Josephine Community Library District

CLOSED | All branches
2024-11-28 - 2024-11-29 | All branches
All branches are closed in observance of Thanksgiving. We will resume regular hours on Saturday, November 30.

Computer Basics Drop-in Lab
2024-12-05 14:00 - 15:30, 2024-12-19 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-01-02 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-01-16 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-01-30 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-02-13 14:00 - 15:30, 2025-02-27 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Offsite
Drop in to the WorkSource Oregon computer Lab twice a month to boost your computer skills with an instructor from Josephine Community Library. Practice using the internet, learn how to copy/paste, try uploading and downloading, and more. This free, hands-on program is open to all — no library card or WorkSource Oregon enrollment needed.
Classes are from 2–3:30 pm every other Thursday in the computer lab at WorkSource Oregon, 1569 NE F St. Grants Pass, OR 97526. Registration is not required — space is limited.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon.
Schedule:
October 17 | Intro to Computers and Windows
October 31 | Files, folders, and online storage
November 14 | Using Internet and Internet Safety
December 5 | Email Setup and Use
December 19 | Word and Excel
January 2 | Google Suite
January 16 | Intro to Computers, Keyboard, and Mouse
January 30 | Windows 11, Files, and Folders
February 13 | Using Internet and Internet Safety
February 27 | Email Setup and Use
March 13 | Microsoft Word/Excel
March 27 | Google Suite
April 10 | Intro to Computers, Keyboard, and Mouse
April 24 | Windows 11, Files, and Folders
May 8 | Using Internet and Internet Safety
May 22 | Email Setup and Use
June 5 | Google Suite

Black Writers of the Founding Era
2024-12-08 15:00 - 16:30 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
Join author and historian James Basker for a special Sunday afternoon book talk and Q&A surrounding his Library of America book, Black Writers of the Founding Era. Featuring more than 120 writers, this anthology reveals the astonishing richness and diversity of the Black experience in the turbulent decades of the American Revolution.
Basker is a proud graduate of Grants Pass High School, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and a Richard Gilder professor of literary history at Barnard College, Columbia University.
This program is offered at no charge and open to the public. A library card is not needed to participate.

World War II: Voices of Service exhibit
2024-12-10 - 2025-01-17 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
This Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History exhibition World War II: Voices of Service explores major events of the war through the photographs, letters, and oral histories of everyday Americans. From the attack on Pearl Harbor through the GI Bill, this traveling exhibition provides an overview of important events on the battlefield and the home front.
This exhibition was funded through a grant from the Veterans Legacy Grant Program. Each panel highlights the experiences of men and women interred in National Cemeteries with a special Soldier Spotlight. The exhibition commemorates WWII Veterans and Service members through the discovery and sharing of their stories, reminding viewers that it was individual Americans from all walks of life whose service and sacrifice led to Allied victory.

Holiday Caroling with Rogue Singers
2024-12-21 14:30 - 15:30 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
Community members of all ages are invited to join us to create warm memories with holiday caroling at the Grants Pass branch on Saturday, December 21. Experience the joy of the season with local a cappella choir, Rogue Singers.
This program is offered at no charge and a library card is not necessary to participate.

Closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas
2024-12-24 - 2024-12-25 | All branches
All four library branches will be closed on Tuesday, December 24 and Wednesday, December 25.

Williams book club
2024-12-28 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-01-25 12:00 - 13:00, 2025-02-22 12:00 - 13:00 | Williams, 158 Tetherow Rd, Williams, OR, 97544, United States
Join the monthly Williams Book Club the last Saturday of every month from 12–1 pm at the Williams branch.
From gripping plot twists to heartwarming characters, participants can unravel the wonders of literature together. Explore what you love about the books you’re reading or the ones you’ve recently finished.
This program is offered at no charge and a library card is not necessary to participate.

Closed for New Years
2025-01-01 | All branches
All four library branches will be closed on Wednesday, January 1 in observance of New Years.

Virtues and Obligations
2025-01-07 17:30 - 19:00, 2025-01-14 17:30 - 19:00, 2025-01-21 17:30 - 19:00 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
Civic Behavior From Yesterday—for Today
Join former Oregon Teacher of the Year Lois MacMillan for a three-part series exploring classical virtues and civic responsibilities. Drawing from Jeffrey Rosen’s The Pursuit of Happiness and Richard Haas’ The Bill of Obligations, participants will examine values like temperance, humility, and justice, and the common good. Open to teens and adults, this program blends history and civic engagement to inspire personal and community well-being.
This program is offered at no charge and open to the public. A library card is not needed to participate.
Lois serves on the National Council of History Education and has participated in fellowships with Monticello, Ford’s Theatre, James Madison, and the Pulitzer Center.
Schedule:
Temperance, Humility, Sincerity | Tuesday, January 7 | 5:30–7 pm | Grants Pass branch
Industry, Resolution, Moderation | Tuesday, January 14 | 5:30–7 pm | Grants Pass branch
Tranquility, Silence, Justice | Tuesday, January 21 | 5:30–7 pm | Grants Pass branch
Recommended reading
January 7 Books in the Presentation:

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence by David Waldstreicher
The Trials of Phillis Wheatley: America’s First Black Poet and Her Encounters with the Founding Fathers by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
John Adams by David McCullough
Abigail Adams: A Life by Woody Holton

January 14 Books in the Presentation:

1776 by David McCullough
A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic by Francis Cogliano
Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778 by Ricardo Herrera
Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fisher
Washington at the Plow by Bruce Ragsdale
Madison’s Hand: Revising the Constitutional Convention by Mary Sarah Bilder
March Book One, Two, and Three Graphic Novels by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis by Jabari Asim
His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope by Jon Meacham
Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America by John Lewis

January 21 Books in the Presentation:

James Traub’s John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit
Marcus Rediker’s The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom
Caleb Bingham’s The Columbian Orator
Richard Carwardine’s Lincoln’s Sense of Humor
John Stauffer’s Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
David Blight’s Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom
James Oakes’ The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics
James Oakes’ Crooked Path to Abolition: Abraham Lincoln and the Antislavery Constitution
John Stauffer’s Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century’s Most Photographed American
Diane McWhorter’s Carry Me Home Birmingham Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution
Glenn Eskew’s But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle
Melvin Urofsky’s Louis D. Brandeis: A Life
Jeffrey Rosen’s Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet
Jeffrey Rosen’s Conversations with RGB: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law

Welcome to Computers: Ebooks and audiobooks
2025-01-25 11:00 - 12:00 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
Join us from 11 am–12 pm on Saturday, January 25 to learn how to download ebooks and audiobooks using your library card with a live demonstration at the Grants Pass branch. Bring your own device — whether it’s a laptop, smartphone, iPad, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, or other wireless device — for hands-on assistance setting it up. A limited supply of devices will be available for participants to use during the program.
This program is offered at no charge and open to the public. A library card is not needed to participate.

Free Tax Assistance
2025-02-04 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-02-11 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-02-14 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-02-18 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-02-21 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-02-25 10:30 - 14:30, 2025-02-28 10:30 - 14:30 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
Get help with your tax questions and file for free with Josephine County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) at the library. Appointments are for taxpayers who receive basic documents including W-2, Interest, Dividends, 1099-R, 1099-NEC, or Social Security.
To make an appointment, call JoCo VITA at 541-223-9597 or visit joco-freetaxes.com.
Tuesdays
No computer skills required
Make an appointment with an in-person tax preparer to have them file for you. Bring proof of identity, tax forms, and last year’s return. Pick up submitted tax return a week later.

Fridays
Some computer skills required | Drop-ins welcome
VITA volunteers will help participants who want to file their own taxes setup a profile with TaxSlayer software. Have a tax- related question? Drop in anytime during the program to get answers to questions like “Do I need to file?” or “Who can I claim as a dependent?”

Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek branches closed
2025-02-05 07:00 - 21:00 | All branches
Due to inclement weather, the Illinois Valley, Williams, and Wolf Creek branches are closed today. The Grants Pass branch will remain open during its regular hours.

CANCELED Free Tax Assistance
2025-02-07 10:30 - 14:30 | Grants Pass, 200 NW C Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526, United States
CANCELED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER , FEB. 7, 2025
Get help with your tax questions and file for free with Josephine County Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) at the library. Appointments are for taxpayers who receive basic documents including W-2, Interest, Dividends, 1099-R, 1099-NEC, or Social Security.
To make an appointment, call JoCo VITA at 541-223-9597 or visit joco-freetaxes.com.
Tuesdays
No computer skills required
Make an appointment with an in-person tax preparer to have them file for you. Bring proof of identity, tax forms, and last year’s return. Pick up submitted tax return a week later.

Fridays
Some computer skills required | Drop-ins welcome
VITA volunteers will help participants who want to file their own taxes setup a profile with TaxSlayer software. Have a tax- related question? Drop in anytime during the program to get answers to questions like “Do I need to file?” or “Who can I claim as a dependent?”

All branches closed
2025-02-26 | All branches
All four library branches will be closed for staff training on Wednesday, February 26.
