The Strasburg-Heisler Library will hold Spanish classes for homeschoolers beginning Tuesday, Jan. 27.

"Hola Amigos!" is a 10-week course for students in eighth through 12th grades. It will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Jan. 27 through April 7, at the library, 143 Precision Ave., Strasburg. There will be no class on March 3. No prior experience is needed. Students will be expected to attend each class date.

Space is limited, and registration is required. Registration will close on Jan. 27 at 12:45 p.m. Go to https://calendar.lancasterlibraries.org/event/hola-amigos-intro-spanish-class-151280 to register.

The course will be taught by Esther McBride, who is a certified Spanish teacher and a library staff member.

"It's a great opportunity for homeschool families to have a certified teacher provide this for them," said Strasburg-Heisler Library director JJ Landis. "We are lucky to have a certified teacher working here willing to offer this to students. We do serve a lot of homeschool families, and so we're always looking for what they're asking for and things that they need. And this was something that presented itself and we have the resources to provide."

McBride has taught in elementary and high schools. She lived in Mexico City for three years and traveled to other regions of Mexico as well. She has also studied in Ecuador.

"In 10 classes, I'm hoping that they'll learn an appreciation for the language and an understanding of basics of how the Spanish language works," McBride said. "They should learn how to greet people, talk about their likes and their dislikes, talk about hobbies that they like to do, as well as count and identify colors in Spanish. We also have a cultural lesson each week as well that ties in with the topic we're learning about so that they can learn a little bit about the countries where Spanish is spoken, some of the foods, some of the famous people, animals in the rainforest, things like that, that also would help them gain appreciation for the Spanish-speaking world."

This will be the third year for the course. McBride also plans to offer Spanish classes this summer that will be open to everyone.

She noted that the Strasburg-Heisler Library continues to increase the number of Spanish language books for patrons.

"We have a growing collection of Spanish books here, so I always encourage people that speak Spanish to come in and check out the books and make requests if there's other things that they're looking for," said McBride.

In other library news, volunteer Brandon Magras recently constructed new bookshelves for the branch. "We were expanding our picture book area because we needed more space," said Landis. "The previous shelving was custom built by an Amish builder that is no longer doing that kind of work. I had the plans, so Brandon offered to build them for us using those same plans."

The library is also seeking sponsorships by reaching out to local business owners. There are four levels of sponsorships, with each level offering incentives to the businesses, including recognition on the library's website and its social media.

The board initiated the program this year. "It's a win-win for the businesses and the library," said Landis. "We get financial support and community support partnering with them. They get some publicity. We promote them in the library and include them on our newsletters, so they get name recognition. We can work together as a community and support local businesses. That's a good thing."

Go to http://www.strasburglibrary.org for more information.