So Happy New Year already!
It’s the beginning of a wonderful and eventful year for all of us here, deep in the umbra of the Wilsonville Library—and that means you too!
Adult Readers
Here’s what’s happening this month on the grown-up side of the Library:
Let’s start the year off right—with a holiday! Not surprisingly, Wednesday, January 1st is a holiday for all City offices, including the library. We’ll see you again on Thursday, January 2nd.
We’ll be hosting Free English Classes on Thursdays, January 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th at 11:00AM. It’s an informal class setting with no registration required, and all levels welcome. So please drop in! If you have questions, please contact Outreach Librarian Deborah Gitlitz at 503-570-1582 or gitlitz@wilsonvillelibrary.org.
On the first Friday of the month (Friday, January 3rd), please join us for the new 2020 edition of First Friday Filmsat 6:00PM.Our Very Sacred Copyright Laws help keep our nation’s wealth concentrated, and also prevent me from just telling you the name of this month’s film. We cansay it’s based on a long-running PBS series filmed at Highclere Castle in Jolly Old England. The film follows a wealthy family and their staff, as they lead their discursive and dramatic British lives in the oh-so-droll 1920s.
If you still can’t elucidate the title of this film, give us a call at the library, and we’ll tell you sotto voce! Free admission, and we’ve even got not-yet-stale snacks that you can make an optional donation for, or else feel guilty in perpetuity!
Do you know someone who would like to brush up on English? Please tell them about our English Conversation Group. On three Monday evenings thismonth,January 6th, 13th, and 27th, beginning at 6:00PM.,participants can drop in to learn and practice English in this free, informal class. Speakers of any language and any English comprehensive level are welcome, and no registration is necessary.
On Saturday, January 11th at 2:00PM, our free monthly Booknotes Concert will feature J.J. Gregg who will perform Classical Indian Ragas on sitar in a lyrical and meditative style.J.J. Gregg began his musical training on the piano at the age of eight, followed by playing the French horn and piano in school jazz bands and orchestras, and years of writing and performing with his experimental rock band. In 2000 J.J. moved to Pune, India on a study abroad program and met internationally renowned sitar player Ustad Usman Khan. For the past fifteen years J.J. has studied sitar under Khan at Naad Mandir. He has traveled back to Pune six more times, most recently spending a year in India during 2012-2013.
Sorry, despite any rumors you may have heard, the Beatles will not be attendance. Nevertheless, please come and listen to these Eastern-influnced twangs, and leave refreshed!
On Sunday, January 12th at 1:30PM, please attend our free PROFILES talk Oh the Places We’ve Been by Dr. Bill Thierfelder, professor emeritus and docent at the American Museum of Natural History. This month’s talk will look at the remarkable odyssey of humans across the planet, from the first appearance of Homo sapiens on the African plains 300,000 years ago, through Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and eventually the Americas. Through the wonders of genetic science, we are able to trace our extraordinary journey, and perhaps determine why we’re the last hominin standing. (Possible guest appearance by my brother-in-law, the knuckle-dragging missing link.)Join us for the fun!
On Tuesday, January 14th, at 6:00PM, our Great Books Discussion Group gathers. Are you interested in philosophy and the big questions of life? Join us each month for a roundtable discussion of how modern day issues are reflected and illuminated by the great Western classic books. This month, we’ll be discussing Aristotle’s Politics, Book I. So here’s a question–Ifthe great Aristotle were alive today, would he be a Democrat or a Republican?…Hey, you’re exactly right—how completely obvious! Call or email us to join our Great Books e-mailing list andreceive monthly links to online versions of our group readings.
Because just one holiday isn’t enough in a month, we’ll also be closed on Monday, January 20th in celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday. What are your plans? I’m going to stay in bed late, and have a dream!
Pssst! Wanna join a book club? You’re in luck! The Wilsonville Library Book Club meets this month on Thursday, January 23rd at 6:00PM. This month we’ll be reading a book so good that I don’t even know its title yet! Nevertheless, as always, that title will be available for checkout at the circulation desk several weeks before the meeting, so come onboard!
Here comes the Genealogy Club, meeting once again on Monday, January 27th, at 1:00PM. Join Malia and her enthralled coterie of admirers at 1:00PMas she swans through helpful tips and tricks for all levels from beginners to seasoned genealogists. Discover new genealogical resources and tools, discuss personal research and goals, and learn from others, if you dare!
On Tuesday, January 28th, at 6:30PM (doors open at 5:00—hint, hint), you should check out the History Pub! The Wilsonville Public Library Foundation, the Wilsonville/Boones Ferry Historical Society, and McMenamin’s have teamed up to present free monthly programs focusing on Oregon’s rich history. Held at the McMenamin’s Old Church (near Fred Meyer). This month, we feature Peter Burnett: The Leader Who Could Not Lead, a presentation by author and journalist R. Gregory Nokes.
Peter Burnett had the most impressive resume of any early leader in the American West. He was a defense attorney for Mormon leader Joseph Smith in Missouri, the first captain of the 1843 wagon train from Missouri to Oregon, Oregon’s first supreme judge, and was a member of Oregon’s first elected legislature. He then blazed the first wagon road from Oregon to California in 1848 and played a lead role in developing the city of Sacramento. In 1849, Burnett was overwhelmingly elected the first governor of California, and later served on the California Supreme Court.
Yet he’s been virtually forgotten in both states. His downfall was his racism, underscored by his advocacy of exclusion laws against blacks with the goal of establishing the West as an all-white enclave. He seemed to have no other agenda, even as California’s governor. Those who once supported him were embarrassed, and quickly turned away. He resigned after less than two years. This presentation explores this complicated man, handed extraordinary authority in both Oregon and California, yet unable to exercise it competently. What would Aristotle say?
Younger Readers
For the younger set we also host many fun activities this month!
Baby Time meets four times this month, on Fridays, January 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st,at 10:30AM. Moms, Dads, Grandmas and Caregivers join us for songs, rhymes, and special bonding time with your baby. Stay afterward to play and chat with other caregivers about all things baby!
Toddler Time will meet four times this month, namely Tuesdays, January 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th, at 10:00AM, then again the same day at 11:00AM – Join us for an interactive program that includes songs, parachute fun, bubbles, puppets, and stories for our youngest patrons. This program is designed with even the most active toddler in mind!
Play Group meets three times this month, on Mondays, January 6th, 13th, and 27th at 10:00AM.Drop in anytime and let the kiddos play with a variety of toys, as well as socialize with the under-6 crowd. For children ages birth to 6 with their grownups.
The Family Storytime Juggernaut meets on twelve (count ‘em!) days this month! We’ll see you on Tuesdays, January 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th at 6:30PM; then again on Wednesdays, January 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th at 10:30AM; and then again on Thursdays, January 9th, 16th, 23rd, and 30th at 10:30AM. Bring the whole family for fun with creative storytelling with stories, songs, puppets.
For kids in 3rd through 5th grades, how about a visit to the Science Zone? On Wednesday, January 15th at 1:30PM, they can have hands-on fun with exciting science experiments. No sign-up necessary, and oodles of fun!
And, also on Wednesday, January 15th at 6:30PM, K through 5th grade kids who love Lego will love to visit us for Lego Night! Lego expert David Thornton from Canby Bricks & Minifigs will be available to provide cool LEGO tips for all your little block-heads!
Teen Readers
And last but not least, here’s what’s going on for teens in 6th to 12th grades! (In real teen ‘lingo’!)
On Friday, January 10th at 6:30PM, you teens can ‘get down’ with our latest Teen After-Hours Event– Nerf Night VI: featuring 2-on-2 tournaments, and massive multiplayer games! Bring all your Nerf Blasters! Don’t have any? That’s totallykewl too, because the library has some for use in big games and provides them for the tournament. So teens, come to play, or just watch, but don’t be a ‘Jive Turkey’ by ‘splitting’ early, or not coming in at all!
Wednesday, January 15th at 4:00PM– Hey Teens, ‘Dig it!’ There will be also be a free Teen After School Activity! Of course, you teens in grades 6-12 can come and ‘hang out’ in the Teen Area with your ‘buds’at anytime… But on the 15th, you can look for th efree drop-in after-school activities like video game tournaments, fuse beads, screening the latest movie releases, and much more! You’ll surely say, ‘This is, like, jamming, and way kewl!’
And last but not least, don’t forget to visit the library and see what’s available from our Library of Things! Now you can check out games, appliances, musical instruments, long-dead philosophers, and more!
Source: G. Martin. Wilsonville Public Library. 12.11.19