Family storytime, for parents and children together, is held on Tuesdays at 6:30pm with stories, crafts, and family fun together. The Toddler Story Time is Wednesdays at 10:30 am.

Our first-Thursday book discussion group is starting back up for the fall. Each month we all read the same book then come together to discuss it. Join us here at the library in the community room. Thanks to Sue McFarland and the Friends for supplying snacks. For more information, see Cyndi.

• Thu, Dec 3^rd at 6:30pm, Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
• Thu, Jan 7^th at 6:30pm, The Syringa Tree, by Pamela Gien
• Thu, Jan 14^th at 6:30pm, The Syringa Tree, by Pamela Gien
• Thu, Feb 4^th at 6:30pm, Madonnas of Leningrad
• Thu, Mar 4^th at 6:30pm, Mrs. Dalloway
• Thu, Apr 1^st at 6:30pm, Shutter Island
• Thu, May 6^th at 6:30pm, Wolf Hall

The library will be closed for the holiday.

• Thu, Dec 24^th, Christmas Eve
• Fri, Dec 25^th, Christmas Day
• Fri, Jan 1^st, New Year's Day

The Creative Crafters group will be meeting to work on more Croknitting and other projects, Wednesday nights at 6 from January through March, plus four days this spring. These crafts are for men and women who relish new activities. These are not children's crafts but useful items for your home and garden. We're expanding into a wider variety of projects now and will be doing a wooden birdhouse in April and May. Each project will have a small fee to cover the cost of materials. Attendance is limited, so sign up in advance at the main desk. Check the calendar for specific dates. Contact Becki if you have any questions.

Facilitator Doug Greene will lead a gathering of people who love poetry and enjoy reading and talking about it. Everyone is welcome to join, including high-school students. Sign up at the main desk and pick up your copy of the poems to be discussed. The theme will be Why Poetry? Any questions, call Doug Greene at 419-777-7163. Mon, Jan 25^th, 6:30-8pm.

Walt Williams, author of the self-published book Long Road Home, will be available to sign copies of his book for you. Thu, Jan 28^th, 6-7pm.

Are you into anime and manga? Join us for films, speakers, food, and cosplay. No registration required, just show up.

• Mon, Jan 4^th, 6:30-8:15pm
• Mon, Feb 1^st, 6:30-8:15pm
• Mon, Mar 1^st, 6:30-8:15pm
• Mon, Apr 5^th, 6:30-8:15pm
• Mon, May 3^rd, 6:30-8:15pm

The ultimate old-school wargame is coming to a library near you. Teens in grades 7-12, join us in the community room. Chess sets and refreshments will be provided. Chess nights are one of our longest-running and most popular teen programs. Come in for a lesson or to test your strategies against new opponents. Registration is not required: you can just show up.

• Thu, Jan 7^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Jan 21^st, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Feb 4^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Feb 18^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Mar 4^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Mar 18^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Apr 1^st, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, Apr 15^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, May 6^th, 6-8:15pm
• Thu, May 20^th, 6-8:15pm

Test your mettle. Compete against other players. Win fame among your peers. This will be a four-round tournament with no eliminations: everyone plays all four rounds, and points are scored according to your number of wins, draws, and losses. There will be prizes and refreshments. Sign up now!

• Sat, Mar 20^th, 9-Noon, (too early)
• Sat, Mar 20^th, Noon-5pm, (just right)

Applying for benefits and filing your taxes can be confusing, time consuming, and difficult. The Ohio Benefits Bank is a free service that simplifies the process, and now they are coming here. To make an appointment for one of these dates, call 1-800-648-1176. The OBB can help you file your taxes and apply for a variety of benefits, including food stamps, child care subsidy, Medicaid, HEAP, employment programs, college financial aid programs, and more. Thu, Feb 11^th, 2-7pm and Thu, Mar 11^th, 2-7pm.

Join us in the Community Room to discuss whatever books you are reading or have enjoyed lately. Fri, Jan 29^th at 10am and Fri, Feb 26^th at 10am.

The board meets at the library at 4pm on the third Monday of each month.

Fun, refreshments, and prizes. Sign up now at the main desk. Solve the puzzles, get the titles, be the first to find the books, and win the grand prize. Sat, Feb 13^th, 2-4pm.

The Galion Public Library will be accepting non-perishable food products in lieu of cash for the payment of overdue fines during the month of February. All the collected food will be donated to a local food bank. Only overdue fines (not lost item charges or other fees) are eligible. Please donate an amount of food in keeping with the size of your fine, and remember that foods with expired use-by dates cannot be given to those in need.

Each Wednesday at 10:30am we have a story time for young children. Join us for winter fun with snowy days and cookies!

Parents, bring your young children with you to the library on Tuesdays at 6:30pm for stories, crafts, and family fun together. Family Story Time is designed for family interaction, so the craft is more advanced than what we do in the Toddler Story Time.

Kids in grades 4-6, come to our party and celebrate Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Sign up now at the Children's Room desk. Sat, Feb 6^th at 1pm.

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year fall on the same day this year, so we're holding a party to celebrate both! Help us usher in the Chinese New Year 4078, the year of the tiger, with traditional crafts, food, and games. Find out your Chinese Zodiac sign, write a Valentine in Chinese, and dip your fortune cookie in chocolate. Chinese and American refreshments will be available. There is no charge for this program, but registration is necessary. Sat, Feb 13^th, 7-9pm.

Does the computer mystify you? Need a course in the basics to get you started? You may be in luck: we've scheduled some introductory classes. Classes on the docket for this season cover browsing the internet, typing up stuff to print out, managing tasks and windows in Microsoft Windows, and the very basics of image and photo editing. Each course is a single self-contained session, two or two and a half hours in length, and it doesn't matter what order you take them in. Classes are $2 per person per class, due when you sign up. You can sign up at the main desk at any time, until they fill up.

Nancy Orlando, author of the self-published book Everyone's Child, will be in our Community Room. Nancy, who lives in the Cincinnati area, has wanted to write this book since she was a teenager. Wed, Mar 17^th, 7-8pm.

The Friends of the Library will be raffling off a lovely pastel queen-sized quilt for Mother's Day. The quilt is on display at the library, near the main desk. Tickets are on sale now: $1 each, or 6 for $5.

The census folks will be using our Community Room as a question and answer site for about a month starting March 19^th. We also have census forms. If you have not received your form in the mail or on your front door by the first of April, you can pick one up at the library any time. A full list of the dates when the census volunteers will be here is available at the main desk. Appointments are not required: they'll be taking walk-ins whenever they are here. Stop by the desk if you need a list of the dates.

Members of the Galion Public Library Association will gather at the library for the annual meeting. If you would like to join the Association, please contact the Director. Mon, Apr 12^th at 7pm.

Galion's own Irish Step Dancing Group, Carol's Dance Factory, will be in the community room to help you celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Mon, Mar 15^th, 7-8pm.

Remember Brad Williams (from Faces Made for Radio) who had so much fun at our Poetry Night last year? Well, he's coming back, and this time he's bringing friends. Bring in your original poetry to read aloud in a relaxing, coffeehouse atmosphere. Those who want to read a favorite poem written by someone else are also welcome. We'll have a Stump the Musician challenge, and door prizes will be awarded. Refreshments will be served. There is no cost for this program, but registration is required. Thu, Apr 15^th, 6:30-8:15pm.

Teens in grades 7-12 will do all sorts of things with marshmallow bunnies. Recipes, crafts, painting, science experiments, games, and maybe even a snack... all with Peeps. Don't miss it. There is no cost for this program, but registration is required. Mon, Mar 22^nd, 6:30-8pm.

The SSA will be here again, to talk about retirement and how it can affect what Social Security benefits you are eligible to receive. What happens to your benefits if you take early retirement? What if you cash in your retirement? What happens if you change retirement plans? What is a windfall, and how does it affect your benefits? Does retirement savings affect your benefits if you are declared disabled? Find out about these questions and more. Registration is required: sign up at the main desk. Wed, Apr 28^th, 1-2:30pm.

Dan Everly, a local astronomy expert, will share with us some of the effects meteors can have on Earth. Sign up at the main desk. Wed, Apr 21^st, 6-7:30pm.

Poet Mark Hurstman will discuss some of his work, and the pros and cons of getting your poetry published. Sign up at the main desk. Wed, Apr 7^th, 6-7:30pm.

We are looking for someone with two years of applicable college education or library work experience to work 15-20 hours per week in the children's room.

The Friends of the Library are collecting used books in good condition for the used book sale. There is a particular need this year for more mass-market paperbacks. If you have books sitting around the house that you no longer want yourself, but they're still in good condition, please consider donating them, so that someone else can enjoy them. You can drop them off any time the library is open.

The Galion Public Library is raffling off 2 tickets to Puttin' on the Ritz: A Century of Dance, at the Mansfield Renaissance Theatre (May 22^nd). The Mansfield Symphony will be joined by Neos Dance Theatre for this tribute to the greatest dance styles of the twentieth century. From the saucy Charleston to the glamour of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers; from the swinging Jitterbug to disco-mania; featuring the music of George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter; it's a high-stepping, nostalgic treat for the entire family. Tickets to the event are valued at $34.50 each, but we've managed to acquire two of them (graciously donated by Terry & Janet Snyder). Raffle tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5.

The library will be closed for the holiday.

• Mon, May 31^st, Memorial Day
• Mon, Jul 5^th, Independence Day
• Mon, Sep 6^th, Labor Day
• Thu, Nov 25^th, Thanksgiving Day
• Fri, Nov 26^th, Day After Thanksgiving
• Fri, Dec 24^th, Christmas Eve
• Sat, Dec 25^th, Christmas Day
• Sat, Jan 1^st, New Year's Day

The library will close early on the evening before the holiday.

• Thu, Dec 31^st at 5pm
• Wed, Nov 24^th at 5pm, Thanksgiving Eve
• Fri, Dec 31^st at 5pm, New Year's Eve