By GREG MARTIN

Hello library fans ,

I hope all of you have visited your library recently to take in the many changes we ’ ve made over the

MARTIN past 18 months !

Did you know that Wilsonville Library was the very first library in the Metro area to partly reopen its building ? In fact , we were only fully closed to public access from mid-March to mid-June , and although our entire interior wasn ’ t open for a few months longer than that , we did manage to create an invitingly sterile interior environment for nervous library patrons .

We ’ ve kept some of the innovations we instituted during that time , such as curbside hold pickup ( just give us a call to set it up ), and kid ’ s book bundles . Now , we have an embryonic plan to slowly reintroduce inperson programming as well , beginning in January ! Of course , since I write these words several weeks before you see them , please do take a gander at our website just to verify that some dreadful variant or another hasn ’ t foiled all our plans .

In the meantime , here ’ s what ’ s coming up in January :

Surprise ! We ’ ll be closed on Saturday , Jan . 1 , in homage to New Year ’ s day . Here ’ s hoping it will be a good year for us all .

� At 6 p . m . on Mondays in January ( Jan . 3 , 10 , 24 and 31 ), we ’ ll be holding our English Conversation Group . ( No class Jan . 17 due to the holiday ). If you or someone you know would like some practice at speaking English , please feel free to join us online , or perhaps ( perhaps , perhaps ) even in person !

� Fans of Dr . Bill Thierfelder , professor emeritus and docent at the

American Museum of Natural History , may now commence rejoicing , as Dr . Bill will present a program at 11 a . m . Wednesday , Jan . 5 . What will be the topic ? ( I dunno !) Will it be online or in person , or both ? Check the website , which will no doubt be more upto-date than it seems to be today ! Whatever will be on the agenda , we can always count on the erudite Dr . Bill to make the topic both entertaining and informative .

� At 10:30 a . m . Tuesdays , Jan . 11 , 18 and 25 , Toddler and BabyTime LIVE will appear online . Fun for kids to follow along at home , and archived on our fancy library Facebook page and YouTube channel to boot . You and your children can join us for a heaping helping of creativity and fun .

� At 1 p . m . Wednesday , Jan . 12 , we feature the ever-popular Article Club . This month ’ s article will be Brand New Hue by Malia Wollan . How do food scientists replace bright artificial colors with even more friendly bright natural colors ? It ’ s a puzzle worthy of some thought , and that makes for an interesting and informative article . Check our website

for a link to the article and the Zoom code too !

� At 10:30 a . m . Thursdays , Jan . 13 , 20 and 27 , we are proud to present Storytime at the Barn ! Kids and parents can come and gather in a socially-distant way in the gigantic , drafty Stein-Boozier Barn in Memorial Park and listen to an in-person story presented by our resident Storytime impresarios . Join us there or else watch it live online , and stay much warmer ! And do I even need to say it ? Okay ... find out more on our website !

� At 7 p . m . Friday , Jan . 14 , students in grades 6-12 can join us online for a fun teen event , hosted by the splendiferous Brad , who always has a surprise or two up his sleeves . As usual , check our website for more information .

Here ’ s hoping the new year will be a boon to you and yours . Remember to practice kindness and understanding of others . It helps a lot . But just in case kindness temporarily fails you , don ’ t forget that if you ’ re wearing your mask correctly , others can ’ t tell what you might be whispering !