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Community Library Network District Newsletter
August 2025
 
 
From The Director's Desk
 
 
" For truth has such a face and such a mien, as to be loved needs only to be seen."
- John Dryden
 
On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Cooperative Information Network (CIN) dissolved. Although the library consortium provided a beneficial service to the region for the past 40 years, it did so without proper legal status.
 
There have been many accusations lodged against the Community Library Network (CLN) regarding the dissolution of the CIN. The news media repeatedly accuse the CLN of engaging in censorship and book banning and using the Children’s School and Library Protection Act to deny parental rights. The news media are now using these fabrications to blame the CLN for the dissolution of the CIN.
 
The truth is that the dissolution of the CIN was a necessity—acknowledged by all members—because of the illegal status of the interstate joint powers agreement. The truth is that CLN policies follow professional library practices, uphold Idaho laws, and guarantee parental rights. The truth is that the CLN was committed to the legitimization of a regional consortium that honored the autonomy of its members and respected the taxpayer.
 
To the taxpayers of the Community Library Network, I assure you that the CLN will effectively redirect all the funding formerly provided to the CIN to make your libraries the best they have ever been: the CLN will have a quality electronic resource collection available for all ages, a larger and stronger physical material collection, improved facilities, and a more reliable and efficient inter-branch delivery service.
 
Please visit us at CLN’s Bright Future for updates on the exciting changes happening at your library.
 
-Martin Walters
 
 
Back to School
 
 
As students head back to school, it's a perfect time to celebrate the spirit of lifelong learning, a journey that extends far beyond the classroom. Libraries play a vital role in this pursuit, offering services and resources for learners of all ages. Programming at our branches covers a variety of literacy programs, storytime, will and estate planning, skills building, craft and hobby exploration, and so much more. Through digital resources, and digital access to our catalog, learning has never been more accessible. Whether you're brushing up on new skills, exploring a hobby, or helping a child with homework, your favorite Community Library Network location is a gateway to growth and discovery for
the entire community.
 
 
Program Highlights
 

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Back to School
 
Head back to school with the library. Do It Yourself (DIY) activities include decorating a pencil case and creating special key chains for your backpack.
 
Rathdrum, Tuesday, Aug 12th, 11am-12:15pm
Spirit Lake, Tuesday, Aug 12th to Saturday,
        Aug 16th, drop-in during open hours
Post Falls, Tuesday Aug 12th, 2-3pm
Hayden, Tuesday, Aug 26th, 11am-12pm
Harrison, Tuesday, Aug 26th, 11am-12pm
 
 
Adult Programming:
 
Join us at one of these programs to expand your knowledge on supporting education with the learners in your life:
  • Homeschooling Benefits and Practical Tools Hayden – Wednesday,
    August 27th,     & Athol – Friday, August 29th, 10:30am
  • Library 101: Homeschool Helpers, Rathdrum – Saturday, August 9th, 1-3pm
  • Parents as Teachers, Hayden – Tuesday, August 5th, 10:30-11:30am
 
OR Join us at a skills building program to explore something new:
  • Sublimation Printing, Hayden – Monday, August 4th, 5-6:30pm
  • Writer's Clubs, Multiple locations – click the link for details
  • Fiber Arts Exploration, Multiple locations – click the link for details
 
For even more options click the green button below!
 
Check out more awesome programs here! This calendar search will open an external site in a new tab or window.
Do you want to hear more about specific youth or adult programs? We have a newsletter highlighting each of these groups. Follow this link to subscribe.
 
 
Announcements and News
 
 
CLN's Bright Future –
 
Navigating Changes & the Future of the Community Library Network
 
This page will help answer some of your questions as we work through these changes.
A book on a table, laid open with the center pages making a heart. Stacks of books flank either side with a library in the background. Link to external site, opens in new tab or window.
Focus Group opportunities coming soon. Pictured group of adults gathered around a table, computer and papers. Link to external site, opens in a new tab or window.
 
 
Focus Group Opportunities
 
We will be hosting listening sessions in each of our library communities. This is an opportunity to help us plan for the future. 
 
Limited seats are available. Fill out our
Focus Group Form at this link and we will
contact you with more details.
  
Register for Summer Reading!
 
Kids of all ages, (0-99+) can earn prizes for  reading and completing activities at library events or programs all summer. 
 
Register on Beanstack and start tracking today!
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Have you had the chance to help
us plan for the future?
 
Let us know what you want from
the CLN over the next five years!
 
TAKE OUR SURVEY!
 
 
Follow this link to go straight to our survey.
 
 
 
Follow us on Social Media to stay up to date with 
all the upcoming opportunities.
 
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Library Resource Spotlight
 
 
Doom of the darkwing
by Cressida Cowell

"Disastrous Lesson Number One: The Art of Battle. It was supposed to be a quiet, sensible lesson. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third never meant to get into trouble. But things take an unexpected turn along the way and Hiccup and his friends soon find themselves adrift on stormy seas in a sinking ship facing imminent doom. Join Hiccup and his dragons, Toothless and Windwalker, in their hilarious adventures at the Isle of Berk's Training School for Vikings and Dragons, where they are at the bottom in pretty much everything"
Band nerd
by Sarah Clawson Willis

"Twelve-year-old Lucy Carver must navigate life as a band nerd in a new school, all while competing for a top flute soloist spot...Middle school is tough--thank goodness there's band...music isn't just a way of life, it's an escape from homework and an off-key homelife with her alcoholic father. When Lucy starts seventh grade at Windley School of the Arts, with its high academic standards and even higher artistic expectations, it becomes much harder to keep life in tune"
Men don't run in the rain : a son's reflections on life, faith, and an iconic father
by Rick Burgess

"Men Don't Run In the Rain: A Son's Reflections on Life, Faith, and an Iconic Father" is the latest book by New York Times bestselling author and national radio personality Rick Burgess. Rick weaves the colorful and moving story of his larger-than-life father, William "Bill" Burgess, a man who was a football player at Auburn University and later a championship-winning coach at the high school and collegiate level. Rick had a front-row seat to this legendary man who had a way of living and speaking unlike any other. In "Men Don't Run In the Rain," Rick captures his father's many colorful sayings and stories, taking them a step further by communicating the spiritual truths behind each one. Coach Burgess' coaching philosophy--shaped by integrity and toughness--is impactful for anyone wanting to live with purpose and faith.
Expect great things! : how the Katharine Gibbs School revolutionized the American workplace for women
by Vanda Krefft

A social history of the Katharine Gibbs School, revealing how it trained women for secretarial roles while empowering them to challenge sexism and achieve groundbreaking success across various fields from the 1910s to the 1960s. 12,000 first printing. Illustrations.
Another sort of mathematics : selected proofs necessary to finally acquire an education in mathematics
by Jakob Tawney

Years ago, James V. Schall wrote Another Sort of Learning, a book listing those things you should read but probably were never required to read. It is not a curriculum, except maybe one "for life." This book you have in your hands is something of a mathematical tribute to Schall's basic idea and is aptly titled Another Sort of Mathematics. Like Schall's book, it is not a curriculum. It is, however, a list of some things from mathematics you should experience but probably were never required to experience. The theorems and proofs in this book represent, in a small way, some of the best that has been said within the discipline of mathematics.
There is something unique in the human soul that can only be satisfied by wondering about mathematics. And that means, regardless of your background, this book is for you. Reclaim your mathematical inheritance. Embrace the mathematician within you. Choose to wonder.
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Community Library Network
821 N. Spokane Street,
Post Falls, Idaho 83854
208-773-1506, ext 323
https://CommunityLibrary.Net