The Bowman Regional Public Library is creating a Green Space outside the Library to provide programming and resources for youth and other library users to interact with nature, while improving the Library building’s safety and functionality.

The project will transform a gravel-covered drainage ditch behind the Library’s building into the Library’s backyard Green Space, where children can experience nature-themed story times, STEAM activities, pollinator and outdoor reading gardens, and library users will find a safe and welcoming place to interact with their community.

The Green Space isn’t simply a garden; it’s a multisensory learning environment with planted spaces, an arched gazebo for musical performances and community events, nooks for quiet reading, and spaces designed for users of a variety of ages to interact with one another and library resources. It uses an underutilized, and unattractive space, and transforms it to a welcoming, playful, and useful area that expands Library services beyond their four walls and allows the Library to offer a wider variety of programs and services to the people of our region, and those traveling from Mount Rushmore to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. 

The project also solves several long-standing problems: the poor drainage of the Library’s parking and poor lighting of the Library’s exterior. During a rain event, the library’s parking lot fills with water due, in part, to the passive overland drainage from neighboring buildings and parking lots. The Library building has residential grade gutters, not nearly adequate for its 6,200 square foot footprint. In the winter, the poor drainage creates a Library parking lot that ices up. This inhibits the elderly and those with small children from using the Library during winter months. The back of the building is illuminated by a single light, leftover from the days when the building housed the Red Owl Grocery Store.

The Green Space will be a successful public outdoor space for our area, not only providing a pleasing environment to relax and connect, but also to serve a variety of functions. It will create a social, comfortable, and accessible space right off our city’s Main street that will serve to support community members whether they are accessing library resources, meeting over coffee, shopping, or using city services. It will be welcoming to visitors, and it will expand the abilities of the Bowman Regional Public Library to serve our community, partner with other community organizations, and create a stronger sense of community. The Green Space will be a place our region can be proud of.

The Bowman Regional Public Library is accepting donations to help fund this project. The Bowman Public Library Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and accepts tax-deductible donations to benefit the library.

All gifts make a difference. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

If you’d like to mail a check, please send it to:

Bowman Public Library Foundation

PO Box 179

Bowman, ND 58623

Event Details

Calling all puzzle lovers! Attend our first Jigsaw Puzzle Competition of the New Year! Join us Sunday, January 28th. Register your group (of up to 4 people) to compete to solve a 750-piece jigsaw puzzle in the least amount of time.

Register by calling the BRP Library at 701-523-3797 or contact us by sending the names of your team members (or if you’d like to be put on a team or in person at the Library. Space is limited to 10 teams, so register early!

If you need to cancel your registration, please contact us to allow space for other teams from the waiting list.

Each team has up to 3 hours to complete the puzzle. The first time to finish wins! Puzzling begins at 2 PM sharp. The winning team will receive a prize (and bragging rights!).

Meet other people in your community and have fun in the free program.

**NEW** Jigsaw Puzzle Swap! Bring a puzzle. Swap a puzzle! Begins Sunday, January 26th until the puzzles are gone.

Now available with your Bowman Regional Public Library card!

https://ndsl.kanopy.com

Kanopy is an on-demand video streaming platform dedicated to thoughtful and thought-provoking films. Kanopy delivers a diverse collection of 30,000+ enriching films, available to stream anytime and anywhere—from desktop to TV to tablet.

Fueling lifelong learning, the collection features films that bridge cultural boundaries, spark discussion, and expand worldviews. Additionally, Kanopy Kids features a collection of films and TV series that inspire and inform, helping children develop social-emotional skills and reinforcing valuable learning topics, such as history, science, and new languages.

Sign up for your Library card at bowmanlibrary.com or stop in the library for all the details!

September is Library Card Sign-up Month. To celebrate, we held a Sippin’ n Signin’ mocktail event on the Tuesdays listed below from 4-5 pm.

Patrons could come in, enjoy a mocktail and a snack, and make sure their library card is up to date or sign up for one if they haven’t. We also have a drawing going for a Book Lover’s Gift Bag so be sure to sign up for that. The drawing will be held on Tuesday, October 3rd and you do not need to be present to win.

Today will be our last mocktail tasting but don’t worry….if you missed out, we are sharing all of the mocktail and appetizer recipes we made over the past three weeks. Paper copies are available at the library or you can print them out below!

For this craft, you will need a pair of scissors, white paper, red paper, white buttons, six popsicle sticks, and some liquid glue.

Take your 6 popsicle sticks and line them up evenly side by side. Take your white piece of paper and glue the sticks onto it, still keeping them lined up side by side. Trim any excess paper off. The paper side will face the back. Then cut a mushroom cap shape out of your red paper and glue that on top of the sticks. Add buttons and let the mushroom dry.

You will need an envelope, piece of cardstock (cut to fit the envelope), and decorative supplies. Decorate your card with a thoughtful message or design and give to someone!!