Stay Connected through Library Programs

Weekly Program eNews

January 20, 2025

The Library will be CLOSED on Monday, January 20, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Gold Mine Thrift store will be OPEN.

Access our Digital Collections here.

In this Issue

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day closure

• History of the Sun Valley Ski Patrol

• Paint Club for Tweens and Teens

• Winter Read Heats Up!

• This Week at the Library

• Upcoming Program Highlights

• Staff Book Review: Call Us What We Carry

• Teen Book Beat: Tales of a Tin Can

• Ask a Librarian

See our full calendar here.

Above right: Students in grades 5-8: Register now for the upcoming Read It and Eat! First 10 students receive a FREE copy of the book. Snacks/food will be provided. More/Register here.

In the Spotlight

This year’s Winter Read is Four Treasures of the Sky, by Jenny Tinghui Zhang—a dazzling novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act about a young Chinese woman fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West.

We’ll kick off on Thursday, January 30 with an exhibit opening and reception

in the Library’s foyer. Throughout February, your local libraries will host

speakers and discussion groups. We’ll close on February 27 with a

keynote address from the author.

We invite everyone to join this community-wide read: read or listen to the book, attend programs and discussions, and engage with your friends and neighbors around a story! More here about Winter Read speakers, discussions, and Jenny's Winter Read Book Group.

Hot off the presses, Dave Laster has just published a book on the history of

Sun Valley's Ski Patrol during the 1960s and will talk about his experiences in

Sun Valley teaching and patrolling. More/register here.

5:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 21

Lecture Hall + Livestream

Judy Zimmer leads Paint Club for tweens and teens. Join us in the Children's Library where we'll all make a creation on canvas! Paint Club is open to tweens and teens ages 9+ who can manage the project alone. All supplies are provided. Space is VERY limited so sign-up is required. More/register here.

3:30-5:00 p.m., Thursday, January 23

Children's Library

This Week at the Library

English Language Learning

Tuesday, January 21

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Idaho Room

Paws to Read with Pansy

Wednesday, January 22

2:30-3:30 p.m.

Children's Library

Pop-In Poetry

This week's poet is a recluse in white who explored the universe from her room.

Thursday, January 23

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Learning Commons

TV Discussion Group

Thursday, January 23

4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Learning Commons

Registration required.

Nature Journaling

Thursday, January 23

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Idaho Room

Registration has closed.

Valley Traditional Music Jams

Saturday, January 25

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

Lecture Hall

Upcoming Program Highlights

January 28: "The Question of God" Discussion Group begins, led by Don Liebich

January 30: WINTER READ Kickoff Event! Presenting Four Treasures of the Sky

January 30: Literacy/Creativity presented by Footlight Dance Centre in Hailey

January 31: Dog Man Party!

February 4: Conversational Spanish begins

February 4: Healing: Our Path to Mental Well-Being with Dr. Thomas Insel

February 5: Middle Grade Book Club: The Color of Sound

February 5: Winter Read Book Group begins: Chinese Stories and American West

February 5: Library Book Club: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

February 6: The Long Road: Building a Writer's Life and Community

with Writer-in-Residence Jemimah Wei

February 7: WINTER READ: Bitter Creek with Teow Lim Goh

February 11: State of the Valley Forum with the Wood River Women’s Foundation

February 12: Bedrock: Immigration’s Role in the Wood River Valley panel

February 13: Hemingway’s Passions with Nancy Sindelar

February 17: The Library will be CLOSED in observance of Presidents Day

February 18: WINTER READ: The Light of a Hundred Fires: Chinese Experiences in Idaho’s Gold Rush Era with historical archaeologist Dr. Renae Campbell

February 19: Restoring the Dignity of Our Rivers with the Wood River Land Trust

February 25: Behind the Start Gate 2: Steve Porino on Being a Color Commentator for FIS World Cup Ski Racing

February 26: Reframing Women's Health and Aging with Jennifer Garrison

February 27: WINTER READ Keynote with Jenny Tinghui Zhang

See our full calendar of events/register here.

Your Loan History

We are now offering patrons the choice to activate Loan History for their account, which will keep record of the items you have checked out from The Community Library.

We respect the privacy of all our patrons, so you must opt-in to this feature. To opt in, complete our Loan History Request form or contact the main desk at 208.726.3493, x107.

View the titles in your account when you sign in with your library card number and PIN.

Title Review: Library Staff

"It is at this moment I realize the secret truth of poetry:

It must be read aloud."

Information Systems Manager, Will Duke, recommends Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman.

I have never read a book of poetry before. Oh, I’ve read poems. Lots of poems. I’ve read poems from collections, from the Norton Anthology. I’ve read poems from the Internet. I’ve read poems from student poets. I’ve read poems on splotchy Xeroxed copies of copies.

When I started to read Call Us What We Carry, I flipped through the pages, one poem after another. The poet was in a pandemic and struggling with all that meant. “It is easy to harp / harder to hope. … The glorious was not made to be piecemeal,” rises from the page and demands my attention. A quick read wasn’t going to work. I had to go back and read the whole poem again. Then I wanted to hear it. At this moment I realize the secret truth of poetry: It must be read aloud.

I start again, supporting each poem with my voice. It slows me down. The sound of my voice resonates for me, and I start to feel the rhythm—not just of the individual words, or even the poem, but the ebb and flow of the book itself...

Read Will's entire book review here.

Find more staff book recommendations here.

Note: With the convergence on January 20 of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Inauguration Day, it seems fitting to repeat Will Duke's review of Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman, originally published here on January 13, 2023. Gorman recited her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the 2021 inauguration of Joe Biden.

Book Beat: Student Book Review

Hi, my name is Parker. I’m a 7th grader and love reading non-fiction historical books. I also enjoy playing soccer and hanging out with friends. For my Book Beat review, I read Tales of a Tin Can by Michael Keith Olson.

Tales of a Tin Can is about the sailors aboard the destroyer USS Dale during World War II. It portrays the day-to-day life of the crew of a small destroyer during the war.

The name “tin can” is a term used by sailors for destroyers, as their armor was so thin some joked it was made out of cans. The USS Dale would serve from December 7, 1941, until the signing of the peace treaty in Tokyo Bay in 1945. The book switches between the perspectives of the crewmembers and it is very cool to see into the day of a sailor.

The book is written in a first-person account and shows the individual thoughts, feelings, and fears of the sailors who fought...

Read Parker's entire book review here.

See all Book Beat Reviews here.

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