We had an excellent turn out for our first conversational Spanish class featuring Barbara Garcia and Celena Moreno. We got a good feeling for each person's level of ability, and there is a wide range! If you didn't attend last week you are still encouraged to come any time in the next few months. The class will be held every first and third Thursday of the month through April, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. We appreciate Leise Dean for bringing snacks and beverages for our first class.

Saturday, January 14, we will be showing the movie Erasing Hate in honor of Idaho Human Rights Day and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which is January 16. The movie will be shown at 5:00 p.m. at the library. Erasing Hate goes inside the world of Bryon Widner, a former skinhead "pit bull," as he undergoes painful treatments to remove the physical representation of the hate he had exhibited to the world for more than half his life. This film is not suitable for children.

Our January Books and Bowls discussion will be held Monday, January 23. Dinner will be at 5:30, the discussion will follow at 6:00 pm. Dr. Steve Barrett will lead our discussion of Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. Barrett is an archivist and family history and local records specialist of the Idaho State Historical Society. Let's Talk About It is sponsored by the Idaho Commission for Libraries, Idaho Humanities Council and US Bancorp Foundation. Books are available for check out at the library now.

The Board of Trustees is pleased to announce the appointment of Phil Coonts as trustee to fill the position left by the passing of board chair Christopher Hooper. Coonts brings a wealth of knowledge and previous board experience to his new position. Coonts will serve until the next election which will be held in May of 2013.

New books to help pass the long winter nights include Great by Choice by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of the Hedy Lamarr, The Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Richard Rhodes, Good Mushroom Bad Mushroom by John Plischke III, and An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff and Akex Tresniowski in non-fiction. For murder mystery series lovers we now have the entire series of Chief Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny. New fiction titles include How It All Began by Penelope Lively, Killed at the Whim of a Hat by Colin Cotterill, The Sisters by Nancy Jensen and The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson.

We appreciate everyone who filled out our survey concerning library hours. There is still time to make your voice heard on this subject. Stop by the library for a copy of the survey.