The next Philosophers' Cafe at the Victoria Avenue Library is scheduled for January 7 at 7pm. The theme is "What is Law and Justice?". A Philosophers' Café is an informal, open forum for those interested in exploring philosophical questions in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The purpose of the café is nothing less than to help transform the world one conversation at a time. No philosophical training is required - real life experience is desired. A philosopher exists in all of us. Considerations for discussion include who made/makes the Law? Are any Laws outdated? Does the punishment fit the crime? Why are Laws continually broken? Is Law working? Justice, is it really blind? When does Justice actually occur? How is the prison system working? Is the prison system per capita higher or lower than the past? Are for-profit prisons ethical? Law and Justice: Are they democratic? We all, at least on occasion, ask the difficult questions: What is the meaning of life? Why am I here? Philosophizing consists of reflecting...

We will soon be re-designing the library’s popular website www.nfpl.library.on.ca and we would like the public to design a banner for the “Teen” section. The Library logo should be included and can be colourized. Entries can be emailed to teenbanner@nflibrary.ca or delivered to 4848 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls by January 15, 2008. You may also request a copy of the logo at that email address. Images can be original artwork or photographic. The rules for image submissions are: 1. YOU MUST HAVE COPYRIGHT TO THE IMAGE, or it must be in the Public Domain. By submitting your entry to us you affirm that you have Copyright control over the image(s) submitted, and/or the images are Public Domain. We may ask you for proof. 2. The images should be submitted in a standard, commonly-used image format (such as TIFF, PNG, bitmap, etc.). Please refrain from using lossy compression formats (such as .jpeg) so the images may be manipulated to incorporate them into the website. 3. If the image(s) are taken by digital...

  From November 18 to 24, our four libraries conducted the annual count of use by the public. We thank the many volunteers who helped us with this annual survey during this busy week. Over those seven days a total of 10,249 entered the library, borrowed 12,611 books and other items, asked 2,342 reference questions to library staff and consulted 6,893 books, magazines and newspapers while inside the library. 1,586 people used the library's free Internet computers. There were also 37,337 electronic visits to the library's website www.nfpl.library.on.ca, and 96 electronic reference questions were answered by staff. Today's public libraries address literacy, workforce training, small business vitality, quality of life and public access to digital information. The library is the lifelong place to be, to learn, to grow and to know. Children today need an early introduction to reading and to computer and information literacy if they are going to have any chance of success both at school and in life. Teens today need a safe place where they can explore new worlds in an environment that is nurturing. ...

The entire family is invited to a free musical performance by Larry Downing on Dec. 11 from 7pm to 8pm in the LaMarsh Room of the Victoria Avenue Library. Downing’s guitar, fiddle and vocals will be accompanied on keyboards with David Horton. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Downing has been a professional stage and studio musician since high school. He has experienced the life of a full-time road musician, performing live on stage throughout Canada with the band Hourglass for twelve years, with the band Forum for six years and with his own The Downing Band for almost ten years. Larry’s recording resume includes session work with The Mercy Brothers. One of those sessions produced “Your Eyes Don’t Lie To Me”, which made it to the top ten on the Canadian Country charts. He also played on the Marie Bottrell album “The Star” which was nominated for a Juno Award, but lost out to Anne Murray. Larry’s great uncle was the Canadian fiddle legend Don Messer and Larry can resin-up that bow and play “Orange...

Biographies and autobiographies can inform, inspire and entertain readers about well known and little known people. Oscar Wilde warned that "Biography lends to death a new terror." Biographies can infuriate readers who see things left out, glossed over, exaggerated and misrepresented. Nevertheless biographies have always been heavily borrowed at the public library.

Here are a few recent arrivals.

A must read for hockey fans is "Walking with legends : the real stories of Hockey Night in Canada" by Ralph Mellanby, Canadian television producer and director, with Mike Brophy and a foreword by Don Cherry.

"The year of living biblically" by A. J. Jacobs is one man's humble quest to follow the bible as literally as possible.

"Duty ...