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This an email newsletter about lifelong learning opportunities from the Montana State Library.
Early Literacy Activities
Track your reading with Beanstack
Parent Powered Texting Program
DPIL Books
Summer Reading Mini Grants
Books Before Bedtime
CLSP Themes and Slogans Survey
Financial Literacy sites for 2025
MLN Virtual Programming 2025/2026 line up
Creative Aging Update
America250 Meets 2.50 Million Acts of Science
Thanks to a grant from DPHHS, Lifelong Learning is able to provide some cool new resources for early literacy in your library as well as advertising for some of these programs. Read on to see what is going on, and learn how your library can be a part of it!
As always please contact Bobbi deMontigny - Lifelong Learning Librarian with questions.
What is Beanstack?
Beanstack is an app, for your computer or phone, that helps people of all ages track their reading. It works like a fitness tracker, but you can use it to keep track of how much you have read!
All of our public and tribal libraries should have received an email with admin access to Beanstack and a link to our Lifelong Learning Beanstack page to find marketing materials to help your patrons get involved in the reading challenges available to them. If you are not sure if your library got this email please contact your director. Directors, if you didn't see your email come through please contact Bobbi deMontigny!
Right now we are starting strong with an initial challenge of 100,000 books across Montana.
Specific to early literacy we have a digital tracker set up within Beanstack for parents to work toward 1,000 books before Kindergarten with their little ones. The service areas of the entire state are covered. All anyone needs to register is to know the name of the library in their area! Deploying the program this way also makes it easy for families, teachers, preschools, home school groups and tutoring groups across the state to sign up their own, or a class of kids.
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Thanks in part to this funding from DPHHS we are happy to offer early literacy and learning tips along with fun activities for you and kids aged 0-4.
Librarians, please share this graphic with parents to help spread the word about this program! You can access a larger version of it on the Lifelong Learning Ready2Read page.
This texting program comes through a vendor called Parent Powered. They have a history of working with Head Start programs. It was built through a research based parenting curricula that helps parents prepare their little ones to learn.
Parents, preschool teachers, and caregivers can text MSL to 70138 to get started.
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Another part of this partnership with DPHHS will help us temporarily distribute books aimed at children aged 0-5 at food banks and shelters around the state.
The books have already arrived at the Montana Food Bank Network warehouse and they are working on determining which of the distribution sites in their network are interested in participating in this program. There will be more information to come when we know which of the food banks and shelters in the network will be involved.
At that point we will be reaching out to community partners in these areas to spread the word.
The agreements for the summer reading prize mini-grants have all been submitted. Our folks in grants and procurement are working on getting funds out to the libraries who applied.
Books Before Bedtime is a free, virtual story time that will be held once a month through the school year.
Families and caregivers who sign up for the September 9 kickoff event will receive a book box (1 per household - limit 100) in the mail with a read-along book and fun extras. The program is designed to help create a calming bedtime routine, while fostering early literacy in a warm and accessible way.
We’re asking 100 families/caregivers to sign up by August 20th so we can send out their book boxes in time to read along with us on September 9th. It’s easy to join, and participation is totally free! Find out more information and get the QR code and community outreach fliers with room for your library logo on the bottom that you can use to help families sign up!
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CSLP has created a survey to assess the usefulness of the materials offered by the program on a national level. It also helps Lifelong Learning continue to support you at the local level.
This can be completed by public library staff who played an active role in administering or running 2025 summer library programming.
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Thank you to the libraries who have expressed interest in being part of the Financial Literacy Workshop tour with RDI Financial Wellness and the Montana Cooperative Development Corporation. This year our partners have selected a route that will take them to Phillips County Library, Roosevelt County Library, Sheridan County Library, Dillon Public Library and Big Horn County Library, visiting these locations between August 18th and September 18th.
Three library sites for our Creative Aging Seed Grant program with Lifetime Arts have been selected and we are working with them to select their artists, projects and dates. More information to come soon!
Citizen Science Month 2026: Make Your Acts Count - A Kickoff for Libraries and Event Facilitators
2:00 pm ET - August 20, 2025 - Join SciStarter and STAR Net to learn how your library can be part of the nation’s largest volunteer effort AND help advance local science research and discovery! Learn more & register
This will be recorded, so if you cannot attend live just look for it on the SciStarter for libraries site, no need to register.
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