Goodbye Montana, Hello Competition!

Reading In Montana has moved!

In mid May the family moved to Portland, Oregon. Michael had accepted an internship at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) and I was looking forward to seeing what book hunting would be like in a city with lots of rain and lots of readers.

What we have found after little over a month is that while there is an endless supply of books and readers; there are also a large number booksellers (on and offline) working in the Pacific Northwest.  Reading In Montana is now working in the shadows of giants and shoulder to shoulder with other successful online bookstores. Not only are there Powells (Portland) and Amazon (Seattle), there is also Thriftbooks.com (Auburn, WA) and McKenzie Books (Beaverton, OR).  We have yet to determine exactly how Reading In Montana will fit into and thrive in the much more complicated book supply chain of the Pacific Northwest.

We are experimenting with  new ways to find high quality - in demand books for our readers, while still providing excellent customer service, honesty in book description, and fast shipping options.  We are also working out plans for a new name for the business.

 Please continue to support Reading In Montana by looking for us when you buy books on Amazon.com and starting your shopping right here from our blog.  We have moved geographically and are making some changes, but the online store thanks to the wonders of the internet and the Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA)  program hasn't had to close a day in this process. We continue to find, sell, and ship great used books at great prices.

I've also included some photos of  a visit to one of the biggest online book distributors in the country.  We purchased a bulk (huge) box of books from them recently.  While it won't work in the future for us as a source of good books, we did find some diamonds among the rough and got to see one of the book-selling giants at work.  It was amazing to see the sheer quantity of books handled at this distribution center.








That was about 1000 books (1,500 lbs) we culled through in just a few days time. What the learning experience that was!

Happy Summer and Happy Reading!

Catherine @ Reading In Montana

"May in Montana" from Guest Contributor Diane Lockard

  FISK EXPEDITION - 1864        
      Cold and rainy, even though it is May in Montana. I forgot about that when I returned home to Saco, Montana for my class reunion. “It was snowing coming over the mountains.” Stayed overnight in Butte on our way from SLC, UT.
      We stood on the edge of Bell Coulee in northeastern Montana and gazed at the tracks of wagons on the opposite side, envisioning heavy wagons rumbling across the land. Glenn said they came up from the Missouri River and crossed what was to be my grandparent’s homestead. The wagon master’s last name was Fisk…


      I researched the Internet and discovered a report written by Captain James Fisk, Assistant Quartermaster. 5,000 copies were printed for the Senate. He was commissioned by the Secretary of War to lead a wagon train with emigrants and supplies from Minnesota across the northern plains.

August 3 – Passing herds of buffaloes… – they looked like swarms of flies. “Certainly, over one million were in sight during the day.”

      Part of the trip was from Fort Union on the border of North Dakota and Montana to Fort Benton (47 degrees 49’ 10’ N) and the “great falls.” 

Passed into hills and coule’s; “Plenty of grass and a cold spring rises in an adjacent coule’.” – Aug 6, 1864*

      “We gathered black currants, cherries, and raspberries in this coule’.” “Road was over a rolling prairie and our course was a little north of west to avoid a promontory of the Coteau du Missouri, Missouri Plateau” - Aug 7, 1864

Fort Union Trading Post – Wikipedia
“It is a good plan to fill all spare casks with water before starting in the morning.” 
Wood Mountains, Aug. 10… Traveling through the mountains, 
Aug. 14…Frenchman’s Fork of Milk River, 
Aug.22… (Grandparents’ homestead was north of the river)  The river bed is about one hundred and fifty feet wide, and is nearly dry… 
“48 degrees 46’ 7’”, Milk River and Little Rockies (Zortman/Malta), “We discovered a practicable road for wagons”, Aug.23
Aug.26 – Left camp at 7AM - Abandoned a large government wagon here, as the load, consisting mostly of commissary supplies could now be packed in other wagons. I explained to our “Gros Venatre” friends that they do not touch the wagons; and that white men were coming for it. I do not believe they will disturb anything; they seemed to understand me.  Next day, there are Indians in camp. Meet the first white men and arrive in Virginia City, the new name for Stinking Water… – Sept. 3 Fort Benton on the north bank of the near great falls… American Fur Co. fort – “Sold at auction our heavy wagons, tents, stores, etc. The escort was disbanded at this time, but twenty will accompany me to the mountains with the stock; shall dispose of at Bannock City or Walla-Walla, WA.” – Sept. 7
Returned via Salt Lake City…
*Expedition Of Captain Fisk To The Rocky Mountains (1864) by James Liberty Fisk (Paperback - Sept. 24, 2009)

-Diane Lockard, Guest Contributor -

Learning Science in Montana

On Friday my son Patrick and I visited ExplorationWorks in Helena, MT while Catherine was seeking new books for us to match with readers. ExplorationWorks is an interactive science museum, full of fun, hands-on displays for kids and adults alike. The science-buff I am, I enjoy these places immensely. Here are a few photos from our enjoyable afternoon:

You can see more photos here. We got in free because we have a family membership to another accredited science museum. The Association of Science and Technology Centers has a program that extends membership to hundreds of participating museums nationwide. Not a bad deal at all!

Montana is home to a few other science museums other than ExplorationWorks. In Bozeman, there is the Museum of the Rockies, known worldwide for its paleontology collections, while Missoula has spectrUM. Butte will soon have its own later in 2010, called ScienceMine.

Two recent books have been published that look at science education in informal learning environments (museums, zoos, aquaria, gardens, etc.). Having other places to learn and engage with science are a great way to supplement public education. Here are those two books, plus a few resources for teaching kids about evolution:

   












Michael @ Reading in Montana