Get Computer Skills @ the Library

Need to upgrade your computer skills?

Wood Library is offering a series of computer classes in January and February to help you start off the new year right. Our Microsoft Office series (compatible with version 2002-2003) is very affordable at $10 per four hours of instruction: Word (word processing), Excel (spreadsheet), and PowerPoint (presentation). A Windows Vista class will be held February 18 from 6pm to 9pm. Call Wood Library at 585-394-1381 for more information. Register in person at the Main Floor Desk.

Above: Wood Library's computer lab in action.

We are also offering two hands-on computer labs:


Computer Lab for Rochester Virtual Job Fair. Drop by the Small Meeting Room on Monday, January 19 from 6pm to 8:30pm to register, upload your resume, get an email address, and job hunt online. Computer tutors will be available to assist. FREE, no registration required. NOTE: The library closes at 5pm for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day but you will still be able to enter at the Ground Floor Door for this program.

Computer Lab for Business Writing. Learn how to create business writing formats such as memos, reports, business letters and e-mails, fax covers, agendas, proposals and more. You will use a laptop computer and eCourse at LearningExpress to practice using these standard business formats. Each student will receive a free digital copy of the text book Getting Down to Business: Successful Writing at Work. You will need typing, basic computer skills, and how to use files and folders. Please reigster at the Main Floor Desk. There is a $5 registration fee. The lab convenes on Saturday, February 28 from 10am to 2pm.

Residents in Wayne, Ontario, Seneca and Yates counties age 18 or over may be eligible for help with the course fee from Finger Lakes Works. Call Finger Lakes Works Geneva at 315-789-1771 or Finger Lakes Lyons 315-946-7270.

Click here for a printable schedule and description of classes.

French Conversation Cafe

Starts Monday November 3, 2008 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Ginny Blackwell is back with the French Conversation Cafe! Learn, talk, socialize over a pot-luck meal. Four Mondays, November 3, 10, 17, and 24. Open to all levels and ages -- adults and highschoolers. Limited to 10. $20 holds your place in the class. Call 585-394-1381 to register or drop by the Main Floor Desk. Send your check to "Wood Library" c/o Barbara Henry, 134 N. Main St., Canandaigua, NY 14424.

Ginny says, "I have always loved foreign languages, especially the 'French spoken word'. For some reason I cared little about grammar or proficiency and just carried on as if I knew my “p’s & q’s”. French Conversation Café is a continuation of this attitude that if we remove the fear factor and combine it with fun, food, and practice, you will emerge with a new found love for the spoken word and perhaps, the sense that the joy of the language outweighs any anxiety to speak perfectly! Alors, amusez-vous bien!"

Facilitator Ginny Blackwell has a BA in French Education and an MBA in International Business. She currently owns a web-based business where she networks with clients worldwide to offer affordable vacation ownership options in France. She visits France often.

Free Investment Classes Online

Gas prices got you down? Worried about the economy? Stay home and get informed. Take a free financial class online. On Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, you are invited to take a free online class "Smart Investing @ Your Library: Planning Decade by Decade." A second online class, "Smart Investing @ Your Library: Risks and Rewards (Asset Allocation)" will be held Thursday, September 25, 2008 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The classes are free at OPAL (Online Programming for All Libaries). Click the OPAL link above, scroll to the program, and click "OPAL Online Auditorium." First time users will need to install the tcConference plug-in.

Paul Santos, the Director of Finance, Facilities, and Human Resources at the Alliance Library System will make the presentations and lead an informal discussion. The discussions are part of Smart Investing @ Your Library, a series of events and resources (in person, on the web, and in Second Life) to help inform individual investors.

Host: Alliance Library System, with support from the American Library Association and FINRA Investor Education Foundation. All OPAL (Online Programming for All Libraries) public events are free of charge and open to everyone worldwide. Most OPAL online programs last about an hour.