Next Tuesday, Aug., 6 from 4 to 6 p.m., your library will host a Sunnyside Community Solar event to help income-qualified members apply for a special solar subscription program for current residential La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) members to avoid the hassle and expense of installing home solar panels.
This program allows those with an annual income under 80 percent of the area median income to access clean energy from a shared solar array and receive credits on their electric bills.
Information needed to apply includes your LPEA account name and number, address, number of people in the household and documentation of income.
The first 100 qualified applications are guaranteed acceptance. The program opened July 1 and closes Aug. 29. You can apply online with the Four Corners Office for Resource Efficiency, or 4CORE, at https://fourcore.org/sunnyside/ if you can’t attend the library session.
Summer Reading Program underway
“Adventure Begins at your Library” is the theme of this year’s free all-ages Summer Reading Program underway now.
You can choose your own adventure from the Smokey Bear reading challenge celebrating Smokey’s 80th birthday, a travel journal challenge where you document your experiences as you try new things and visit new places in the area, and a Camp Ruby Sisson bingo challenge that brings back our much-loved bingo sheets.
Prizes are available for all ages for each week of summer reading activities completed, and those results also put your name into a raffle for the grand prize at the concluding party on Aug. 9, Smokey’s birthday.
Sign up now in person or online and watch for details in this “Library News” column of all the fun free summer reading events coming your way.
Legal clinics will resume
Your library is one of six in our state chosen by the Colorado Access to Justice Commission to restart the free legal clinics.
They will happen from 2 to 3:40 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month starting Aug. 14. We will start with five patrons each month, 20 minutes per patron.
We will use a Zoom platform that can translate from English to the patron’s primary language. To reduce our no-show rate, we will start with just one waitlisted patron per month.
Come to the library to meet privately via Zoom with our volunteer attorney. To schedule an appointment, at the beginning of the month send an email titled “Sign-up for Free Legal Clinic” with your first name and phone number to ruby@pagosalibrary.org, phone (970) 264-2209 or stop by the library.
Virtual author talks
Our highly popular free online author talks continue in August with three more opportunities for you to interact with New York Times bestselling authors and ask questions.
For details and to register, go to https://libraryc.org/pagosalibrary/upcoming.
Wednesday, Aug. 7, at noon will give you an all-access pass behind the scenes at the space station with Dr. Jennifer Lavasseur, curator at the Smithsonian.
Thursday, Aug. 15, at noon will showcases Irena Smith, Ph.D., discussing “The Golden Ticket to College Admissions is Not What You Think: Redefining Success for Parents of Teens.”
On Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. we’ll interact with Shelby Van Pelt, novelist and author of “Remarkably Bright Creatures,” about a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.
All-ages gaming tomorrow
Join us Friday, Aug. 2, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. for a free all-ages gaming session playing Xbox on the big screen.
LEGO Club Saturday
Kids aged 6-11 are invited to the free LEGO Club on Saturday, Aug. 3, from 11 a.m. to noon. Bring your own LEGOs or use ours to free build.
Knitting and crochet lessons
Learn to knit or crochet on Monday, Aug. 5, at our free gathering from 2 to 3:15 p.m. for ages 8 and up. Supplies will be provided.
Music fun Monday
Pagosa Unplugged is free from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 5, for amateur musicians who would like a safe, supportive, non-bar setting to play, sing or both with other people. For information, contact Susan at (970) 946-3396.
Spanish conversation
Practice your Spanish in a free group setting on Tuesday, Aug. 6, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. There is no minimum skill level needed.
Note this group now meets twice a month, on the first and third Tuesdays.
Tween rock hounds
Get together with tweens every Wednesday this month from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. for free sessions to uncover the mysteries of gems, minerals, crystals and rocks.
Family storytimes
Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m., join a free educational hour of reading, singing and free play to build early literacy skills.
Dungeons and Dragons
Today, Thursday, Aug. 8, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., join our Dungeons and Dragons game free for teens and young adults. Create a character and join the adventure. Preregistration is required because space is limited. Contact Josie@pagosalibrary.org to join.
Writers Guild
Thursdays from 9 to 11 a.m., Ruby’s Writers Guild welcomes writers looking for opportunities, support, resources and camaraderie with other writers at this free gathering.
ESL classes
Free in-person evening classes take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with 4 to 5 p.m. reserved for beginners, 5 to 6 p.m. for intermediate and 6 to 7 p.m. for advanced students. Please help us share the word about these classes.
Tech Time
Free in-person slots are available from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays. Judy helps you with basic questions relating to computers, smartphones and tablets, and also provides assistance in accessing the library’s online resources.
No appointment is needed for these drop-in sessions, but please bring your device’s charger and passwords with you.
Pagosa Adult Learning Services (PALS)
Join Mark or Sally for free PALS sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to help with high school equivalency, GED, college prep, financial aid, tutoring and more.
Activities calendars
Pick up monthly events calendars at the library so you don’t miss any of the free activities available to you and your family.
Downloadable books
CloudLibrary has a wide variety of downloadable e-books and audiobooks for all ages. To access this free digital collection, download the cloudLibrary app, answer a few simple questions, select AspenCat Union Catalog for the name of your library, then enter your library card number and four-digit PIN. Library staff are happy to help you set up your device if you need assistance.
Thrillers, suspense and mysteries
“Wilderness Reform” by Matt and Harrison Query is set in a remote camp in Montana for troubled teens. “Forget Me Never” by Susan Wittig Albert is a China Bayles mystery about a prominent citizen’s secret about to be exposed. “A Death in Cornwall” by Daniel Silva is a Gabriel Allon art mystery involving a looted Picasso. “Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Shadow” by Brian Freeman is a Jason Bourne spy adventure. “Storm Child” by Michael Robotham is a Cyrus Haven and Evie Cormac psychological thriller. “Eruption” by Michael Crichton and James Patterson is a thriller completed by Patterson after Crichton’s death. “The Conditions of Unconditional Life” by Alexander McCall Smith is an Isabel Dalhousie mystery. “Camino Ghosts” by John Grisham is set on a Florida barrier island where its ownership is in dispute as a corporate developer arrives. “Confessions from the Dead” by James Patterson and J.D. Parker happens in a small New Hampshire town with a zero crime rate before the story begins. “Indian Burial Ground” by Nick Medina is a mythological horror story set on a reservation.
Other novels
“Crow Mary” by Kathleen Grissom is a historical love story following the Cypress Hills Massacre. “Jackie” by Dawn Tripp is a novelist’s look at the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
Nonfiction
“The Great River” by Boyce Upholt is a sweeping natural history of the Mississippi, an epic story of this enormous river and the centuries of efforts to control it.
Donation guidelines
We want to thank JR Ford for his material donation.
When we are open, material donations are accepted for the Friends of the Library at the front desk — not down the outside returns slot at the library or the drop box at City Market, please.
Guidelines for donations: Yes to popular fiction books published in 2013 or later, nonfiction books published 2018 or later, and children’s and young adult books — all in excellent condition, please. No to CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray, VHS or cassette tapes; textbooks, outdated travel books or reference books because they do not sell. No more than two boxes at a time because of space constraints.
Quotable quote
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe (1943-1993), American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected to the U.S. Davis Cup team, and the only Black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open tennis tournaments — three of four majors in the tennis world.
Website
For more information on library books, services and programs — and to reserve books, e-books, books on CD and DVDs from the comfort of your home — please visit our website at https://pagosalibrary.org.
