Who says the Library isn’t the hub of the community? Remember a few weeks ago, some examples of the questions the Reference Staff deal with were presented? A fellow from the UK was trying to locate an old girlfriend from Chippawa during the 1960’s? Staff were able to come up with a telephone number, which turned out to be the Mom of the young lady. Her daughter now actually lives overseas but she was home visiting with Mom, and on Saturday they were having lunch with the beau from the past, who was now in Canada on holiday. The gentleman stopped into the Library on Saturday morning to thank Reference Assistant, Heather Rodman for all her assistance in person. Good job, all in a typical day’s work! The Rosberg Gallery in the Victoria Avenue Library is currently hosting the photography of Maude Perrin. Upcoming shows include the photography of Janet Dimartino in June, Diana Formisano in July and Grant Hollenbach in August. The gallery is open during library hours. There are only 2 more weeks of beginner...

Happy Mother’s Day - I listened to a piece on the radio this week about Mothers Day, the reality being that its just another busy day for most Mothers, as they end up organizing everything anyway, if not cooking and cleaning and shopping. Does this sound like your world? My idea of the perfect Mother’s Day would be that Mom does not have to do anything for anyone else all day! This brings to mind one of my favourite books enjoyed with my children back when they were young…”Five Minutes Peace” by Jill Murphy. Mrs Large just wants a few minutes alone, and makes a cup of tea and some toast, which she plans to enjoy in the bath, while her 3 youngsters are busy with breakfast. Well that’s not going to happen, and within minutes the three are in the bath with her demanding her attention. She eventually hops out and returns to the kitchen, where she manages to enjoy 3 minutes and forty five seconds by herself! The text is simple and clever, the elephant family is a delight, and the story is one that all busy...

DA = “Downloadable audiobooks” The world is in a constant state of change and so is your public library. As you know, books come in different formats from hardcover to paperback to audiocassette to CDbook to playaway and now downloadable audiobook. The Niagara Falls Public Library is pleased to be able to expand our services with the addition of downloadable audiobooks. This collection is powered by OverDrive, Inc., and has been brought to you by the Ontario Ministry of Culture’s $15 million investment in public libraries, through Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) and Ontario Library Service-North (OLS-N). Library card holders will be able to check out and download digital audiobooks from OverDrive anytime, anywhere, by visiting our webpage at www.nflibrary.ca. The link will be available on the bottom right-hand side of our webpage on May 3rd, the launch date for our newest service. Another access point is downloadcentre.library.on.ca....

As May approaches, the theme of our Children’s crafts program focus on Mother’s Day. Is there a nicer way to honour Mom or Grandma, than with something you have made with love for them? There will be two sessions next Saturday May 1 at the Victoria Avenue Library at 10:30 and at 2pm making beautiful Iris folding art pictures. Register today by calling 905-356-4053 or go online to the Kids’ Corner. The final in the current series of Family Fun Story times will be presented on Thursday April 29th at the Victoria Avenue Library. This is a wonderful program time for the whole family to enjoy together. Join in for an hour of stories, songs, rhymes, a craft and short film. The theme this month is “Baa Baa Story time”. Registration is $1 per child or a toonie for the whole family! It is a bargain...

You may have noticed some websites that advertise “information” at a very reasonable price. “Get real information from real people” is a popular mantra. Well, you know what, libraries have been doing this for years and we do it for FREE! Providing information has long been our domain, and we answer hundreds of questions each week. The internet has had a great impact on how our Reference Department at Victoria Avenue operates. We still get many walk-ins and phone calls, but we also receive just as many requests via email. Here is just a sampling of some of the questions we have been asked lately.

 

Why doesn’t my wine freeze when I leave it in the freezer? We were able to provide information on the freezing temperature of wine depending on the alcohol content. Can you help me track down an old girlfriend who lived in Chippawa in 1967? We were able to provide a telephone number from a local directory but whether they actually ever got together again, we don’t know. Do you know if any...