The weather may be getting colder and more snowy, but the winter chill isn’t slowing down programming at the Hillsboro library.

“We have a lot planned for this upcoming month,” said circulation manager Sarah Davidson.

Saturday, Feb. 16 will be the annual Black History Month program — and also its 25th anniversary.

This year’s program will honor Eleanor Faye Harris. The guest speaker will be Sigrid Solomon, vice president of student affairs at Wilmington College.

“The first Black History Month program was held in 1994 to honor Imogene Curtis, local advocate for civil rights,” said Highland County District Library Director Jennifer West.

She added that each February, the HCDL and African American Awareness Research Council present the program “to honor the lifetime achievements of a Highland County individual or to highlight an aspect of this local community’s history.”

“The program begins at 1 p.m. and everyone is invited to join us,” West said.

Light refreshments will be served after the program.

The following week, on Friday, Feb. 22, will be the library’s fifth murder mystery party.

“The theme is jungle expedition,” said Davidson. “Think ‘Jumanji.’ We’ve had a ton of fun with these parties in the past. Past themes have been 1950s, 1930s Hollywood, Western, and Las Vegas.”

Patrons can sign up for the event at the front desk. They will be given a character to “become” for that evening.

“The parties usually begin with some mingling, with everyone acting as their characters. As the evening unfolds a ‘murder’ will occur, and then everyone works together to figure out who the culprit is,” Davidson said.

Spots are limited. Participants must be 18 or older. Snacks will be provided.

In addition to these special events, Davidson said that the library also hosts monthly clubs.

“We currently have four clubs,” she said, including two focused on writing.

On the first Monday of the month (Feb. 4), at 5:30 p.m. is a writing workshop.

“One of our patrons donated some wonderful DVD classes on writing,” Davidson said. “During the monthly workshop, we watch one of the lessons and discuss it.”

Then, on the last Monday of the month (Feb. 25), the Write-Away Club meets.

“This is more of a feedback-based club. We have several writers — some published, some unpublished, all interested in different styles and genres — all get together and share whatever they’re working on. It’s a very supportive group,” Davidson said.

Other clubs include Bring-Your-Own-Book Club, Fandom Club, and Comic Book Club.

“Our BYO-Book Club is new this year,” Davidson said. “Every month, we pick a theme and everyone reads a book — any book they want — under that theme.”

In honor of Valentine’s Day, February’s theme is “hearts.”

“That doesn’t mean it has to be a romance,” Davidson said. “I’m reading a book all about the worst break-ups in history. As long as it can fit the theme, in any way, bring it to the book club and we’ll all discuss our reads for the month and maybe walk away with some new recommendations.”

BYO-Book Club meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. February’s meeting is on the 6th.

Fandom Club meets on the the second Monday of the month (Feb. 11), at 5:30 p.m. February’s topic is “Game of Thrones.”

“We’re going to watch and discuss the first episode,” Davidson said.

Then on Feb. 20, at 6:30 p.m. the library’s Comic Book Club will meet.

“This is just like a book club, except we read a graphic novel instead,” Davidson said.

“We’ve read Marvel titles — like Captain America and X-Men — and DC titles — such as Batman and Teen Titans. However, we also read independent titles such as February’s book: ‘V for Vendetta.’”

These clubs are all geared toward the library’s adult patrons. Davidson said, “We had two teen clubs, but we unfortunately had to dissolve them due to lack of attendance. However, we will be initiating a new club aimed at our tween and teen patrons.”

The new club is still in development. “We have polls on Facebook concerning the day and time of the club’s meetings,” Davidson said. “If you’re interested in the club, please check it out.”

To learn more about the library’s clubs and other programming, search “Highland County District Library of Ohio” on Facebook or visit www.highlandcolibrary.org.

Information for this story was provided by Sarah Davidson, circulation manager at the Highland County District Library in Hillsboro.