discover life's possibilities | January

Resources For New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year!

How are your new year’s resolutions going? Having learned that most new year’s resolutions fail within the first month, my strategy this year has been to set as many small goals as possible. I figure that the more goals I make, I must have better odds of accomplishing at least one of them. I’m pretty sure that’s just good statistics, right? Right?!

And lest you think I’m overburdening myself with too many goals, you should know that important to my method this year is that I must phrase them as questions, and nothing is allowed to be too serious. An example of a few of my goals:

-Each time I make soft pretzels, can I twist them into a new shape? Which is the most delicious shape?

-At least once this summer, can I go for a swim in the pond in the rain? (Inspired by this most excellent book).

-How small I can fold an origami moth? (The record so far: about the size of my smallest fingernail. But I bet I can go smaller!)

But enough about me! I want to talk about your goals, because the library is here to help you accomplish your own new year’s resolutions. Today, I wanted to highlight what you might use if you’re looking to improve your technical or professional skills. We have a few resources that can help you reach the next level!

1. If you don't know how to use computers and would like to learn, try Northstar:

Northstar provides online, self-guided assessments of digital skills in 14 areas, focusing on the foundational skills needed to use a computer and the internet in daily life, employment, and higher education. Classes include Basic Computer Skills, Internet Basics, Using Email, Windows, MAC OS, Social Media, Information Literacy, Career Search Skills, Accessing Telehealth Appointments, Your Digital Footprint, and Supporting K-12 Distance Learning.

2. If you are looking to learn a skill to help you get a new job, try the Washington State Library Certification Program:

The Washington State Library now provides access to self-paced learning, practice tests, and free professional certification exams in areas like office and administrative skills, bookkeeping and small business support, and IT help desk and cybersecurity pathways. There is no cost, no eligibility screening, and no prior education required. All someone needs is a library card! Many people are working on rebuilding confidence, restarting employment, or stepping into something new, and they deserve support that honors their pace and their lived experience. This program was created with that in mind.

3. If you are looking to improve your professional or business skills, try LinkedIn Learning:

LinkedIn Learning can inspire anyone to learn the latest software, creative, and business skills. Choose bite-size tutorials or comprehensive courses on hundreds of topics taught by expert instructors. Learning experiences are personalized and self-paced. LinkedIn Learning helps you to keep up to date with technology, build career-boosting business know-how, and explore hundreds of topics in management, leadership, and marketing.

All can be accessed on our A-to-Z database page, and we are available and excited to answer any questions you have!

-Anthony

Anthony Morris

-Assistant Director

-Question-Gatherer

-Answer-Hunter

Currently Reading

NEW BUILDING PROJECT

Coming February 12th, 2026:

Please join the San Juan Island Library at the Brickworks on Thursday, February 12th, from 12pm-7pm, for an open house about the New Library Building Project. The New Library Building Steering Committee will host a special library board meeting where the Library’s architectural consultants will present the new library conceptual designs. These designs, based on the community’s feedback collected during a series of four public meetings held in Fall 2025, will be used to solicit additional comment from the community. Presentations at 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm will review the library’s progress on this project and the next steps.

Opportunities for feedback will be available, and light refreshments served. Come and learn more!

Find more information about the Library Building Project at: https://www.sjlib.org/aboutus/library-building-project/

THE PENNY PINCHER

Featuring popular services paid for by your tax dollars that you can access from the Library at no cost! This month, we are featuring Biblioboard, which enables the library to host digital collections of local art and culture!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Relentless: The Little-known Stories of Four Olympic Heroes with Humanities Washington

Friday, January 23rd, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

What defines heroism—not just in sports, but in life? And what traits help define a hero? Explore the powerful, little-known stories of four Olympic athletes whose journeys reveal profound dimensions of heroism. Learn about perseverance from skier Gabriele Andersen-Schiess, courage from skiier Brian Stemmle, sportsmanship from biathlete Tracy Barnes, and championing human rights from track athlete Peter Norman. Through vivid storytelling and audience reflection, we’ll consider how their lessons on perseverance can inspire our own stories.

Stuffed Animal Story Time

Saturday, January 24th, 3:00pm - 4:00pm

Do you ever wonder what happens in the library at night? Drop off a stuffed animal to sleep over at the library on Thursday or Friday (January 22-23) and come back on Saturday to pick up your buddy and enjoy a pajama storytime!

Storytime will feature a slideshow of the activities and shenanigans that the animals took part in, snacks, books, and songs. Each child will receive one printed photo of their stuffed animal at the sleepover, and a digital copy of the slideshow will be available to all.

This program is made possible by Teen Library Council!

FHFF Best of the Fest Double Feature

Friday, January 30th, 6:00pm-9:00pm

Join us for a powerful evening of documentary film and conversation! Friday Harbor Film Festival’s 2026 Best of the Fest Series kicks off with a free double feature screening of Checkpoint Zoo, winner of the 2025 FHFF Audience Choice Award for Best Overall Documentary, and Lina, winner of the 2025 FHFF Audience Choice Award for Best Overall Short Film, showing at San Juan Island Library.

A meet and greet with Lina filmmaker Silke Johnstone will begin at 6 pm, followed by the films at 6:30. Immediately following the screenings, Silke Johnstone will lead an interactive Q&A. Don’t miss the chance to learn more about the filmmaking process, the real-life events that inspired the films, and the situation in Ukraine. Details are available at fhff.org.

After Hours Lock-In

Friday, February 6th, 6:30pm-10:00pm

Youth in 6th-9th grades, get ready for another After Hours Lock-In! This time we'll have karaoke, crafty supplies, live-action games, board games, snacks, your friends, and more!

All attendees must be registered.

DONATE TO THE LIBRARY

The San Juan Island Library welcomes gifts to support the programs, collections, and services designed to meet the needs of San Juan Islanders, nonprofit partners, and visitors of all ages, that are not met by tax revenue. There are many ways to support your library!

STAFF PICKS

Check out our latest faves!

The Unworthy

by Agustina Bazterrica

From her cell in a mysterious convent, a woman writes the story of her life in whatever she can find--discarded ink, dirt, and even her own blood. A lower member of the Sacred Sisterhood, deemed an unworthy, she dreams of ascending to the ranks of the Enlightened at the center of the convent and of pleasing the foreboding Superior Sister. Outside, the world is plagued by catastrophe--cities are submerged underwater, electricity and the internet are nonexistent, and bands of survivors fight and forage in a cruel, barren landscape. Inside, the narrator is controlled, punished, but safe. But when a stranger makes her way past the convent walls, joining the ranks of the unworthy, she forces the narrator to consider her long-buried past, and what she may be overlooking about the Enlightened.

The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography

by Deborah Levy

To strip the wallpaper off the fairy tale of The Family House in which the comfort and happiness of men and children has been the priority is to find behind it an unthanked, unloved, neglected, exhausted woman. The Cost of Living explores the subtle erasure of women's names, spaces, and stories in the modern everyday. In this living autobiography infused with warmth and humor, Deborah Levy critiques the roles that society assigns to us and reflects on the politics of breaking with the usual gendered rituals. What does it cost a woman to unsettle old boundaries and collapse the social hierarchies that make her a minor character in a world not arranged to her advantage? The Cost of Living is urgent, essential reading, a crystalline manifesto for turbulent times.

Stardust Family

by Aki Poroyama

In the midst of a declining birth rate and rampant reports of child abuse, Japan has required prospective parents to pass a test for the right to conceive. The test's evaluators are children themselves, deliberately behaving badly to provoke couples into an aggressive response and disqualify them on the spot. Hikari is one such evaluator in this system, and he thinks he's seen it all. That is, until he's assigned to the Hirokawa family...

Discover Life's Possibilities
1010 Guard St, Friday Harbor, Washington 98250
(360) 378-2798
https://www.sjlib.org

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