Josephine Community Library Newsletter

News of the Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek libraries

January 4, 2019

Happy New Year from the library!

Thank you for a wonderful year of learning, making, reading, sharing, helping,

laughing, and playing!

Patron survey results

Results of the annual library survey revealed the community's ongoing interest in print books and newer, better facilities.

When asked about prioritizing future improvements, print books remained most important to all demographic types. Nearly all patrons overwhelmingly wanted a book and materials sharing program between libraries in neighboring counties in southern Oregon.

Click here to read more.

Library Foundation fundraising drive

Thank you to everyone who sent in a donation to the Josephine County Library Foundation during the end-of-year fundraising drive!

The money raised will be used to provide library scholarships to children outside of the district, fund projects that improve library buildings and facilities, and modernize the library’s technology offerings.

Thank you to Cauble, Cauble and Selvig, LLP, Edward Jones, and Hart Insurance for sponsoring the drive!

For more information about the Library Foundation, send an email or call 541-476-0571.

Planning better library buildings

Curious about the ideas for a new Grants Pass and Williams library and a remodeled Illinois Valley branch?

The community is invited to preview preliminary concepts and drawings at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 31 at the

Grants Pass branch .

For more information, click here , send an email , or call 541-476-0571.

Chinese New Year

programs at the library

Chinese New Year is on Tuesday, February 5 and this year is the year of the pig.

Celebrate with us by attending a special storytime at your closest library branch or check out one of the following books coming soon to the children's library.

Ruby's Chinese New Year by Vicky Lee
Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas by Natasha Yim
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
Chinese New Year for Kids by Baby Professor
Chinese New Year: Festivals Around the World by Grace Jones

Contact your closest library branch in Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, or Wolf Creek to find out more about Chinese New Year activities you and your family can join.

Using digital devices to

check out library books

Did you make a New Year’s resolution to read more or different types of books? Click here to learn about how to use the Libby app to access thousands of e-books and audiobooks through OverDrive.

OverDrive has grown to have one of the largest collections of digital media, which you can borrow using your library card.

Click here for a step-by-step tutorial.

Partner Highlight:

Friends of the Library

The Friends of the Library are library support organizations whose purpose is to raise money and assist operations of the individual library branch.

A separate Friends organization supports each branch of the library. The Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek Friends of the Library maintain a Friends bookstore at their library branches.

All four organizations run book sales or other fundraisers throughout the year to support projects like patron book-purchase requests.

Click here for more information about the Friends of the Library.

E-book Workshop in Grants Pass

Join us on Saturday, January 12 at the Grants Pass branch to learn how to use the library’s collection of thousands of e-books and audiobooks on your phone or tablet. Device-specific workshops will be offered throughout the afternoon at these times:

1 p.m. for Apple and Android

2 p.m. for Kindle (except Fire)

3 p.m. for Kindle Fire

Registration is not required, but space is limited. Each session is expected to take 30–45 minutes.

To register and for more information, click here , contact the library at 541-476-0571 or click to email .

The Great Book Grab

The community is invited to grow its at-home book collection during The Great Book Grab at the Grants Pass branch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 13 .

In an effort to make space on the shelves for new materials, the library is asking community members to give some beloved library books a new forever home. Participants will have a chance to “shop” The Great Book Grab’s selection and fill as many bags as they would like to take home and keep—all at no charge.

It is not necessary to have a current library card to participate in The Great Book Grab.

For more information, click here , send an email , or call 541-476-0571.

Click for FAQs and more

January storytimes

at the Williams branch

Bring the whole family to the Williams branch every Friday afternoon from 2:30–3:30 p.m. for a weekly storytime and craft session in a safe and fun environment. Here are the themes for January:

January 4: dogs

January 11: winter

January 18: planets

January 25: snow

For more information, contact Williams Branch Manager Ellie Avis at 541-846-7020.

Customer service workshop

Curious about what it's like to volunteer at the library?

Join the Customer Service Workshop on Saturday, January 19 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the bookstore at the Grants Pass branch. New and seasoned volunteers will discuss library-specific customer service practices and learn more about different positions throughout

the library.

Anyone interested in volunteering in Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, or Wolf Creek is invited. To register, send an email or call 541-476-0571.

We the People:

Revisiting the Founding Era

Join us for a series of engaging community conversations about the Founding Era at the Grants Pass branch throughout February and early March. This program series, sponsored by a grant from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, will use historical documents to spark public conversations about the Founding Era's enduring ideas and themes through four youth an adult programs.

Click here for more details and a schedule of programs.

Musical Storytime and Puppet Play

at the Illinois Valley branch

Families are invited to Musical Storytime and Puppet Play at the Illinois Valley branch on Saturday, February 2 from noon to 1 p.m.

At this interactive storytime storyteller Jerry Allen from Thistledown Folk Tales will play the accordion while children use puppets to present a fun and educational musical puppet show.

Registration is not required. For more information, contact Illinois Valley Branch Manager Roberta Lee at 541-592-4778.

Coming soon to your library

Here's a sampling of nonfiction soon to be available from any of the four Josephine Community Library branches.

Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom by Ariel Burger
The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism by Howard Bryant
The Bloated Belly Whisperer: See Results Within a Week and Tame Digestive Distress Once and For All by Tamara Duker Freuman
Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms by Hannah Fry

To check availability for these or to find other books in the collection, search the library catalog. To place a hold, click the "Place Request" button, then enter your library card number or username and your password. If you need a library card, click here for an application, or request one at your library branch.