Hello and welcome back to our monthly library column! I hope everyone is staying warm and dry in all these storms we’ve been having recently. The library board meets on the second Wednesday of the month at 5PM in the lower level of the library. The meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. If you are unable to make it to the meeting, you can find all the latest news and updates I share with the board each month here.

Last year, you may recall that I reported our WiFi hotspots were the most popular item checked out from the library in 2021. This proved to be the case in 2022 as well; our hotspots were our most checked out item with a total of 104 checkouts. An increase from our total hotspot checkout in 2021, this averages out to a hotspot being checked out every 4 days. In February, the library was awarded a grant through the Stanley Community Endowment Fund to purchase an additional hotspot. Since the hotspots are constantly checked out and often have a wait list, this additional hotspot will be a great help in our efforts to mitigate challenges posed by the digital divide in our community. Sincere thanks to the Stanley Community Endowment Fund for their generosity to the library!

The other most popular items in the library were our Nintendo Switch games Super Mario Party, Super Mario Odyssey, and Paper Mario: The Origami King. Our most popular magazines were People and The Week. The most popular fiction title was A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham and the most popular non-fiction title was a cookbook, Bowls: Vibrant Recipes with Endless Possibilities. The most popular DVD was Yellowstone Season 1, and the most popular audiobook was All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot.

Programs this month include Storytime on the 9^th and 23^rd at 10:30AM, Creative Writing Guild on the 14^th and 28^th at 2:30PM, Teen Creative Writing Guild on the 16^th at 4PM, Play & Learn on the 13^th and 27^th at 10AM. Just Create It and Girls Who Code Clubs on the 29^th at 2PM and 4PM, respectively. The book club is reading Educated by Tara Westover this month and will meet on April 6^th to discuss the book. Our seed library is also open this month for lending! We have a variety of vegetable, flower, and herb seeds free and available for all. We encourage those who use our seed library to save seeds at the end of the season to return to the library, but this is not a requirement for using seeds from the library.

The library is open for you Monday through Friday from 10AM-6PM. Come in any time to use the computers, find a book or movie, borrow a WiFi hotspot or iPad, or use our printer to fax, scan, and copy. We are also still offering curbside pick-up to those who wish to use that option, as well as home delivery for the elderly and home-bound. If you, or anyone you know, would benefit from our delivery program, please contact library staff and let us bring the library to you. Take care and see you soon!