The Friends of Snow Library's 2022 Winter-Spring Lifetime Learning continues the week of March 7-11 with the following courses.

Monday, March 7, 1:30 to 4 pm: Mary Ann Eaton, professor of Studies in Irish and Celtic literature at University College, Cork, Ireland, presents the first of a series of four Irish films to watch and then discuss in the context of Irish history and culture. This first film is "Five Minutes of Heaven." . . .

Snow Library has begun a strategic planning process to envision and create the best future for the library and the community. Feedback from the community is vital to this process. All are invited to attend one of four Zoom Community Engagement Sessions where you will be able to contribute comments and suggestions for what you would like to see in your public library.

Click here to sign up. There will be four online forums to choose from: on Wednesday, Feb. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Tuesday, Feb. 22 from 3 to 5 p.m., and Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

You will receive a Zoom link to the session once you have registered.

Registration is now open for the 2022 winter-spring Lifetime Learning session, which begins on Monday, Feb. 28.

Most courses will be offered in a hybrid format, presented simultaneously in the classroom (Snow Library’s Craine Room, maximum of 40 registrants and the presenter) and via Zoom (unlimited enrollment).

There will be 27 courses, exploring topics in music, art, photography, literature, civics, culture, current events, film, history, science and nature. Complete course descriptions and registration information are available online at www.friendsofsnowlibrary.org/lifetime-learning-program. You may also pick up brochures and registration forms at the library. Paper registrations and donations may be mailed in or dropped off at the library.

The Snow Library wants to continually enhance its services, collections, and spaces to better serve the town and our community of users. Your responses to this short survey will provide information that will allow the Library and Board of Trustees to better meet your needs.

Click here to take the survey. It should take 5-10 minutes to complete.

Due to the blizzard conditions expected this weekend, the library building will be closed on Saturday, Jan. 29. Stay safe in the storm.

Due to the heavy snow expected this weekend, the book sale on Jan. 29 has been cancelled.

Today’s book sale (Saturday, Jan. 15) has been cancelled due to the weather.

Effective Friday, Jan. 7, by order of the Orleans Board of Health, masks are now required in all town buildings. For more information, visit https://www.town.orleans.ma.us/home/news/mask-requirement-in-all-municipal-buildings

Story Hour on Thursday, Jan. 6 has been cancelled due to illness.

The parking lot at Snow Library is scheduled for closure beginning Thursday, Jan 6 to facilitate construction related to the town-wide wastewater project. During the planned week-long closure, the parking lot will be off limits to all vehicle traffic. The library itself will remain open to the public.

The lot is expected to reopen on Friday, Jan. 14.

Today’s meeting of the First Tuesday Book Club has been cancelled due to illness. Our next book discussion will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 1.

Due to health concerns that have arisen at the library, the screening of “Nomadland” scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, has been postponed until Wednesday, Jan. 12.

Other movies scheduled for the Wednesday ‘Snow Cinema’ series will be moved back one week. “Respect” will now be shown on Jan. 19, and “News of the World” will be shown on Jan. 26.

Come to the library at 2 p.m. every Wednesday in January and see a feature film on the big screen in the Craine Gallery. The movie series kicks off with a screening of “Nomadland” (R) starring Frances McDormand on Jan. 5, followed by the Aretha Franklin biopic “Respect” (PG13) on Jan. 12, “News of the World” starring Tom Hanks on Jan. 19, and “Dear Evan Hansen” (PG13) on Jan. 26.

Masks are required for attendance. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Our annual Gingerbread House Making returned to the library’s Craine Room on Saturday, Dec. 11, when children gathered over tubs of frosting and platefuls of colorful candy to build and decorate their own little edible homes. Take-home kits were offered to those who weren’t quite ready or able to join us in person. See a photo gallery of the gingerbread houses, and their makers, here.

Beginning Monday, Dec. 20, ongoing construction work will cause periodic disruptions to library parking, including temporary restrictions on access to the rear parking lot. Check back for updates.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Linda Gordon, longtime library assistant at Snow Library, who died on Friday, Nov. 19.

A familiar face at our circulation desk since 1988, Linda was a gifted and shrewd librarian, highly dedicated to her work and esteemed in our community for her knowledge and love of books and art. She was also a caring and thoughtful co-worker. She will be greatly missed.

Services will be held at Nickerson Funeral Home at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 22, followed by internment at the Orleans Cemetery at noon. Service attendees must be vaccinated and masked. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sierra Club, Friends of Snow Library, or the Homeless Prevention Council in Orleans.

Her obituary is reprinted below.

The final week of Lifetime Learning's fall session begins on Nov. 15 and will include the following nine courses:

On Monday, Nov. 15 from 1:30 to 3 p.m., Ian Ives, director of Mass Audubon’s Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary, presents a one-class course titled "Magnificent Ospreys." Discover ospreys' amazing abilities and learn how they recovered from the DDT years. This course is a hybrid. …

The seventh week of the Lifetime Learning Fall session beginning on November 8 will include the following six courses:

Monday afternoon, November 8 from 1:30 - 4:00, Marc Strauss presents the fourth and final in a four-class course called Classic Films Noir. In this class, Professor Strauss will introduce and show Lady in the Lake (1947). A discussion of the film will follow the screening. …

The sixth week of the Lifetime Learning Fall session beginning on Nov. 1 will include the following nine courses:

On Monday, Nov. 1 from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Marc Strauss presents the third in his four-part course on "Classic Films Noir." In this class, Professor Strauss will introduce and show "The Big Sleep"(1946). A discussion of the film will follow the screening. This course is Zoom only and will not be recorded.

On Tuesday, Nov. 2 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Russ Leng, political science professor at Middlebury College, presents the first in a three-part course. "WW II: Reflections and Lessons." The first class explores "The Rise of Fascism in the 1920s and 30s: Could This Happen Here?" This course is Zoom only. …

The fifth week of the Lifetime Learning Fall session beginning on October 25 will include the following eight courses:

On Monday afternoon from 1:30 to 4 p.m., Marc Strauss presents the second in a four-part course on "Classic Films Noir." Film noir is a term that describes stylish Hollywood crime dramas, emphasizing cynical attitudes and motivations, and filmed in black and white. In this class, Professor Strauss will introduce and show "Murder, My Sweet (1944)." . . .