Join us on Mondays at 10:30 am for Story Time at The Community Library. Story Time is best suited for preschool age children. Story Time is followed by a special craft in the Children's Library. No unattended children in the Library, please.
The Future of Our Forests: A Talk with Dieter Fenkart-Froeschl As economies evolve and technology reshapes industries, America faces new questions about the role of natural spaces and public lands. With growing interest in domestic production like manufacturing, mining, and timber harvesting we're being called to rethink the value and purpose of these shared resources. Join Dieter Fenkart-Froeschl, President & CEO of the National Forest Foundation, for a compelling talk on the history of public lands and the current challenges facing our National Forests. Learn how the Foundation is driving innovation, scalable solutions, and community partnerships to ensure healthy, resilient forests that support sustainable local economies. Registration is recommended to attend in person.
A Community Speaker Series event, in partnership with the Sun Valley Writers Conference. Registration is required to attend. When Pamela Churchill Harriman died in 1997, she was often written off as a courtesan and social climber known for her glamorous life and many erotic adventures. But in her delicious and comprehensive new biography, prize-winning author Sonia Purnell helps set the record straight in the captivating story of a woman who was at the center of power over five decades and two continents. In conversation with The Community Library's director of programs and education, Martha Williams, Purnell will share the details of Harriman’s glittery and strategic life: how at age 20, as Churchill’s beloved daughter-in-law, she became a “secret weapon” during World War II, and how, later in the United States, she hand-picked Bill Clinton and helped propel him to the presidency.
Join us on Mondays at 10:30 am for Story Time at The Community Library. Story Time is best suited for preschool age children. Story Time is followed by a special craft in the Children's Library. No unattended children in the Library, please.
A Community Speaker Series event, in partnership with the Sun Valley Writers Conference. Registration required. Ruth Reichl, one of our best-known and most well-loved food writers, is the author of five memoirs, including Tender at the Bone and Save Me the Plums. She is also a captivating novelist, and, as you might imagine, her fiction is full of many sensory pleasures. In her delightful new book, The Paris Novel, the protagonist Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” But Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has confined her to the strict routines of her comfort zone. Reichl will talk to The Community Library's executive director, Jenny Emery Davidson, about this novel that celebrates the city she adores and the many reasons for living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home. Photo credit: Shannon Greer.
Join us on Mondays at 10:30 am for Story Time at The Community Library. Story Time is best suited for preschool age children. Story Time is followed by a special craft in the Children's Library. No unattended children in the Library, please.
"Hero Redefined" with Doug Levy and Gabriele Andersen-Schiess In Hero Redefined: Profiles of Olympic Athletes Under the Radar, author Doug Levy shares the inspiring stories of 13 Olympic athletes from across six continents, revealing that true heroism often happens away from the spotlight. One featured athlete is Gabriele Andersen-Schiess, a longtime Wood River Valley resident who famously competed for Switzerland in the 1984 Olympic Women’s Marathon in Los Angeles. The book also highlights unsung Olympic stories, including the grassroots effort to bring the 1960 Winter Games to Squaw Valley and the revival of a war-damaged luge and bobsled track from the 1984 Winter Games. Doug and Gabriele will join us in person to discuss the book, Gabriele’s Olympic journey, and how everyday acts of resilience and dedication define real heroism. Registration is recommended to attend in person. The recording will also be available later in our Event Archive.
Join us on Mondays at 10:30 am for Story Time at The Community Library. Story Time is best suited for preschool age children. Story Time is followed by a special craft in the Children's Library. No unattended children in the Library, please.
Churchill and de Gaulle: Allies in War, Rivals in History Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were towering figures of the 20th century leaders who embodied their nations and helped liberate Europe from fascism during World War II. Though united in purpose, the two men often clashed, their relationship marked by both fierce disagreement and deep mutual respect. Their story is one of complex personalities and historic decisions that continue to shape our world today. Join popular Community Library presenters Lee Pollock, Director and Senior Advisor to the Board of The International Churchill Society, and Marc Onetto, a French-born history enthusiast based in Seattle and Sun Valley, as they delve into the riveting dynamic between Churchill and de Gaulle. Registration is recommended to attend in person. To watch online (no registration needed), visit: https://vimeo.com/event/5130454/1bb85fde72 The recording will be available afterward in our Event Archive.
The Community Library Book Club The Community Library Book Club meets on the first Wednesday of every other month and is led by a diverse rotation of library staff. The club explores books across all genres from new fiction and classics to nonfiction, young adult, graphic novels, and more. The August Book Club pick is The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor. This acclaimed debut novel tells the interconnected stories of seven Black women living in a rundown urban neighborhood, offering a poignant, powerful portrait of resilience, hope, and the bonds of community. The discussion will be led by the Library’s Executive Director, Jenny Emery Davidson. Go to The Community Library website to join the club!
Animals use a dizzying array of sounds, smells, colors, dances, electrical fields and seismic vibrations to convince each other to mate. These elaborate courtship signals were a mystery until Darwin’s time—after proposing his theory of natural selection, Darwin was left with the question of how the flamboyant peacock could be shaped by the same process that makes the peahen so perfectly camouflaged. There is now strong support for Darwin’s answer to this question, the process he termed sexual selection, proposing that the courting sex must be elaborate because the courted sex demands it. But how can we study the conversations males and females in non-human animals have about mating? One way to do this is to participate, controlling one side of the conversation with a robot. Gail Patricelli, a professor of evolution and ecology from the University of California Davis, will talk about using robotic females and other technology to study courtship behaviors in the greater sage-grouse, and how such research informs conservation of this iconic North American bird and its habitat. Registration recommended to join us in person, and registration required to receive the Vimeo link to watch online.
Join us on Mondays at 10:30 am for Story Time at The Community Library. Story Time is best suited for preschool age children. Story Time is followed by a special craft in the Children's Library. No unattended children in the Library, please.
