January 2026 Bookends
The new year is off and running at the library! The Adult Winter Reading program is in full swing until March 28th. Pick up a reading record at the library to track how much time you read (books, magazine, audiobooks, etc.) and earn local gift cards for great treats like coffee and chocolate.
If you’ve got a new year’s resolution to improve your health, join our Adult Wellness Series with Dr. Ed Hunt, jointly sponsored with the Custer County Wellness Council. It’s offered on alternating Tuesdays at 10 am. January 20th the topic is muscles and the skeletal system. February 3, the conversation will be about the nervous system. February 17, find out all about the circulatory and lymphatic systems. No registration is required: just come and learn. (If you can’t make any of those programs/times, they will be on our YouTube channel to watch later.)
On Wednesday, February 4, at 4:15 p.m., families and kids are invited to a special event with Aaron Johnson, the Westcliffe author of the popular middle-grade National Park Mystery Series. Mr. Johnson has been both a backcountry guide and a middle and high school teacher. His exciting books combine adventure and a passion for learning about the natural world, and start in Colorado’s own Rocky Mountain National Park. Adult readers looking for stories of true adventure in our nation’s great parks may be interested in the similar Mysteries of the National Parks geared for adults. Author Mike Besemek relates 35 stories of “baffling disappearances, unexplained phenomena, and more.” Also of interest might be the memoir by former national park ranger Andrea Lankford, Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, and Dying in the National Parks. Both books are available on our shelves.
If creativity is on your list for 2026, how about a way to save your very favorite-but-worn-out clothes? Sign up for the Creative Mending class on Tuesday, February 10 from 10 am to noon. Shannon Proctor will be introducing a basic hand stitch and inspiring you with fun, creative, and relaxing ways to bring new life to your best-loved clothing items. The class is free but registration is required. Bring an item you’d like to work on repairing. After you get a feel for the basics, the library can support your ongoing mending journey with a couple of great titles in our non-fiction section. Well Worn: Visible Mending for Clothes You Love by Sky Pennant and Creative Mending by Hikaru Noguchi can keep you stitching (and extend the life of your favorite pieces)!
And if you’re in the mood for a musical boost, come down for the Hayseeds Instrument Library Bluegrass Jam on Friday, February 6 from 4-6 p.m. in the Community Room. Bring your instrument, including your voice, and enjoy the local talent.
For information about these events or all the other things going on at the library, visit our website www.westcusterlibrary.org or call us at 783-9138.