There's No Dust Gathering Here!

I'm not talking about the lack of dust-bunnies that would like to gather in the corners of our wee, aging library building.

No, I am talking about the dust that gathers in the brains of those who are not moving ahead with new technology and innovations. If you haven't been to your public library, you may have a stereotype idea of what a library worker is all about. Dewey decimal system? Classic books? Hair-buns, sensible shoes and a steely glare that tells you to "BE QUIET or ELSE"? (Okay, I'll give you the point for a couple of those last ones...)

If that's your idea of your public library, you need to come in and get educated about your library in 2011! Technology has the ability to connect our patrons to information in ways that you may not be aware of. Library staff are constantly learning about the technology we can offer and are poised to help bring our patrons into the information age. Ontario Public Libraries have been recognized as a major asset in the knowledge ecomony and the government has invested in techology within our library.

In the last two years, we have implemented:

Downloadable Audiobooks - These are audiobook files that you can download and use on your computer, CD, and MP3 players.

Downloadable eBooks - These are eBooks that you download to read on your eBook reader.

eResources - We offer several online databases that cover a wide variety of topics, such as geneology, career information, auto repair, health, educational resources and more.

Service Ontario centre - You can get assistance to accessing the Ontario government services from within the library to get information, renew your driver's license, register your new baby, etc.

Playaways - These are small, pocket-sized battery operated devices that contain an audiobook that you can either listen to with earbuds or port through your car stereo.

Daisy Readers for CNIB services - Now, anyone with a print disability (through visual, physical or learning disability) can get obtain Daisy format materials and borrow Daisy Reader equipment from the library.

Tumblebooks, PebbleGo, Grzimek's Animal Life and the Early Literacy Station use new technology to educate young minds in an entertaining way.

Current Microsoft Office Suite of software products - At the time of writing, the library has 10 computers that have the 2010 version of Microsoft Office installed.
We've created our webpages on the mycallander.ca website. Here, you can look at the monthly lists of new library materials, read the book club's discussion on the latest book read, find out what our Raising Reader's group is doing next, and much more.

Our library has a large electronic display that shows a visually appealing slide presentation of community event notices, new material information, etc. The display doubles as a large screen for group computer presentations.

Our library has been lucky to have a CAP student, funded by Industry Canada, who can assist our patrons in learning all about using technology. Our regular library staff strive to be competent in our offerings so that we can assist our patrons to get the most out of this technology in their daily use at the library.

The Callander Public Library is embracing advances in technology and the universe of knowledge that lay beyond our doors. Your library card is your ticket...get on board...

Norma's Picks

Doing proper readers' advisory when working in the library, means not favouring your personal preferences when recommending books to our patrons. We are taught to categorize the books by the appeal factors, such as genre, character, setting, pace, etc.

Well, this is a blog. This is my post. (My apologies to Susan, my tutor for the reader's advisory course.)

I am so excited about these two books that I just read, I had to share. They were picked for totally different reasons, one is a non-fiction and the other fiction. One I read in book format, the other in audiobook format. However, you'll find that they do share one common element.

I listened to The Element - Why Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson, Ph.D. with Lou Aronica in audiobook format on both my MP3 player. I was enthralled with the topic. More importantly, his voice and manner of speaking to the listener, made me look forward to plugging those earbuds in to start my housework.

The product description summarizes this well, "The element is the point at which natural talent meets personal passion. When people arrive at the element, they feel most themselves and most inspired and achieve at their highest levels. The Element draws on the stories of a wide range of people, from ex-Beatle Paul McCartney to Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons; from Meg Ryan to Gillian Lynne, who choreographed the Broadway productions of Cats and The Phantom of the Opera; and from writer Arianna Huffington to renowned physicist Richard Feynman and others, including business leaders and athletes. It explores the components of this new paradigm: The diversity of intelligence, the power of imagination and creativity, and the importance of commitment to our own capabilities."

"The Element shows the vital need to enhance creativity and innovation by thinking differently about human resources and imagination. It is also an essential strategy for transforming education, business, and communities to meet the challenges of living and succeeding in the twenty-first century. "

I will read this book again and again. I also wish that every person working with the education system would listen to the message and then instill in all children the knowledge that they have a special purpose and success will come to those who pursue it with heart, regardless of the perceived obstacles.

I kept coming across Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant while straightening up the adult fiction shelves. It called to me with its childish drawing of a Tortoise and a flaming paper castle. The fact that it had a maple leaf sticker on the spine, telling me it was a Canadian work, further hooked me.

What a delightful, unique read this was. It made me smile and warmed my heart (which needs all the warming it can take at this point in the winter). Afterward, I read a couple reviews and publicity material and was disheartened referred to the female protagonist as an "IQ-challenged" woman....

Audrey (or Oddly as she is referred to by those that love her) is beyond that simple label or definition.

I preferred this review by Diane Baker Mason for the Globe and Mail that seemed to capture everything I needed to say about this book, in words more eloquent than mine.

She says this " Audrey might have been told by her school at one point that she had a 'low IQ', but that's not credible. She's brilliant. She's hilarious. I could read about her all day."

From the back cover of the book, Lisa Moore, author of Alligator, has a statement of praise that includes:

"This book is astoundingly unique. A novel about fathers and daughters, love and loss, the wisdom that accumulates over the ages, and that ancient instinct to come home. Joyful. A tortoise de force."

Jessica Grant won the First Novel award in April 2010 for this novel.

I didn't intentionally decide to read two books that, for me, had an underlying theme about society's misconceptions of intelligence. But now thinking about these two books, I am reminded of something that a Facebook buddy posted, "Success has more to do with your 'I CAN', than your 'I.Q.'"

Cold

I spent Family Day in cold, icy Ottawa with a wicked wind chill. Somehow, that made me reflect on two books I had read recently.

Both were set in Sweden and each author was tagged as the next Steig Larsson, of course!

However, I would like to recommend The Snowman by Jo Nesbo.

This was new to me, but is one book in a series about detective Harry Hole. This one opens very well with a solitary figure of a snowman in a garden, with a red scarf around its neck. Harry and his team delve into a murder case and discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have disappeared over the years. This, of course, leads to the discovery of a serial killer at work. I found this book an excellent thriller with a very fast pace.

The second book was Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom.

This one is about a secret operative for the Swedish police who is about to embark on a his most serious mission yet. Piet Hoffman goes deep undercover in a Swedish prison to infiltrate a gang of drug distributors. A murder occurs in the prison and is investigated by Detective Inspector Ewert Grens whose determination to find the killer may result in the exposure of Hoffman.

The writing style reminded me of Lee Child, with lots of twists and turns in the plot.

I hope you, too, might enjoy these "cold thrillers' to help keep you warm until Spring finally arrives!

Alison