Library touts digital reads, has winter events on tap

With a long winter ahead, the Oscar Grady Library in Saukville is reminding readers that there’s plenty of entertainment at their fingertips with e-books, e-audiobooks and e-magazines available for checkout any time of the day through the Wisconsin Digital Library.

The library can be accessed using the Libby app and logging in with the barcode and PIN found on library cards. People who don’t have cards can access temporary barcodes by visiting monarchcatalog.org.

Another app — Monarch2Go — allows users to renew or place a hold on items and search for materials from all 32 libraries in the Monarch System.

The Saukville library is also helping people get out of the house with Adventure Passes.

Beginning Jan. 1, the passes will be grab and go, which means people can check the library catalog to see what passes are available and check them out for as many as three days without having to reserve them.

The passes provide access to locations that include the Mitchell Park Domes, Wisconsin Museum of Art, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Above and Beyond Children’s Museum, Riveredge Nature Center, Kettle Moraine YMCA and the Milwaukee County Zoo.

In addition, the library has a full schedule of programs planned for January.

For adults, programs include gentle chair yoga at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 7 and Jan. 21. 

Library Director Emily Laws will lead participants through 30 minutes of relaxing chair stretches and deep breathing using the Down Dog app on the library’s big screen.

Instructed gentle chair yoga with Anita Odekirk will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 14 and Jan. 28.

A certified instructor, Odekirk will lead participants through one-hour slow-flow Vinyasa sessions, helping them to move mindfully from posture to posture while connecting breathing with movement with the support of a chair. No yoga experience is needed. Participants must sign a waiver.

The Morning Fiction Book Club will meet at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, to discuss “Aviators Wife” by Melanie Benjamin. Copies of the book are available for check out at the library. 

A meeting of the Oscar Grady Library Board will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13. The meeting is open to the public. 

The Fiber Arts Group will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, to work on individual projects in a group environment. Participants should bring their own projects to work on. There is no instructor, but the group offers an opportunity to share ideas, tips and inspiration.

At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Evening Nonfiction Book Club will meet to discuss “Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom” by Ilyon Woo. Copies of the book are available for check out at the library.

The Love and Lore Book Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, to discuss “Tress of the Emerald Sea” by Brandon Sanderson. Copies of the book are available for check out at the library.

This patron-hosted group is for book lovers in their 20s looking for conversation, connections and captivating reads.

A program on the history of Road America and Wisconsin racing will be presented by Steve Zautke, a motorsports writer and historian, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26.

Library programs for teenagers include a Level Up @ the Library gaming session at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 17.

The session, which is intended for people 12 to 18 years old, will feature a Nintendo Switch 2 console with eight Joy-Cons available so teams can battle it out in their favorite multiple player games.

For children, winter storytimes will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Jan. 6 through Feb. 17.

The sessions, which are designed for children 2 to 5 years old, include not only stories but songs and activities and explore a new theme each week.

The after-school Lego Club will meet at 3:45 p.m. Wednesdays, Jan. 7, through April 29.

The club gives children in kindergarten through fifth grade the opportunity to use the library’s blocks to make creations that could be displayed at the library for all to see.

Riveredge Nature Center in the Town of Saukville will present an Art in Nature program as part of the Art Sparks series at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16. 

Children in kindergarten through fifth grade will explore patterns found in nature by examining materials collected from Wisconsin habitats, then create a piece of art using natural materials. Registration is required and can be done at www.oscargradylibrary.org.

Riveredge will also present a STEM Club program on winter ecology for children in first through fifth grades.

The 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, program will explore the science of how animals handle ice and snow and investigate the three challenges they face in winter — staying warm, safe and fed. Registration is required and can be done on the library’s website. 

The STEM Club meets monthly and allows children to explore the principles of science, technology, engineering and math through experiments and lessons led by library staff members and guest experts.

The Oscar Grady Library is at 151 S. Main St.