The Orcas Library announces upcoming classes offered in April and May.

Free English language classes will be offered on Saturday afternoons beginning April 16, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Instructor Sandi McVay is an experienced teacher of the English language. No preregistration required. Sign up on the first day of class in the library meeting room. All interested students are welcome.

Philomena Robinson will offer a one-day “Artist’s Book Class” on Saturday, April 23 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the library meeting room. Artist’s books can be anything from sculpture, wall-hanging, mobile, or whatever you can envision. They can pop-up, fold out, or spiral out and can contain painting, drawing, paper-cuts, photographs, collage, feathers, bones, or bugs. Your imagination is the only limitation. Philomena Robinson has a Master’s degree in Book Arts from Columbia College Chicago and her books are collected internationally. Cost: $40 per person; 8 student limit. To register, visit the library.

In May Kathi Ciskowski will lead a two-session course, “Introduction to Genealogy and Family History.” Classes will be on Thursdays, May 5 and 12, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. in the library meeting room. The course will focus on a few simple ways to get started in the search for your ancestors using free, easily available resources. Participants are asked to bring their own laptop computer if they have one, their Orcas Island library card, and the full name of a United States relative who lived between 1920 and 1930 (for research purposes). A basic knowledge of how to navigate a laptop computer is recommended. Cost: $15 for two sessions; 10 student limit. To register, visit the library.

For more information, contact Nita Couchman at 376-4985.