On February 7, at 2:00 p.m., in the library Community Rooms, mystery author Ben Rehder will present “Humor in the Hill Country,” a look at his six comedic novels featuring game warden John Marlin.

Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 at the door, and include dessert. They may be purchased at Second-Hand Prose on the second floor of the library, or by calling Louise Beyer at 512-635-3447. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Georgetown Library and all proceeds go to funding unbudgeted needs of the library.

Mr. Rehder’s books, including recently released, Gun Shy, will be available for sale at the event and he will sign them after he speaks.

Dan Tannenbaum is once again offering free computer classes. The first will not be a hands-on class, instead he’ll give a computer-illustrated talk about Internet safety, helping you to be aware of the dangers to which you expose yourself when you use the Internet, and how to avoid those unhappy situations. The class will meet on Tuesday, January 22, from 1-4 p.m., in the Friends Room.

Dan will also teach two classes in Excel, a beginner’s session and another for intermediate skills. You may attend one or both, depending on the skills you already have. Excel is primarily a spreadsheet software, but it has features that may be used in other ways that often are handy for home use.

Excel for Beginners meets on Wednesday, January 23, from 1-4 p.m. The Intermediate Excel class will be the following Wednesday, January 30, from 1-4 p.m. Both classes will meet in the Library classroom. Register by phone (930-3627) or in person at the reference desk on the second floor of the library for any of Dan’s classes.

Sandra Gaiser also is offering two classes during January, both of which are two sessions: Using eBay and Internet Basics. The charge for each two-session class is $25, which must be paid in advance at registration. You need to have basic computer skills to take these classes.
·Using eBay will be on Sunday, January 6 and 20, from 2-4 p.m., in the library classroom. You’ll learn the intricacies of buying and selling on this popular electronic venue.

·Internet Basics will be on Saturday, January 26 and Sunday, January 27, from 3-5 p.m. in the library classroom. If you’re not sure how to navigate the Internet, this is the class for you.

Register for either of Sandra’s classes at the reference desk on the second floor of the library.

Young adult librarian Bethni King and adult services librarian Richard Groves are teaming up this month to try something new—games for the whole family. Bethni’s game nights for the young adults have been very successful so it seems possible that it could be just as much fun for the whole family to participate. The library has its own Wii equipment and there will be board games, too, something for all ages. Join Bethni and Richard on Wednesday, January 16, starting at 6:00 in the Friends Room

IRS-trained tax advisors will be available to help you file your individual return beginning Saturday, January 26.

Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wednesdays (for Seniors) Noon – 4:00 p.m.
Tuesdays & Thursdays 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Advisors will be in the library Classroom on the second floor. Sign in when you arrive–first come, first served.

The 2008 Georgetown Reads! program kicks off this month with voting to choose this year’s book. Ballots will be available the second week in January at the library and other places around town. Voting will continue through mid-February. A sneak peek at the selections revealed a widely varied group of choices, only one of which I had read. This year’s selections may bring new books to many people.

Check out the Georgetown Reads! page on this website to see the complete ballot.

Nearly twenty delicious-smelling gingerbread entries graced the library lobby during December. What a treat it was to tour the tables on which the structures were arranged—rather like a little gingerbread town. This year we had plenty of room for the display so viewers could see the entries from all angles. The library staff extends our sincere thanks to all who entered. Your participation was a grand Christmas gift to the library and the community.

Voting was heavy, and close in a couple of categories, but the winners were:
·Claudia Robinson, age 5, for an original design, age 8 and younger

·Christine Robinson, for an original design in the 18 and older category

·The Crain Family, for their original design by two or more persons

·Arleen Diaz, for her design from a kit

Each winner received a $25 gift card. The Crain Family and their house are pictured.

At the delicious luncheon the Friends of the Library had for the library staff during December, we each introduced ourselves to our dining companions, and named the best book we’d read in the past six months. I only have the list from the seating that I attended, but I thought I would pass it on because it represented a very wide array of interests. The order is completely random:

A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner, both by Khaled Hosseini

Good Dog. Stay., by Anna Quindlen

The Alchemist, by Paul Coelho

Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Mistress of the Art of Death, by Ariana Franklin

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

The God of Animals, by Aryn Kyle

The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Bud’s and Bee’s, by Florence Baker Day

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, by Juliet Nicholson

The Astounding Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1, by M.T. Anderson

The library will be closed Monday, January 21, in observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. The drive-up bookdrop on the south side of the building will be open so that you may return library materials.

The work of volunteers is immeasurably important to keeping the library running. Every day volunteers check in and shelve nearly all of the materials that are returned to the library. Others work behind the scenes, helping to get new materials ready to circulate. None of these jobs is glamorous, not many are really “fun,” and checking in and shelving are hard on the eyes, back, and knees. However, we’re lucky to have people working for us who derive personal satisfaction from making a contribution to the library on a regular basis.

When Ms. Rosa accepted her award for 15 years of service at the City’s annual employee recognition event on December 14, one aspect of her work that was emphasized was her never-ending search for highly talented and generous people who are willing to donate their services to the library’s children’s programs. During the past few months a number of volunteers in this category made significant contributions to library programs. We thank

·Kelly, Jim Bob, and Ryden Clayman, of Windsong Farm, for the tour of their farm and their hospitality to the storytime gang on November 14;

·The Georgetown Flutes Ensemble (Shannon Wood, Katharine Bolliger, Catherine Glazier, Leslie Lube, and Jaroldine Romero), which played Christmas music in the library lobby on December 1;

·Various members of the Georgetown High School Orchestra who played stringed instruments in the lobby on December 10 and 12;

·Arleen Harr who brought Hanukkah to storytime;

·The personnel of the Georgetown Fire Department, Station 1, who escorted Santa on December 15;

·Wiley Gilmore, who stood in for Santa on December 15;

·Terri and Linda Hahn, who made hundreds of sugar cookies for the December 15 event;

·Taylor Weaver’s Talent Works, for piano music and melodies on December 15;

·Austin Bella Corda and the Childbloom Christmas Guitar Choir, directed by Kevin Taylor, for their concert on December 15;

·The helpful hands and willing work of Dianne Young and her family, Debbie Abe and her family, and Noreen Rafique, who facilitated the fun on December 15 and cleaned up afterward .

Beginning January 1, all nonresident memberships will be family memberships (you may receive cards for everyone in your household) and the annual fee will be $25 for all but members who are over 65, and they will receive a $5 discount.

This is a significant saving for people who were paying for family memberships in the past, but it is a price increase for anyone who had an individual card. However, this is our first fee increase in more than five years. We hope that those who are happy with the change will outnumber those who are unhappy, but if you’d like to voice your objection (or approval), please ask at the Information Desk on the first floor for Eric Lashley, the library director, or Gretchen Pruett, the assistant director.