We have enjoyed seeing so many of you lately as our community continues to work through our recovery from the emergency of late October and early November. We continue to stay positive, trying out new ideas every few months as we try to meet our community’s needs.
Along this line, we recently had a roll-out of new Chromebook laptops you can borrow from the library. Using the same basic plan as the wildly popular SonomaFi Wi-Fi hotspots, cardholders aged 13 and up may check out a Chromebook for two weeks. The kit actually comes with a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing the user to access the internet using a laptop when you have network coverage within the continental United States.
The new devices were almost immediately all loaned out, but they come in and out constantly and present a potentially useful option for students or anyone in need of mobile Internet service.
In January, we will be trying out a few new events. Thanks to Measure Y and the Friends of the Healdsburg Library, we will be offering a new Community Coffee event every Thursday. Beginning Jan. 9, come to the library from 10 to 11 a.m. for free coffee and pastries, as well as a chance to meet your fellow library participants, interact with staff and learn about new and upcoming events and resources.
We will be starting up another series of ukulele and guitar workshops in January as well. The format will be slightly different this time, with individual 20-minute time slots so that you can work more closely with our instructor, Fredy. While you are not in your individual time slot, you have the opportunity to talk and practice with fellow musicians. The workshops begin on Jan. 10 at 4 p.m.; sign up online on our website at sonomalibrary.org or give us a call at 707-433-3772.
On Saturday, Jan. 4, we offer a Self-Defense for Teens event, teaching boundary setting, personal safety and physical self-defense skills. Lucibel Nunez, a local instructor, will be teaching basic skills for real life situations. Limited to 15 participants, the event is a first-come first-served opportunity.
Finally, on Monday, Jan. 13, we are participating in a county-wide effort to provide veterans with information about benefits, services and programs they or their dependents may be eligible for. Through a grant-funded program, Sonoma County Library has established a Veterans Resource Center at the Central Santa Rosa branch, as well as a mobile pop-up resource center for the rest of the county. The Veterans Connect program will appear at a different location every month and January is the Healdsburg Library’s special month.
We hope to see you there.
Jon Haupt is the branch manager of the Healdsburg Library.
