Valley stories and future of libraries are on Osher schedule

The university’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, aimed at adults 50 and older who want to continue learning and exploring for the sheer joy of doing so, present programs on libraries and on story-telling this month.

At 4 p.m. Feb. 15, Dr. Michael Gorman, dean of the Madden Library and current president of the American Library Association, will discuss “Do Libraries Have a Future?” Gorman’s presentation will be in the Alice Peters Auditorium.

Award-winning author David Mas Masumoto’s topic is “Valley Stories: Things Worth Savoring” during his Osher presentation at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Masumoto has written “Epitaph for a Peach,” “Harvest Son,” “Four Seasons in Five Senses” and “Letters to the Valley: Harvest of Memories” from his experiences as a farmer and Del Rey area native son. Masumoto will speak in the Satellite Student Union.

The classes are free to members who pay a $45-per-person or $80-per-couple fee each semester. Nonmembers may attend on a space-available basis for $20 per activity.

Osher programs next month are “Home Away from Home: A Story of Basques in America” with Jeri Echeverria, university provost and vice president of Academic Affairs on March 1; “China – The Sleeping Giant Awakes” presented by Dr. Edwin Williams and the Fresno China Chorus on March 13; and “From Armenia to California,” a three-Tuesday class presented by Dr. Barlow DerMugrdechian that begins March 14.

For more information, call 278.0008 or e-mail the institute at osher@info.csufresno.edu. Additional information is available online at www.csufresno.edu/ExtendedEd/osher.htm.