By Carole Howard | PREVIEW Columnist, and the library staff
Staff from San Juan Basin Public Health will be at your library at 12:30 p.m. today, Thursday, Feb. 23, to discuss the dangers of radon gas in homes and businesses, take your questions, and distribute free radon test kits.
This session is rescheduled from Feb. 1. Winter is the best time to test for the cancer-causing gas because levels are highest when windows and doors are closed.
The kits are pre-addressed, so once you’ve finished the test you can just seal it up and drop it in the mail. You’ll get your results via email or mail from the lab that made the tests. The geology of southwest Colorado leads to an increased risk of radon gas here, so this is an important topic for us to understand for the health of our families and community. In fact, radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer, even in people who have never smoked.
Events calendar
To be sure you don’t miss any of the free library activities available to you and your family, we encourage you to pick up a copy of the events calendar each month. Its streamlined format combines all the activities and events for children, teens and adults on one handy, two-sided page.
Flu season protocols
The curbside service that we began for COVID safety continues — and it’s also a healthful option in the cold and flu season. To save your energy and lessen germ exposure to other patrons, we recommend you use our curbside service — or add a name to your account authorizing that person to pick up items for you while you recuperate.
Knowledge Bowl today
Our second free Knowledge Bowl takes place today, Thursday, Feb. 23, from 4 to 5 p.m. for tweens and teens. Participants will form teams of up to six people to compete against each other by answering questions that cover a range of topics from math to spelling to pop culture. Knowledge Bowl will run every second and fourth Thursday for the remainder of the school year. It is open to students in grades four through eight, or ages 11-14. Registration is not required.
GM Playground
expanding next week
Teens are invited to enjoy a free rebranded online GM Playground DnD program next Thursday, March 2, from 4 to 6 p.m. that will now be open to a wider variety of players on the first and third Thursdays of every month. Game masters (GMs) can lead a variety of tabletop role-playing games, but sometimes are uncertain how to start or may want to test a new idea before running a full campaign. This program will give you space to do that. Interested GMs should contact the library to sign up to run a one-shot game (no more than three sessions).
Gaming tomorrow
Enjoy free all-ages video gaming on the Xbox 360 Kinect tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 24, from 3 to 4 p.m.
LEGO Club on Saturday
Kids aged 6 and up are invited to bring your imaginations — LEGOs are provided — on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 11 a.m. to noon for the free LEGO Club. LEGO challenges also are posted on Facebook if you can’t make it to the library.
Children’s Spanish
class on Monday
Join us next Monday, Feb. 27, from 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. for a Spanish class for kids aged 6 to 11 to help youngsters learn and improve their Spanish.
Dungeons and Dragons
Next Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., join our in-person Dungeons and Dragons game free for teens and young adults. Registration is required because space is limited. Contact Josie@pagosalibrary.org to join.
Online author talk
There will be one more talk this month in our free online virtual series featuring New York Times bestselling authors. Next Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. we’ll interact with Sadeqa Johnson, award-winning author of “The House of Eve.” Johnson has written four novels and is the recipient of the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Award and the USA Best Book Award for best fiction.
Homework and
tutoring help
Our highly popular free homework assistance and elementary tutoring are available for students in kindergarten through fourth grades on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. There is a registration packet for parents and guardians to fill out to enroll your child that you can get by emailing the library or coming in. This program has been a big hit because it helps build essential skills in core subjects. You still can register your child, but you may be put on a wait list.
Family storytimes
Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. join us for free in-person children’s stories, games and plenty of reasons to get up and move.
ESL classes
Free in-person evening classes take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with 4 to 5 p.m. reserved for beginners and 5 to 7 p.m. for both intermediate and advanced students. Please help us spread the word about these classes to others in our community who would be interested, and contact us by phone or email if you have any questions.
PALS/GED adult
education
Mark is available for his free PALS sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to help with high school equivalency, GED, college prep, financial aid, tutoring and more. No registration is required.
Tech Time
Free in-person slots are available from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays. Judy will help you with basic questions relating to computers, smartphones and tablets and also provide assistance in accessing any of the library’s online resources. You do not need an appointment for these drop-in sessions. Note there will be no Tech Time Feb. 28 and March 2.
Downloadable books
CloudLibrary has a wide variety of downloadable e-books and audiobooks for all ages, and accessing this free digital collection is very easy. You just need to 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. You are now ready to browse, borrow and read e-books and audiobooks using cloudLibrary. Library staff are happy to help you set up your device if you need assistance.
DVDs
“Anne of Green Gables” includes all three movies plus two new documentaries about this classic. “Rick Steves’ Europe” contains eight PBS shows from 2021-2022. “The Comancheros” is a John Wayne Wild West adventure. “Hiding in Plain Sight” is a Ken Burns documentary about youth mental illness. “Till” is a true story about a mother’s pursuit of justice for her son who was lynched. We have seasons one and two of “Star Trek Discovery” on separate DVDs. “Water” tells the story of a feisty young Hindu widow in Gandhi’s India. “The Woman King,” inspired by true events, features an all-female unit of warriors.
Spanish-language books
“Un Caballero en Moscu” (“A Gentleman in Moscow”) by Amor Towles features an aristocrat under house arrest at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. “Entrevista con el Vampire” (“Interview with the Vampire”) by Anne Rice is book one in the author’s vampire series. “El Espejo de las Almas” (“A Mirror into the Souls”) by Mario Escobar tells of a sisterhood of secular women in Europe.
Nonfiction about
love and joy
“Love and Justice” by WNBA star Maya Moore Irons and Jonathan Irons is a memoir about their love and their fight together to free him from prison. “8 Rules of Love” by Jay Shetty uses ancient wisdom and science as a guide to the stages of romance. “Lost and Found” by Pulitzer Prize-winner Kathryn Schulz explores expansive love and deep loss. “The Art of Gratitude” by Nazanin Mandi explains how to achieve joy from a three-minute morning journal ritual.
Large print
“The Cobbler of Spanish Fort and Other Frontier Stories” by Johnny D. Boggs is a collection of short western stories. “The Fleecing of Fort Griffin” by Preston Lewis is set in 1870s Texas. “Tick Tock” by Fern Michaels is a Sisterhood mystery. “Sleep No More” by Jayne Ann Krentz features three women who host a podcast investigating cold cases. “Maybe Now” by Colleen Hoover is book three in the Maybe Someday romance series.
Books on CD
“The House at the End of the World” by Dean Koontz is a sci-fi thriller. “The Keeper of Stories” by Sally Page was inspired by the author’s love of people’s stories. “Sleep No More” by Jayne Ann Krentz is the first book in a new romantic suspense trilogy. “Birds of a Feather” by Jacqueline Winspear is a Maisie Dobbs mystery. “Without a Trace” by Danielle Steel features a man who chooses to disappear after a car crash. “Encore in Death” by J.D. Robb is an Eve Dallas mystery.
Other novels
“Small World” by Laura Zigman follows two divorced sisters who move in together. “Her Heart’s Desire” by Shelley Shepard Gray is book one in the A Season in Pinecraft Amish romance series. “Nice Guys Finish Dead” by William W. and J.A. Johnstone is part of the Old Cowboys Never Die series. “River Sing Me Home” by Eleanor Shearer features an enslaved woman searching for her children taken from her in the 1830s.
Donations
When we are open, material donations are accepted for the Friends of the Library at the front desk — not through the outside returns slot at the library or the drop box at City Market, please.
The Friends take fiction published in 2013 or newer and nonfiction that is 2018 or newer. Limited workroom space means we can only accept one or two small boxes at a time.
Quotable quote
“As local safety nets shriveled, the library roof magically expanded from umbrella to tarp to circus tent to airplane hangar. The modern library keeps its citizens warm, safe, healthy, entertained, educated, hydrated and, above all, connected ... One could argue that distribute more wings than an airline pilot. Put yours to good use and you can fly anywhere.” — “A Love Letter to Libraries, Long Overdue,” article in The New York Times, Feb. 14, 2023.
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.
