A family program titled “The Violin: What Makes a Great Instrument” will take place at 2 p.m. Sat., Nov. 7 at the Grant Brimhall/ Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Road.

In keeping with the musical theme of this year’s Thousand Oaks Reads selection, “The Soloist” by Steve Lopez, this program features local musician and violin collector Gary Chandler.

He will discuss the history and beauty of exceptional violins and also share some of the historical violins and bows in his private collection.

Chandler began collecting violins in the 1950s and has studied the art of making the instruments. Chandler, a UCLA graduate, spent 40 years in the motion picture industry and has played with many symphony orchestras and chamber musicians since 1970.

This program is free and open to the public courtesy of the Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library. Guests may bring nonperishable food and/or toiletry items to the library for donation to the local food bank, Manna.

For more information, call (805) 449-2660 or visit www .thousandoaksreads.org.