SANIBEL PUBLIC LIBRARY The Sanibel Public Library will host a virtual author talk on April 2 with Paula Johnson.

The Sanibel Public Library provides a variety of programming for adults and children.

With support from the Sanibel Public Library Foundation, the library has launched a series of virtual author talks to include bestselling authors and thought leaders. The next one will take place on April 2 at 2 p.m. with Paula Johnson, curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. She will discuss the book “Smithsonian American Table: The Foods, People, and Innovations That Feed Us.” Johnson will cover several stories featured in the volume, with an emphasis on those that intersect most directly with the museum’s research, collecting and programming around food history. She will engage attendees in discovering the connections between food and American history.

Johnson is a curator in the Division of Work and Industry and is responsible for strengthening and maintaining the food history and marine resources collections. She is also the project director for the museum’s’s American Food History Project and director and co-curator for the exhibition, “FOOD: Transforming the American Table.” As one of the curators who collected Julia Child’s home kitchen in 2001, Johnson was on the team that developed the exhibition “Bon Appetit! Julia Child’s Kitchen.” Over more than three decades at the museum, she has collected a wide range of artifacts and archives reflecting the work and experiences of diverse Americans and communities.

Johnson has published books and articles on the Chesapeake Bay, maritime communities and material culture, and has lectured on these and topics related to American food and wine history, field research, oral history recording and community-based documentation. She is an inaugural member of the editorial collective for Gastronomica: The Journal for Food History and received the 2020 Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar in the Humanities Award. Johnson is working on a book about Child’s home kitchen for publication in fall.

A question-and-answer session with the author will follow.

SANIBEL PUBLIC LIBRARY The Annual Dollar Book Bag Sale is taking place now through March 29 at the Sanibel Public Library.

To register for the author talk, visit https://libraryc.org/sanlib/upcoming.

Additionally, the library has the following programs scheduled:

Youths are encouraged to come in and celebrate National Reading Month in March. Every week will have a new theme where participants can read books, take part in crafts and learn about the theme.

Spring Flower Crafting will be held on March 27 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. with staffer Shannon Gafgen. Ages 3 and up and their caregiver will create a nature-inspired craft using fresh and dried flowers.

On March 29, Family Storytime for ages 5 and under and their caregiver will be held from 10:30 to 11 a.m. with Gafgen. Sing, read, question and move around during the stories, followed by early literacy centers of play to flex minds, motor skills and creativity. The program will include an art/craft center.

SANIBEL PUBLIC LIBRARY The Sanibel Public Library will hold a Book Club Discussion on March 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

A Book Club Discussion will take place on March 29 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Attendees will discuss “The Magnolia Palace” by Fiona Davis. Staffers will lead the discussion.

On April 3, Poetry Share will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants can bring a poem to read that is not theirs.

A Rainbow Scavenger Hunt and Craft will take place on April 3 from 3:30 to 4 p.m. Go on a rainbow scavenger hunt, enjoy a rainbow snack and make a rainbow craft with Gafgen. Youths must be accompanied by a caregiver.

For the most up-to-date information, visit the calendar at https://sanlib.org/.

The library is holding its Annual Dollar Book Bag Sale now through March 29 at 4:30 p.m. Fill up a bag, provided by the library, for $1 each until the end of the week or until the stock is gone.

Library cards are available to residents of Sanibel and Lee County at no charge. Visitor library cards are available for a $10 annual fee.

The Sanibel Public Library is open Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 239-472-2483 or visit https://sanlib.org/.

The Sanibel Public Library is at 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel.