See the library display at Optimist Park on July 1 during the City’s Canada Day celebrations. I will be there with Systems Administrator Jan Leak who will bring her laptop to promote our website. She will also bring an interesting series of winter images of Niagara Falls. Maybe the cool images will help keep us keep temperatures down on what is traditionally a very hot day! The four libraries will be closed on Canada Day .Use the book return slots and visit anytime the library website www.nflibrary.ca to search the catalogue and databases, place reserves, loan renewals and much more. Borrow “Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies” by Ginger Strand which is a new book about our history and development by an American author with some sobering points of view. The Publisher writes on the book jacket that “Americans call Niagara Falls a natural wonder, but the Falls aren't very natural anymore. In fact, they are a study in artifice. Water diverted, riverbed reshaped, brink stabilized and landscape redesigned, the Falls are more a monument to man's meddling than to nature's strength. Held up as an example of something real, they are hemmed in with fakery -- waxworks, haunted houses, IMAX films and ersatz Indian tales. A symbol of American manifest destiny, they are shared politely with Canada. Emblem of nature's power, they are completely human-controlled. Archetype of natural beauty, they belie an ugly environmental legacy still bubbling up from below. On every level, Niagara Falls is a monument to how America falsifies nature, reshaping its contours and redirecting its force while claiming to submit to its will....

Local resident Frank Long will launch his new book “A Century of Sports in Niagara Falls: Book II” at the Victoria Avenue Library on June 21 from 10am to 1pm. Autographed copies of the book will be on sale for $25 (tax included) and the public is invited to share their sports memories with the author. In 2006, Book I by Long was a bestseller and many local athletes and their families wanted a copy. After the official launch, the Library will once again be selling the book as a library fund raising project for $25 (tax included) at each of our four libraries (Chippawa, Community Centre, Stamford and Victoria Avenue libraries). The book committee included the author’s wife Joyce and friends Doug Caverson and Boris Dimitroff. Book II continues the first book and with new and different photographs. There are 300 photographs of 19 sports with more than 3100 names in the name index which will provide easier identification of local athletes....

June is Seniors’ Month and the Victoria Avenue Library continues to host until June 20 an information display about the “Let’s Talk Aging at Home” strategy. This display is from the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network.

Part of its role is to make decisions about what to fund in our local health care system. To make these decisions, they listen to the needs and preferences of the community. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care is investing more than $60 million over the next three years to support seniors’ independent living and aging at home in our area.

They know, given the aging population here, that people are talking about what it means to age. They are talking about the things they are doing to help themselves age healthily and happily in whatever home they have chosen to live in. Our Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) wants to learn the core values, priorities, barriers, worries, and solutions that people in our area...

“Fresh Ink” is a creative writing competition for teens who live or study anywhere in Niagara Region. The contest closes on July 31. Entry forms are available at our library. Short story and poetry writers between 12 and 18 years of age may submit their works for the 8th annual Fresh Ink Writing Awards. Professional writers will judge the entries on the basis of originality and style, general presentation, grammar and spelling. Cash prizes will be awarded in each category for entrants 12 to 15 years of age and 16 to 18 years of age. First prize will be $100 and the second prize will be $50. There is a limit of one poem and/or one short story per person. Short stories must be 1000-1500 words in length. Poems may be any length. Entries must be in English, typed or neatly printed, double spaced and pages numbered with the title on each page. A completed entry form must be attached to your submission. Do not put your name anywhere on your work. Your work must be original and unpublished. Plagiarism or copyright infringement will be grounds for disqualification or the return of any prize money awarded. Prize winners or their designate must be present to receive their award and read from their work at the awards Ceremony on the evening of Oct. 23 at the St. Catharines Public Library....

I usually don’t like to promote negative news but I’ve got to tell you the truth about the month of June. June tends to be a quiet month at our library. Sure school is winding down, community groups often stop meeting , people travel and we want to spend more time outside. But I can’t accept these excuses because July and August are much busier at the library. Last year people borrowed fewer books and audio visual materials in June and December than any of the other ten months - about 16% less. The good news is that in June you probably have a greater selection of books, DVDs and compact disks than other times of the year. Every week new additions are featured on our shelves. When you click on “Search Catalogue” on our website www.nflibrary.ca , you will discover recommended titles of new materials, award-winners and book lists for all ages and interests....