The loooooong weekend!

Once again, we’re gearing up for a long weekend. If you need books, make sure you drop in on Saturday to stock up.  We’ll be closed Sunday and Monday. And don’t worry about trying to return books during those two days….we don’t put out the blue return box when we’re not open.  Keep everything until Tuesday, and we’ll make sure it gets checked in properly.

Library Hours:

Friday, May 17 …….OPEN 9:30am – 5:30pm

Saturday, May 18……OPEN 10:00am – 5:00pm

Sunday, May 19…….CLOSED

Monday, May 20……CLOSED

 

Have a safe and happy long weekend!

We have THREE winners!

It seems like forever, but we’re finally ready to announce the winners of last summer’s “DESIGN A BOOKMARK” contest at the library!  We collected entries all summer, and then had a local artist go through them to choose winners in each category.  We’ve got the bookmarks printed (thank you, Ferguson Graphics!) and now we’re ready to show you the winning bookmarks.

In the 8 – 10 year old category:

 

WILL CHAPMAN!

 

In the 14 – adult category:

 

KATE MARTIN!

 

 

 

And in the 11- 13 year old category:

 

Hannah Shulist! 

 

 

Congratulations to all our winners!  Their bookmarks will be given out to new members of the library for the next few years.  Stop by to see the display!

Star Wars Fans—Prepare to Laugh!

For fans of Star Wars, Jeffrey Brown‘s latest graphic novel VADER’S LITTLE PRINCESS has arrived at the library! And I must say, all of us had a good chuckle over quite a few of the pages inside.  This isn’t really a children’s book, not because of any unsuitable content, but because the humour is something young fans of Star Wars might not get just yet. (Probably because many of the younger readers are smack-dab in the middle of their own “whatever” phases. Seeing Princess Leia say it to Darth Vader is something that shouldn’t be missed, however.)

If you’re looking for a few laughs and you’re a fan of Star Wars, this little book is one you need to pick up and read! Brown takes all the seriousness out of Star Wars, but leaves the ideas intact so that you’ll smile and identify with poor Vader’s problems.

LOVED IT!

Canadian Libraries

Recently, the OCLC (the Online Computer Library Center), posted a fantastic visual reference on How Canadian Public Libraries stack up!  The results were truly fascinating and I think we can learn a lot about how the public uses and views libraries, through it. The OCLC is a worldwide library cooperative that aims to improve access to information held in libraries and find ways for libraries to reduce their costs through collaboration.

A few of the fascinating comparisons? 

Nearly two out of three Canadians have library cards…almost the same percentage as people who have passports. (But of course, the library is your passport to anywhere, isn’t it?)

Canadian libraries circulate 10 times more DVDs each day than the online DVD rental company, Zip.ca.  (All right, no word on the comparison to Netflix users, but I feel like we could probably give them a run for their money, too!)

Nearly 200 public libraries offer meeting spaces…and Carleton Place Public Library is one of those included!

To see all of the unique comparisons, just click on the photo below to see a larger version.  It’s really something!

What’s in a genre?

Patrons often come in and ask us for something in the genre they like to read, rather than a specific author.  It’s not so bad when someone asks for literary fiction or a British mystery. But what happens when someone comes in and says they like to read alternate history or romantic suspense? We start sweating (okay, not all of us, but some of us.)  Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not. I think we need a pocket version of this fun website!

With Book Country, you just select your genre (there are very specific breakdowns) and it’ll give you a selection of several authors who write within that genre and a brief description of each book. Wonderful!  No more researching those tough combinations!

The votes are in!

We had a great week last week at the library, ending all our Forest of Reading® voting!  The kids arrived on Thursday night nice and early and had their chosen books decided.  We have a very official vote, with a secret ballot and everything. The kids waiting their turn, got into the polling station and then placed their ballots in the box. While we enjoyed a party and some rewards, Janet tabulated the votes and presented us with the official winners from our library!

Here were the winners:

Silver Birch Non-Fiction

Blue Spruce

Silver Birch Fiction (part of a 3-way tie)

Silver Birch Fiction (Part of the 3 way tie)

Silver Birch Fiction (Part of the 3 way tie)

Silver Birch Express

We’ll send all of our votes along to Toronto where they’ll be compiled with the other votes from libraries and schools across Ontario.  And once the official votes are in, I’ll make sure to let everyone know how we did this year! Congratulations to everyone who read books this year, to those who completed all ten books in their category, and especially to those who read in TWO categories (that’s 20 books!).

And a HUGE thank you to Janet for taking care of the vote, to Sheila (and Bronte) for pouring drinks for an hour, and to Judi and the girls at the front desk for taking care of the extra crowd of people. We’re looking forward to next year already!