Many a trip has been ruined by poor packing decisions– if you have ever hauled a bulging bag through several countries only to find that you were still without a workable outfit, help is at hand. Travel consultant Janis Jacox presents “Packing Smart” Wednesday, June 18 at 7:00 p.m. Learn how to pack for a three-week vacation or business trip using one carry-on suitcase! Get packing lists, tips for choosing luggage, and current information on dealing with airport security requirements. 

Coming soon!

1st Annual Books on Wine Festival

Wednesday, June 25 @ 6pm

6 pm - Open house with refreshments in the Wine Library. Peruse dozens of new wine-related books on cooking, travel, vinification, and more. 

7 pm - Featured authors make their presentations.

A Moveable Thirst by Rick Kushman & Hank Beal;

Small Plates, Perfect Wines, Creating Little Dishes with Big Flavors by Lori Lyn Narlock;

Hip Tastes: the Fresh Guide to Wine by Courtney Cochran;

New Classic Winemakers of California: Conversations with Steve Heimoff  by Steve Heimoff;

The Art of the Terroir: A Portrait of California Vineyards by George Rose & Rod Smith

Bring yourself, your friends, your family––and your appetite to the library’s parking lot. A variety of picnic fare will be available for purchase from local restaurants and stores. The St. Helena Community Band will perform beginning at 7:30. The event is free to the community. Proceeds from food and beverages (and concurrent book sale) will benefit the Friends of the Library.

coming soon!

June 18^th—Are you planning a trip? Don’t know what to pack? Learn to maximize space in your carry-on bags and suitcases when travel consultant and packing expert Janis Jacox presents “Packing Smart” with tips on how to get organized for your trip, what to pack, and how to get the most out of limited suitcase space.  

June 25th–First Annual Books on Wine Festival—Join us as we celebrate contributions to the wine literary field from the 2007 publishing year. The evening will include an open house with refreshments and presentations from five authors. Books will be available for purchase and signing.  Featured titles:A Moveable Thirst by Rick Kushman & Hank Beal; Small Plates, Perfect Wines: Creating Little Dishes with Big Flavors by Lori Lyn Narlock; Hip Tastes: The Fresh Guide to Wine by Courtney Cochran; New Classic Winemakers of California: Conversations with Steve Heimoff by Steve Heimoff; The Art of the Terroir: A Portrait of California Vineyards by George Rose & Rod Smith. Sponsored by the Napa Valley Wine Library Association. The event is free, and no reservations are required.

July 2nd–Film Night: Join us as we screen Eat Drink, Man Woman.

Rep. Thompson is a member of the House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee, and he chairs an Intelligence subcommittee.

As St. Helena’s representative, the library has asked Thompson to speak specifically about the current situation in Iraq and his efforts to end the war there, the state of the national budget and the drive for fiscal responsibility (he is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition). and the ongoing fight to protect America’s natural resources. This event is part of an ongoing Forum series, which strives to keep citizens informed about various government issues and activities. The event is free; no reservations are required.

Classical guitarist Peter Fletcher will treat library patrons to the same performance he gave at Carnegie Hall last month. Fletcher’s diverse repertoire spans from the Renaissance period through the 20th century, exploring the works of many composers.

In honor of Children’s Book Week, join us as we discuss Geraldine Brooks’ Pulitzer prize winning novel March, a story inspired by the father character in Little Women and drawn from the journals and letters of Louis May Alcott’s father.

 In Alcott’s Little Women, readers see a perfect, self-sacrificing, loving, close-knit family. This book focuses on the absent father. Brooks creates a picture of his struggle with his not-so-perfect life during his tour of duty as a chaplain on the Civil War battlefields of Virginia.

 For those who loved Little Women this story adds a wonderful dimension to a favorite classic. To all, it is a beautiful love story and tale of a man of principle who must adjust to fit the reality he encounters. 

The weather is heating up and so are the programs at the St. Helena Public Library. As spring draws to a close and we get ready for summer there is much to celebrate and good times to be had by all. The first Wednesday of every month is always “Film Night” at the library and even though it will be light outside until late, we’ll lower the lights indoors to enjoy a special selection for Cinco de Mayo. On siete de Mayo (May 7, that is) we will screen the movie El Violin (The Violin).

This film, the most internationally awarded Mexican film in history, tells the story of Don Plutarco. Plutarco, his son Genaro and his grandson Lucio live a double life: on one hand they are musicians and humble farmers, on the other they also support the campesino guerilla movement’s armed efforts against the oppressive government. When the military seizes the village, the rebels flee to the sierra hills, forced to leave behind their stock of ammunition. While the guerillas organize a counter-attack, old Plutarco executes his own plan. He plays up his appearance as a harmless violin player, and makes it back into the military-occupied village to try to recuperate the ammunition hidden in his corn field. His violin playing charms the army captain, who orders Plutarco to come back daily, consequently developing a relationship in which arms and music play a tenuous game of cat-and-mouse, which ultimately results in painful betrayal. The film is in Spanish and will be shown with English subtitles.

Join us as we watch the movie The Golden Compass.

After overhearing a shocking secret, precocious orphan Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) trades her carefree existence roaming the halls of Jordan College for an otherworldly adventure in the far North, unaware that it’s part of her destiny. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Sam Elliott co-star in this fantasy-laden family adventure based on the first book of the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials.

This movie is rated PG-13 so kids must have a parent or guardian’s permission to watch.

You’re song,

A wished-for song.

Go through the ear to the center,

Where sky is, where wind, where

Silent knowing.

Put seeds and cover them.

Blades will sprout

Where you do your work.

––Rumi, as translated

    by Coleman Barks

Bring your own or a favorite poem that speaks to what SPRING means to you

(three-minute time limit per selection).

  Or come to enjoy listening to others read.

  Or pick out a poem to read from our

selection of SPRING poems.

This event is in celebration of

National Poetry Month.

In honor of National Arbor Day, join our panel of tree lovers and experts to showcase St. Helena’s legacy of Heritage Trees. The panel will take you on a photo tour, explaining what heritage trees are and where they are located. Self-guided maps will be provided.

Wednesday, April 16 at 7 p.m. the St. Helena Public Library will host a National Issues Forum discussion on alternative energy solutions: “Energy Problem, Choices for an Uncertain Future.” America’s way of life seems threatened by unstable sources of energy, while many see growing evidence of environmental damage.  As demands for energy escalate, both in this country and in rapidly developing nations, we may soon reach a point of no return.  It is time to face the difficult choices that must be made to ensure a sustainable future. This discussion invites people to consider three approaches: reducing our dependence on foreign energy, getting out of the fossil-fuel predicament, and reducing our demand for energy. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard on a problem that has both local and global implications.

National Issues Forums (NIF) is a nonpartisan, nationwide network of locally sponsored public forums for the consideration of public policy issues. The purpose of the forums is to provide a neutral space where people can come together for deliberative public dialogue about common problems and concerns. These forums offer citizens the opportunity to join together to reflect on options and make choices with others about ways to approach difficult issues and to work toward creating reasoned public judgment.

Forums provide a way for people of diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of the problem and to search for common ground for action. The forum at the Library will be led by Carole Patterson, a trained, neutral moderator who will frame the issues by presenting the overall problem and differing options for solutions. Forum participants work through the issue by considering each approach; examining what appeals to them or concerns them, and also what the costs, consequences, and trade offs may be that would be incurred in following that approach. Come be a part of the discussion and hear what others have to say. 

For more information call 963-5244.