“Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement” Event

Columbus Public Library in collaboration with The Virtual Project will be hosting a virtual music and lecture event on Friday, January 29 presented by world-renowned flautist Galen Abdur-Razzaq. He will examine the influence of jazz on the civil rights movement. The event begins at 6:30pm and will be about an hour in length.

Galen Abdur-Razzaq has lectured and performed at colleges and universities across the country on the topic of the history of jazz, its historical significance and its most influential contributors. He is also a performer, teacher, and composer of classical and chamber music.

This event is conducted online via Zoom. You may use a smart phone, tablet, or computer to attend this virtual event. Please register for the event here, a link to the event will be emailed to you the day of the event. This event is free and open to the public. All are welcome.

 This event is brought to you by The Virtual Project, a collaboration between several Columbia County libraries to bring virtual programing to library patrons.

The Winter Reading Program is Here!

The Winter Reading Challenge is here! The Waddle Your Way Through a Good Book winter reading challenge for all ages starts January 21st and goes until February 28th. We are using Beanstack to track reading as we did for the summer reading program. If you haven't made an account on Beanstack yet, you can do so at the link below and then register for the challenge. Beanstack users from this past summer can just log in and register for the challenge. Register now by clicking here and start logging your reading!

Library Offering Adult Piano Lessons in the New Year

Learn something new in the new year!

Did you always want to learn how to play the piano, but didn’t do it when you were younger? Do you wish you had paid more attention to those lessons Mom made you take when you were 12? Is Granny’s piano sitting in a corner gathering dust? Or do you just want to be able to pick out a melody and harmonize it at the piano without studying four years of music theory?

No matter your level of familiarity with the piano, you are invited to attend the Columbus Public Library’s online Adult Beginning Piano course. This is a fully hands-on, no-nonsense approach to learning to play the piano like a grown-up. For three weeks each in January and in February, we will offer two sets of beginning piano lessons for adults:

Set I lessons - Jan. 8, 15, and 22, 4:00-5:00pm
and
Set II lessons - Feb. 12, 19, and 26 , 4:00-5:00pm

The library will have six portable keyboards available to check out, or you may use your own electric keyboard or piano. The library will also provide easy-to-follow instructional materials to accompany the online lessons with music teacher Catherine Walters Brick.

All you need is a smart phone, tablet, or computer to follow along with the online instruction. You do not need to know how to read music, although it will be helpful if you remember some of it.

To participate, you must register. Please click here to register. For questions or details on how to check out the keyboards, call the library at 920-623-5910 and ask for Catherine.

Snow Build and Story Contest

Between December 1 through February 28 when it snows, make a snow creation and a short creative story about your creation. Submit your story and a picture of your creation for a chance to win fun prizes. Submit photos and an original story about your creations to bethany@columbuspubliclibrary.info from until February 28th. We will be creating a photo slideshow of all our entries to share on social media, and we will announce winners during the first week of March. Winning photos will be featured on our website with their stories, and there will be prizes awarded to the top entry in four category. Limit of 4 entries per person/family. One entry per packable snowfall.

Library will be by Appointments Only

Due to the increase in local cases of COVID-19, the Columbus Public Library will adjust our services and hours of operation until further notice.

Beginning Monday, November 16, access to the library building will be allowed by appointment only to use technology services including: library computers, wi-fi, printing, faxing and scanning. Appointments to browse the library collection in the building will also be available.

We will return to curbside pickup only for reserved books. When notified that a reserved book has come in, patrons will need to call the library and schedule a pick-up appointment. Books will be held in the James Street vestibule of the library in a package marked with the patron’s name at the scheduled time.

Appointments will be available the following dates and times:

Monday - Thursday:  9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 7 PM

Friday:  9-1 and 2-5

Saturday: 9-1

Patrons will need to call ahead to schedule all pick-up and on-site appointments. 

The Columbus Public Library phone number is 920-623-5910.

Sign-Up Guidelines for Virtual Programs

Currently, all of our programs for all age groups are taking place virtually. This may continue to be the case for some time.

As the world moves toward a more virtual reality, at least for the time being, we need to ensure that our patrons are accessing our virtual programs safely.

  1. All Columbus Public Library programs are free and open to the public. We never charge a fee of any kind for our events.
  2. The only way to sign up for a virtual event for our library is by signing up in a Google doc in a link directly from our website or the body of the event description on our Facebook page. It would never be in a comment to that event.

Scammers post fake links for a LIVE STREAM or LIVE LINK to events in the comments section of the post to make it seem as if it is part of the event. It is not. They want your credit card information. The Columbus Public Library would never ask for that information under any circumstances.

Chad Lewis Event Recording

We had some unexpected technical difficulties during the September 30, 2020 virtual program featuring paranormal research Chad Lewis. However, we did record the event.  Chad Lewis is as generous as he is entertaining, and he is allowing us to rebroadcast the event's presentation at will so that all of you may have the opportunity to enjoy it. A video recording of the event can be viewed on the library's YouTube page, click here to watch the video.

Chad Lewis is a researcher, author, and lecturer on topics of the strange and unusual. His background is in Psychology as he did both his Bachelor and Master degree work in the field- but for the last 20 plus years he has traveled the globe in search of unique and bizarre stories and history. He has also writen several books about hauntings, monsters, myths and lore.

Columbus Public Library is Now on YouTube!

We are excited to announce that the Columbus Public Library now has its own YouTube channel! Find us on YouTube by searching for Columbus Public Library WI. Then follow us
by liking and subscribing to our page. You can also choose to get a notification when a new video is posted.

There will be weekly program videos posted for ages 5 and up, weekly Storytimes, and monthly adult crafting videos. We may also post fun videos about upcoming programs and library news. 

This is a great alterative for those who do not use other social media sites to still have access to our instructional videos and storytimes. Videos will still be shared on Facebook for those who prefer to watch through that site.

Click here to visit the Columbus Public Library's YouTube page.

* Storytime videos will only be availble for viewing for one week.

How to Place Holds for Curbside Pick Up

The Columbus Public Library is still offering curbside pickup.

Our newest library staff member Bethany has created a helpful video to walk you through how to use our online catalog Linkcat to find items that are currently available at the Columbus Public Library and how to place them on hold for pickup. The tutorial can be viewed by clicking here. Holds are being transferred between libraries. The time frame for holds to reach their destination is longer than normal due to safety precautions being taken by delivery and the libraries.

If you are having difficulties placing holds through the online system or the form, please contact the library at 920-623-5910 and a staff member can assist you with your requests.

Library staff will contact you when your holds are ready to schedule a time for curbside pickup.

Subscribe to Front page feed