Publication Date: September, 2018
Sequim Gazette
Columnist: Emily Sly, Library Manager

Today is the first day back to school for students in Sequim. Whether you’re young or young at heart, the library supports opportunities for lifelong learning.

Children, tweens, young adults, grown-ups, and retirees can all access an assortment of free library resources for learning, growing, and nurturing curiosity about the world, whether you’re learning the ukulele or learning to read.

Early literacy skills are cultivated at library storytimes for young children. Weekly storytimes start on Tuesday, September 18 at 6pm, the first of a 5-week Evening Storytime series. Preschool and Wiggly Storytimes will be offered at 10:30am on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Books, magazines, DVDs, and audiobooks are, of course, available for check-out. You might check out a telescope, birding kit, musical instrument (offered in partnership with Joyful Noise Music Center), or geocaching kit at the Sequim Branch.

If you’re preparing for the Washington driver’s license written exam, you’ll find practice tests available for free through driving-test.org available on the library’s Online Resources page at www.nols.org. Practice tests include driver’s license, motorcycle license, and CDL exams.

Lynda.com has over 6,000 online courses with more than 130,000 instructional videos geared toward business, technology and creative fields – even ukulele! Topics include Software Development, Design, Business, Web Development, Photography and Marketing. With a NOLS library card, you can access all of these courses for free through nols.org.

Learning to read takes time and practice. The library offers a diverse collection of Early Reader books geared toward children learning to read and also offers an Adult Literacy Collection of books geared toward adults improving their skills.

Brush up on your Spanish, French, Arabic, Italian, German or Russian with a language learning program on audio CD, or explore the online language learning platform Duolingo to learn these languages and more.

DIY project ideas are endless. Here are a few books that will walk you through a project from start to finish: Modern Macrame: 33 Stylish Projects for Your Handmade Home by Emily Katz, Stitch Camp: 18 Crafty Projects for Kids & Tweens by Nicole Blum & Catherine Newman, or Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop by Nick Offerman.

The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices Into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn will build your confidence in the kitchen. And finally, with so many great things to learn, here’s a book that can help you find the time: Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam.

Getting a library card is free and provides access to all of the library’s online resources, in addition to all the great things available for checkout! To sign up, bring your ID and stop by the Sequim Branch Library to talk to friendly library staff. For more information, visit www.nols.org, or call 360.683.1161. The Library is located at 630 N. Sequim Ave.