We have had another great summer of reading fun. Our 3 kids book clubs: Read-to-Me, Summer Reading Club and Cool Breezes Teen Book Club were again well attended programs that encourage both literacy and light-hearted fun. Each child in the Summer Reading Club and Read-to-Program, who read 10 books, received not only great prizes, but a book of their own choosing. What a treat to take home a book from the Library and NOT have to return it. We thank the fund raising efforts of Alex Herlovitch and our friends at Scholastic Canada. All finishers also has the opportunity to enjoy pizza, popcorn and a great movie day, thanks in part to our generous sponsor for Pizzareadia, Zappi’s Pizza and Subs. Ripley’s Believe it or Not, provided free passes to all finishers as well. McDonald’s, a faithful literacy supporter for many years, again delighted our kids with ice cream coupons this year. Our thanks to Roman Cheese for all the great pizza display items. Our very lucky Teens in the Summer Breezes program were...

For one day, Saturday, August 29th, and one day ONLY you can save money, help out Project Share and finally return those overdue Library books, DVDs, CDs, etc.without guilt! What a good day. It's Amnesty Day at all 4 Library locations. How does it work? Easy. Option 1: Return any overdue Library materials to any of our 4 locations and all fines will be waived. We assume that you will return the material back to us in good condition. Option 2: Bring a Food donation for Project Share and we will waive existing fines up to $10.00. For those of you that perpetually owe us $9.99, and you know who you are, this is a chance to start with a clean slate. No fines! What an incentive to clear up your bookshelves and return your material, and a great way to clean up your Library card! So, what's in it for the Library? We get back long overdue material that can now be put back on our Library shelves, which makes for better selection for you, our Library patrons. It's also a great way to assist local...

It is the final weekend of the Summer Reading Club and next week all the participants who have completed the program will be treated to the traditional summer end parties! Staff have had a busy time with all our young readers and we congratulate them all. Several weeks ago, our “In House” book discussion groups were highlighted in this column. Let's talk about some of the other alternatives offered @NFPL for those who may wish to participate in a less formal book discussion. First, there is the Online Book Club, accessible through our website www.nflibrary.ca The Online Book Club is open to anyone over the age of 14 who has access to a computer, and might prefer posting to the online book discussion forum about the books that...

The Fall schedule for computer classes at the Niagara Falls Public Library is now available and registrations can be made. We offer a variety of sessions which are geared to the beginner user. Class size is limited to a maximum of 6, minimum of 3 and each participant will have their own workstation. If a minimum of 3 registrations is not received you will receive 48 hours notice of cancellation. Each class costs $10 and payment must be made in advance.

Computer Basics will start right at the very beginning! From turning it on to learning how to use a mouse, all beginners should start with this class.

Word Processing will teach you how to compose a simple letter on a computer, how to make it look good and much more.

Introduction to the Internet will give you an overview of the web and all its components. You will learn how to perform simple searches using a search engine. Hmmmm, I hear you asking “what exactly is a search engine?”, well, you will learn all about that also.

Have you...

People are often asking me what I have read lately or to recommend a good book to them. I don't pretend to be a literary scholar, but I am a curious person and have a wide range of interests, so having a whole library and new materials arriving weekly, provides lots to browse. Truth be told, I just don't have enough time to read everything I would like to. Over the last few weeks, I have enjoyed several new titles which I will pass on.

“The Incident Report” by Martha Baillie is an interesting novel fashioned around the reports which must be filled out whenever something “strange or disruptive” happens in this fictional Toronto branch library. “At 4:05pm, a Page reported that a pair of dentures had been left unattended in the lobby” (pg. 145). The author has personally had more than 20 years experience working in Toronto libraries, and weaves together a love story, a mystery and a clever commentary...