January 2020
The Library will close at 6pm on Tuesday, December 31, be closed all day Wednesday, January 1, and be closed all day Monday, January 20 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Participate in Cozy Winter Reading throughout January. More information HERE.
Celebrate Folia de Reis
Traditional Brazilian Christmas Celebration
Sunday, January 5
2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
MacFarlane-Hood Reading Room & Busey Mills Reading Room (First Floor)

Come celebrate  Folia de Reis  –
a traditional Brazilian Christmas celebration that features music, creative costumes, and a fun parade!  You'll have a chance to make colorful crafts and learn more about this Brazilian folk tradition.  Then we'll join in with our guest musician  Wilson Rocha de Silva  to dance and play percussion instruments. All ages welcome!

Our cultural guide for this special event is Wilson Rocha de Silva , a Brazilian journalist, songwriter, vocalist, actor, and researcher of the diverse cultural, religious, and folkloric traditions of Brazil and the African diaspora. Other musicians who will join the performance include Jason Finkelman , Denis Chiaramonte , and Mark Becker .


Cosponsored by  The Urbana Arts and Culture program and the Robert E. Brown Center for World Music.
Tech Help: Apps, eBooks and More!
Saturday, January 11 & 25
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Individual instruction for using the Library's download and database services.

Would you like to learn more about downloading free eBooks and audiobooks from the Library? Did you know the Library has databases to help you learn a new language, try a new crafting technique and so much more? 

Stop by the table near the Café to talk to staff about how to use these free services. Consider bringing your own device (smartphone, iPad, etc.) to get assistance downloading the Library's apps. (Note: you will also want to bring your library card and password information for your device.)
UFLive! presents the JVR3 Trio
Sunday, January 19 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Busey Mills Reading Room (First Floor)

For music lovers of all ages!

The  JVR3 Trio  plays original tunes, new renditions of old favorites, adaptations and remakes of their collective improvisations, and invites everyone to enjoy. Jazz, funk, and Afro-Cuban music all influence the choices of tunes and the trio’s approach, but the result is unique.  
The JVR3 are  Jenelle Orcherton (saxophone), Andre Gonsalves (bass), and Jamie V. Ryan (drums).


UFLive!  concerts take place on the third Sunday of most months and are made possible by the generous support of  The Urbana Free Library Foundation .
What's Up in the Night Sky? with David Leake
Tuesday, January 21
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
The Lewis Auditorium (Ground Floor)

Learn what to watch for in the night sky over the next few months!

Meteors, supermoons, and planets
to watch for! Learn what will be appearing in our prairie skies this year with  Dave Leake , retired director from the William Staerkel Planetarium. He will fill us in on sky events for 2020 plus some current astronomy news.  
Learn French!
Monday, January 27 & 29
4:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Satterthwaite Conference Room
(Ground Floor)
This class is for adults and young people age 10 and up.

Would you like to learn to speak and write French?  This class may be for you. This free program meets twice weekly for 6 weeks.  
Registration is required and opens on January 1. Register HERE .

John Matanda Tshipama  teaches French grammar in the Urbana School District's French-English dual language program.  He was recently elected president of the Congolese Community of Champaign County.
Support the Foundation's Annual Campaign

The Library campus needs a makeover. We want to hire a landscape architect to help us design an environmentally friendly plan. That plan could include space for outdoor concerts and movies, along with quiet areas where people could just read and relax. A new sign to better identify our historic Library could be included.

We envision a two-year process to design and implement the landscaping plan. The timing is good, as the reconstruction of Green Street just south of the Library is slated to occur in 2020.

A refreshed Library campus and rebuilt Green Street would serve as a welcoming entrance to Urbana. We invite you to give today and support this project, or give a general gift to support all Foundation projects.
Want to learn about all of our events for children and teens?
Sign up for our  Youth & Teen Programs eNewsletter !
Interested in the Champaign County Historical Archives?
Sign up for the Local History & Genealogy eNewsletter  here .
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Urbana Free Library happenings!