We also have a significant milestone to celebrate.

January started with the very pleasant task of passing on almost 100 boxes of food to the Salvation Army thanks to another successful Food for Fines Campaign. Food for Fines is held annually in the lead-up to Christmas and allows library members to donate non-perishable food items as “payment” for their fines.

Boxes of food are now on their way to people in our community who need them the most. Thanks to the generosity of the Wagga Wagga City Council and our library community.

One of the great successes of 2018, Language Café, has recommenced. Language Café classes assist residents who have English as their second or sometimes third language to strengthen their conversational English language skills with the assistance of trained volunteers.

Language Café is free and takes place in the library’s Community Learning Space every Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Volunteers are always welcome and we are currently seeking the expertise of ESL or English Teachers. If this sounds like you, please contact the library for more details.

Need to brush up on your computing skills? Tech Savvy Seniors will be returning in 2019. From mastering the internet to using smartphones, tablets or shopping online, Tech Savvy Seniors is not just about teaching you how to use your gadget: it is about using technology to enhance social engagement with friends and family. Tech Savvy Seniors is a partnership between Telstra, the NSW Government and community organisations such as libraries, providing free technology training to older people across NSW.

Storytime will recommence on January 30. For all the story-timers who are off to school this year we are going to miss you, so make sure you come and visit to borrow graded readers, books on the Premiers Reading Challenge or any of the fantastic fact books in our Junior Hot Picks.

For One Book One Wagga in 2019 we have an exciting story set right here in the Riverina. This year’s novel Scrublands is a compulsive thriller that will haunt you long after you have turned the final page.  This is the first time a crime novel has featured in One Book One Wagga, and we will be launching the reading season at Date Night (or as we like to call it, Library Lovers Day) on February 14.

This year the library will celebrate 20 years at our current site. You may remember our official opening on February 12, 1999, when local guitarist/composer Roger Pell was commissioned to write a piece of music for the occasion. Since then the library has welcomed over three million visitors and we look forward to welcoming many more in 2019.