As part of our ongoing Strategic Planning Initiative, the Robeson County Public Library is conducting a survey to determine how well we are providing library services to our local residents. The survey is available online at www.robesoncountylibrary.org or you can fill out a paper copy at any of our libraries. Surveys will also be available at the annual book sale on Thursday through Saturday.

If you would like to participate and do not have access to a survey, call the library at 910-738-4859 and we will send you a copy.

The Friends of the Library’s book sale preparations are underway. The sale will be held in the Osterneck Auditorium during the following hours: Thursday from 5 to 8:30 pm, Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 pm, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. There are thousands of books available for you to choose from, including many new fiction books by famous authors. Come early for the best selections. All money raised by the book sale will help to support the library.

Members of the community are invited to join the Friends of the Library. Memberships are $25 for individuals, $50 for families and $100 or more for a patron-level sponsorship. Any other donations will be gladly accepted.

As of this writing, more than 50 people are taking advantage of Pronunciator, an online language-learning program available free through the library website to anyone who has a Robeson County Library card. This program also provides an excellent opportunity for non-English speakers to learn English as a second language. So if you want to learn a new language or would just like to hear phrases pronounced in Bulgarian, go online and try it. It’s easy.

We will be teaching the following computer classes for adults this month on Tuesday mornings at 10 a.m.: An Intro to Word 2007 on Tuesday; Email Basics on Oct. 16; Computer Basics on Oct. 23; and Internet Basics on Oct. 30. The computer classes are intended for individuals with little or no computer experience. Class size is limited and registration is required. To register, call 910-738-4859. Classes are held at the main branch in Lumberton.

In November the library will resume the Knit/Crochet club. Bring any project you are working on for a social hour of stitching and sharing. The club will meet in the Osterneck Auditorium at 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoons. We hope you can join in.

Catie Roche is the director of the Robeson County Public Library. You can reach her at croche@robesoncountylibrary.org. Catie is reading “NW” by Zadie Smith.