We are going batty at the library this month cause we’re batty for books. Wedsworth Library celebrates Bat Week and is learning how vital bats are to the health of our environment and economy. Bats are out there at night eating tons of insects, pollinating flowers, and spreading seeds that grow new plants and trees. They live almost everywhere on Earth except the most extreme desert and Polar Regions and come in all shapes and sizes; from the bumblebee bat that weighs less than a penny to the big, flying foxes that can have a wing span of up to six feet. Bats are the only mammal that can truly fly. Montana is home to 15 species of bats. A single little brown bat can consume 1200 mosquitoes in one hour. We need more of those around our homes! No wonder we are batty for bats.
October also brings us the National Parks’ tours of fossil beds. No, this isn’t for us old fossils of the population! Rather, Fossil Day is a day to learn about, and preserve fossils found in nature. National Fossil Day is an annual celebration held to highlight the scientific and educational value of paleontology and the importance of preserving fossils for future generations. The U.S. National Park Service created the first National Fossil Day In 2010. So, if we ask if you want to see our fossils, we don’t’ mean our patrons!
Fossil hunters are people who look for plants and animals that lived mainly during the Mesozoic era or 245 to 65 million years ago. Just a day or day ago. People studied ancient fossils as early as 522 B.C. from what can be learned from early records. In 1822 editor Henri Ducrotay de Blanville came up with the French term ‘paleontologie’ and the field became known as paleontology.
Mary Anning was a well-known English fossil hunter. She earned money by selling dinosaur discoveries and helped bring fossil hunting to popularity. American paleontologists Othniel Marsh and Edward Cope’s competitiveness from 1877 to 1892 became known as “The Bone Wars”.
There are 22 states with fossil parks. And of course, it is illegal to take fossils from these parks. Fossil hunters look at 3 clues to determine if a find is a bone or stone. If an item’s color differs from the rock surrounding it, it may be a fossil. There look for patterns on the item for texture. Bones have a sponge-like interior and can be seen on a cross section. Bones, fossil teeth, shells, and other ancient living things all have unique shapes. A fossil will likely have a shape unlike the rest of the rock surrounding it.
Some fossil hunters use a tongue test to see if an item is a fossil. Because bones are porous – the piece might stick to your tongue if it is a fossil. Soil and rock don’t usually stick.
Fossil footprints are called ‘trace fossils.’ Trace fossils include tail drags, trails, bite marks, poop, burrows, eggs, and nests. Fossilized poop is called coprolite. The earliest bird fossil, discovered in 1861, showed feathers. In 1971 two attached fighting dinosaurs were found buried in a landslide in the Gobi Desert. Skin fossil from a duck-billed dinosaur showing fine details was discovered in New Mexico in 1996. The most complete T. rex fossil was found in South Dakota in 1990 – named “Sue”. An ichthyosaur mother was discovered while giving birth in Germany in the 1800’s. Many more fossils of incredible fascination have been discovered over time throughout the world.
Wedsworth is also celebrating National Friends of Libraries Week. We will be celebrating our fabulous Friends of the Library group as part of the annual celebration of National Friends of Libraries Week. The celebration offers a two-fold opportunity to celebrate Friends. The Week promotes groups who support libraries across the country. Focusing on the third week in October each year, the observance provides the opportunity for groups to increase awareness about membership opportunities, their goals, projects and more.
Library Friends groups help support local libraries in a variety of ways. As a volunteer organization, their programs raise money for library needs. The week celebrates the contributions of friends’ groups across the nation. Their dedication to their local libraries leaves a lasting and positive impact on their libraries and their communities. In fact, some libraries were established through the efforts of friends’ groups. Not only do friends groups support local libraries, but they also contribute to growing academic and scientific libraries. Since 2005, the American Library Association has promoted National Friends of Library Week to recognize the dedication of friends’ groups across the nation.
The Friends of Wedsworth Memorial Library raised money that enabled our library to move from good to great — providing the resources for our wonderful addition, additional programming, much needed equipment, support for children’s summer reading, and special events throughout the year.
The work of the Friends highlights on an on-going basis, the fact that our library is the cornerstone of the community providing opportunities for all to engage in the joy of life-long learning and connect with the thoughts and ideas of others from ages past to the present. The Friends understand the critical importance of well-funded libraries and advocate to ensure that our library gets the resources it needs to provide a wide variety of services to all ages including access to print and electronic materials, along with expert assistance in research, readers’ advisory, and children’s services.
The Friends’ gift of their time and commitment to the library sets an example for all in how volunteerism leads to positive civic engagement and the betterment of our community.
Wedsworth Memorial Library proclaims Oct. 16-22, 2022, as Friends of Libraries week and urges everyone to join the Friends of the Library and thank them for all they do to make our library and community so much better.
Our library would be much poorer without the Friends. The funds they have raised definitely put the icing on the cake. I think most patrons would be surprised to learn how many of the services and programs they enjoy are supported by the Friends.
National Friends of Libraries Week is coordinated by United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association with approximately 4,000 personal and group members representing hundreds of thousands of library supporters. United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries, and brings together library trustees, advocates, friends, and foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/united. So, thank a Friend. Ours have worked hard to better our community.
Where would we have been if it wasn’t for the Friends of the Library helping out with our recent book sale? The Wedsworth Library would like to give a shout out to everyone who helped with the book sale in every respect. There is also a big thank you to everyone who arrived with all the goodies, whether it was cookies, soup, bread or whatever. If you missed the delicious food, you missed a splendid feast.
The huge thank you goes out to all who showed up, shopped, and enjoyed all our delicious fare. You made these days enjoyable. We loved seeing you and visiting with you. We can’t forget those wonderful volunteers who helped set up and then made swift work of the tear down. We couldn’t do it without you. You all made our recent book sale a rousing success. We have never in the history of the library achieved such a high rate of success. And it was due to you, our wonderful community. Thank you, you continue to amaze us.