can strain the small budgets of rural libraries like the one in Hot Springs.
“Running on our own steam we were only going to be able to offer book discussions up to November,” Rice said. The grant has made it possible for the library to sponsor the club until next September.
The club meets each Thursday at 2 p.m. at the library. Those involved read two books per month. According to Rice, discussion attendees shape the character of the meetings. Library staff provides a list of guiding questions and discussion flows from there.
The group is open to the public and Rice said that inclusivity is one of the book club’s greatest assets. “You can get a diverse group of people together and they’re all comfortable here,” she said.
Recently, the club has discussed “The Light Between Oceans” by M.L. Stedman and “The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall Smith. In the coming months, the group will read “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger and “The Tenth Circle” by Jodi Picoult. Rice said she chooses a diverse array of fiction for the group. She includes suggested books in the reading list and works hard to shape the club to serve its members.
According to Rice, the opportunity to converse about books fills a need for face-to-face connection in an increasingly isolating Internet and television age. “This is actually people sitting together and talking to each other,” she said.
