Olds Municipal Library Blog

Exciting New Digital Resources!

2014-06-25T11:08:00.004-06:00

Public libraries will launch two new digital services in July. Considering the popularity of online video streaming and access to entertainment through mobile devices, Parkland predicts high use across the region. All a person needs is a library card to enjoy thousands of free movies, TV shows, music, and audiobooks!

hoopla is a digital streaming service for film, music, and audiobooks that has been likened to Netflix for
libraries. Any title can be borrowed for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their tablets, smartphones, computers, or Apple TV. There are thousands of titles to explore: full music albums,
Hollywood and international film, documentaries, fitness TV series, British television, and diverse
audiobooks. hoopla is provided in partnership with the Government of Alberta and will be available in
roughly 300 libraries across the province.

“At Parkland, we seek out innovative services for recreation, learning, and exploration,” said Ron Sheppard, Director of Parkland Regional Library. “By partnering with hoopla, over 200,000 central Albertans now have access to thousands of digital materials. There is no waiting period for popular titles and hoopla’s automatic return means no late fees.”

OneClickdigital is an easy to use digital audiobook service that enables patrons to download directly to
their devices. OneClickdigital works on iOS and Android devices as well as mp3 players. It’s great for
those who love to listen or go on road trips. This service expands options for those who struggle with
traditional print.

Other popular digital services include Library PressDisplay and Zinio. PressDisplay enables Albertans to
access digital copies of newspapers from around the globe. Readers can enjoy instant access to 2000
newspapers from 100 countries in 60 languages. This service is especially valuable for new Albertans and
travelers.

Zinio provides digital copies of popular magazines that can be accessed directly on most devices. It
features over 100 titles, which Parkland patrons can enjoy with unlimited and instant access. The
magazines available cover a wide variety of topics such as fashion, business, cuisine, lifestyle, crafts,
woodwork, science, and technology.

About Parkland Regional Library: Parkland Regional Library is a cooperative network of 50 public and
35 school libraries serving 204,844 residents in central Alberta. Headquartered in Lacombe, Parkland
Regional Library supports its members by sharing material, resources, and expertise. For more
information, please visit www.prl.ab.ca

Visit the library in July to learn more about these awesome new services!

Open Data in Municipalities

2014-05-06T15:08:00.000-06:00

Open Data in Municipalities

Many municipalities across Canada have adopted an open data system indicating the desire to provide transparent, accountable leadership that invites participation. (Open data is not available from the Town of Olds.) Many cities support this concept with Open Data App Contests that award prizes for innovative applications. This year the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Public Library and community members launched the 2014 International Open Data Hackathon inviting programmers to use data.edmonton. ca open data to build applications and work on solutions to municipal issues.

The City of Toronto’s open data website provides health inspection data that has been used to create dinesafe, an application that flags restaurants with health inspection infractions. In the City of Vancouver, a forerunner in the open data movement, an application mapping crime statistics by location can be used by city council to pinpoint where solutions are needed and by prospective buyers to find safe residential areas. Edmonton programmers developed the application TXT.2.ETS which allows you to text your Edmonton Transit stop number to a central number and within 10 seconds their system sends back the next six scheduled buses at that stop. While at an open data conference in Ottawa these programmers made their application work for Ottawa’s OC Transpo. This gift from software developers in Edmonton to the City of Ottawa demonstrates why the open data movement is powerful. It is a new economy, one based more on giving away and gifting than always getting, an understanding of the importance of sharing for a common good.

Karole-Anne Christianson

Press Display: Newspapers at Your Fingertips

2014-04-10T10:20:00.000-06:00

Did you know about Press Display? The library has a subscription to this awesome service and its available anywhere you are with your library card!

Library PressDisplay is an online newspaper kiosk. It provides access to electronic copies of more than 2,600 newspapers from 100 countries in 60 languages. Up to 90 days of back issues are available.

You can read your favorite international, national and provincial newspapers from cover to cover, sometimes even before the publications hit the newsstands. The publications are full-colour, full-format, and can be read at home or on the go!

Click here to connect to Library Press Display at the Olds Library Website

Open Data and the Government in Canada

2014-04-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

Open data is freely available to everyone to use and republish, without restrictions. Within the Canadian Government, the Canadian Action Plan on Open Government strives for open information, open data and open dialogue to bring transparency, accountability and participation to all levels of government. To facilitate this ideal, the Canadian Federal Government and other levels of government in Canada provide online access to internal data in a format that is useable, interoperable and without restriction. Tony Clement, the President of the Canadian Treasury Board, spoke of the benefits when he said, “Open data is a global phenomenon that holds incredible opportunity to spur innovation and economic growth and improve the lives of every day citizens. The possibilities for using this data are as infinite as our imaginations. I look forward to seeing what innovative and entrepreneurial Canadians are able to create with this newly accessible information.”

The Government of Canada’s open data portal, data.gc.ca, offers datasets as varied as;

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Forces (Library and Archives Canada), Ministerial Expenditures by Standard Object as per the Public Accounts of Canada (Public Works and Government Services Canada),
Reported Observations of Aquatic Invasive Species (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), and
Fuel Consumption Ratings (Natural Resources Canada).

The Apps Gallery showcases innovative applications devised from open data on this site. For example, Parks Canada Heritage Gourmet application brings Canada’s national historic sites and the Canadian Heritage cooking into your home. With this application you can enjoy traditional recipes from the 18th century to today, representing all of Canada's regions and national historic sites, such as, the Fortress of Louisbourg’s French Soldier's Bread or Lower Fort Garry's famous Corn Bread. With each recipe, learn a story about which notable Canadian enjoyed a particular dish, how a dish got its name or which 18th century cookbook a recipe first came from.

With access to government data, many applications have been devised that benefit citizens. The Government of Canada Parliamentary website provides a wealth of information about parliamentary debates, parliament and senate calendars, but the website can be cumbersome and overwhelming in its scope. Access to open data resulted in the creation of openparliament.ca, a website that accesses parliamentary data, interprets and presents it in a way that is approachable and meaningful. The website allows searching by topic, bill, committee or Member of Parliament. Searching by topic results in all bills and debates on that subject and graphs that illustrate which party, province and person is speaking the most on the subject. Choose a Members of Parliament and discover what they are saying, how they are voting and links to the their website. This is a powerful example of the use of open data to bring transparency, accountability and participation to government.

Karole-Anne Christianson

Get Into Growing: Gardening Books at Olds Library

2014-04-06T10:13:00.000-06:00

Spring is here.. and while it may not have "sprung" yet with all this snow, its definitely time to start dreaming about your garden. Why not some of the following books we have at the Olds Library?

Get Growing by Frankie Flowers
An Everyday Guide to High-Impact, Low-Fuss Gardens

Frankie Flowers (aka Frankie Ferragine) is a columnist for Canadian Living. Broken down into seasonal chapters that give the reader concise, clear instructions on what you need to do now and why, his book provides a solid foundation for building a beautiful ornamental garden, a healthy, natural lawn and a bountiful vegetable garden.

Reserve a copy of Get Growing

Square Foot Gardening With Kids by Mel Bartholomew
Learn Together & Get Your Kids Involved

Square foot gardening has been adopted by millions of gardeners throughout the world--and it offers math lessons galore for the young learner. This book is a road map for sharing time with your children in a wholesome (and delicious) environment of growth and learnin

Reserve a copy of Square Foot Gardening

Permaculture Design by Aranya
A step by step guide

Curious about Permaculture and want a handbook? This step by step guide leads the reader through the design process, linking theory to practice.

Reserve a copy of Permaculture Design

The Library has many more titles on gardening. Come in and pick out a few to help you Get Growing!

Wildlife Week

2014-04-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

Did you know about Canada's Wildlife week? Hosted every year it helps to conserve our natural heritage and increases knowledge about the rich variety of species our land is home to. This year, Wildlife week is April 6-12!

What are you doing to celebrate Wildlife Week? Here are some links to help you in your wildlife education:

Canadian Wildlife Federation: http://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore-our-work/education/
Events Page: http://cwf-fcf.org/en/do-something/events/
Walk for Wildlife: http://cwf-fcf.org/en/do-something/challenges-projects/walk-for-wildlife/
WWF Canada: http://www.wwf.ca/
Wildlife Habitat Canada: http://www.whc.org/

Need Books? We have 1400+ resources for you to choose from - Find some on our catalog at:
ipac.prl.ab.ca

Walk With Us!

2014-04-01T03:30:00.000-07:00

Introducing the UWALK Pedometers at Olds Library! An initiative to get people walking, and to support them in their journey to health. Yes, its all about walking. It's also so much more than that. Uwalk is focused on empowering people through exercise and walking more as a daily part of life. Walk to decrease tension, improve your mood, keep you energized or as a confidence booster.

"UWALK is focused empowering people to be active through walking. Track activities and steps online. Challenge yourself and your friends to be more active each and every day."

UWALK is a intiative developed by the University of Alberta and the Government of Alberta. One of UWALK's aims is to help Albertan's find their stride and to help support them moving forward. You can even track your progress on the UWALK website. Use the site to connect and challenge your family, friends and coworkers. Track your activity online and compete in site walking challenges individually or as a group.

"The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao-tzu

UWALK Pedometers are available at Olds Municipal Library and can be borrowed with your library card. To find out more, visit the UWALK website: Uwalk.ca

Sites for Book Nerds

2014-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

The internet is full of sites, recommendations and other foolery! When it comes to books, We've found some new favorites to share with you! Have a go-to site? Share below!

Go Book Yourself

Sometimes you don't know what to read. So many books, so little time! Use this tumblr to "Go Book Yourself"

Go Book Yourself

NPR

A site crammed full of awesome - you'll find links to recent author interviews, reviews, book picks, conversations about reading, the future of publishing and other Literature links!

NPR Book Tumbler

NPR Website

Writers No One Reads

If you delight in reading the obscure and searching for little known treasures, try this site "Writers no One Reads

Writers No One Reads

Bookshelf Lizzie

Feel like watching rather then reading about books? Try this youtube channel full of book reviews and "booktube news"

eLizziebooks

Bookshelf PornIf, sometimes you just feel like daydreaming about a house filled with books, here's the site for you:

Bookshelf Porn

Pillage the Village Returns to Olds!

2014-03-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Olds, Alberta – The 2^nd annual library fundraiser returns to Olds Sportsplex! We invite you to join us this May for a medieval feast and a night of entertainment like no other! Pillage the Village will transport you into medieval times! Musicians, knights, peasants, merchants and jousters are all welcome on May 3, 2014.

Pillage the Village is a big medieval feast complete with entertainment, costumes, authentic food, drink, marketplace, tournaments and more. Take a trip back in time for an evening. Live in an era where the rich ruled the poor, horses were the only means of transport (other than your feet!), knights battled for cities, and pillaging was a regular occurrence! If you choose to, dress up for our fun costume contest for adults and children alike. In true medieval spirit, nobility are favored, and peasants are left to fend for themselves! This year’s features include extended hours, new menu and drink items, live band, silent auction and a variety of vendors (please note cash only). Tickets range from $30 to $60 and are available online at www.pillagethevillage.ca or at the Olds Municipal Library. Pillage the Village will be hosted at the Olds Sportsplex (space donated by the Town of Olds Council for the event) on May 3, 2014 with doors opening at 6pm.

Pillage the Village is a one of a kind event celebrating medieval times. The funds raised during this evening will go towards community programming and services at the Olds & District Municipal Library. Please support the Olds & District Municipal Library by attending this fun evening.

For the latest news and announcements like PillagetheVillage on Facebook or visit its website at www.pillagethevillage.ca.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Lesley Winfield
Library Manager
Olds Municipal Library
403-556-6460
lwinfield@prl.ab.ca

Canada's Water Week

2014-03-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that March 17-23 is Canada's Water Week? This annual celebration helps to promote education and understanding about water! As our bodies are made up of 75-80% of water and we need to consume water on a daily basis to survive, water is something we should all know about!

Canada Water Week is a week-long celebration of water from coast-to-coast-to-coast, held annually in the third week of March to coincide with World Water Day on March 22 Individuals, organizations and governments across the country are encouraged to get involved by organizing or participating in fun and educational events. Together, we can raise the profile and understanding of water.

Canadian Geographic defines a watershed as “an area of land where all the surface water drains into the same place, whether it's a creek, a stream, a river or an ocean.” That means that no matter where you are in Canada, you’re standing in a watershed! There are five main watersheds in Canada, the Atlantic, the Hudson Bay, the Arctic, the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. The largest of these is the Arctic Watershed, which includes the mighty Mackenzie River Basin, covering 1.8 million sq. km and draining 18 per cent of Canada’s land-mass! There are literally hundreds of smaller sub-watersheds throughout Canada that drain into our local lakes, rivers and streams. Want to find yours? Check out this handy online tool!

Despite the name, however, there is a lot more to watersheds than just “water.” From towering mountains to flat parries, from the tundra to all ocean coasts, from cities to towns, from forests, wildlife and fish to villages, ranches and farms, watersheds are puzzles with an infinite amount of pieces.

Find out more about Canada water week and what you can do to participate at: www.canadawaterweek.com
Learn more about Alberta water at: www.albertawater.com

What is Open Data?

2014-03-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

The concept of making data available to the masses has been around for quite a while. As early as 3 200 BC, the ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics on public structures to communicate information. They displayed important records of yearly tax collection and grain and cattle production for their citizens to view and interpret. (Keiran Harrop Open Government North of 49: Explorations in Open Government)

In 1855, after extensive analysis of ships' logs, weather patterns, and currents, oceanographer and meteorologist Matthew Fontaine Maury charted the information and published, The Physical Geography of the Sea. He wished to ensure, "that each may have before him, at a glance, the experience of all". He shared his findings and solicited the contributions of others resulting in a global safe navigation project. (Peter Kimpton October 25, 2013 Obama to Berners-Lee, Snow to Domesday: a history of open data)

In 1995, the term open data appeared in a document disclosing geophysical and environmental data. The authors of the report believed that natural components of the Earth were beyond borders and called for a complete and open exchange of scientific information necessary for the analysis and understanding of global phenomenon. The idea that data could be shared for a common good is an underlying principle of open data.

Today the open data movement proposes that certain data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish, without restrictions. This differs from “free information” which may be free and accessible, but because it is presented in a fixed format with a particular intent, it cannot easily be re-interpreted or reused. Once data is useable and can be shared freely it becomes a commodity and can be used for the common good. Open data is Canada’s newest natural resource.

Karole-Anne Christianson

The Orenda Crowned 2014 CBC Canada Reads Champion!

2014-03-07T10:19:00.001-07:00

THE ORENDA CROWNED 2014 CBC CANADA READS CHAMPION!

Though there was little surprise when broadcaster Wab Kinew shepherded Joseph Boyden'sThe Orenda (Hamish Hamilton Canada) to a win at the 2014 edition of CBC Canada Reads this morning, there was much enjoyment in the process for fans and panellists alike, and a final vote against a dark horse competitor that did inject a jolt of last-minute tension.

Heavily favoured from the beginning, The Orenda is Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Boyden's magnum opus, following the lives of three characters in the 17th century as they cross paths through violence, colonisation and the search for meaning.

The final day saw Kinew face off with comedian Samantha Bee, who defended Rawi Hage's dark Montreal novel Cockroach. Kinew eschewed his earlier tactic of a spoken word-style opening argument, opting to focus on the issues the novel brings to light and their importance to contemporary Canada, including reconciliation, the environment and gender relations.

Bee for her part also delivered a strong opening, calling for attention for the marginalised and oppressed, particularly those in the immigrant community and those struggling with mental illness, as represented by the nameless protagonist ofCockroach.

Both panellists graciously acknowledged the strengths of their opponent's chosen novels. "I believe [Cockroach] is well-written," said Kinew, comparing it to masterworks by Kafka and Dostoyevsky. Bee agreed, saying, "I loved [The Orenda]."

Kinew rose to the challenge of defending the complex novel, widely considered to be Boyden's finest work yet, so well that host Jian Ghomeshi briefly took a role as devil's advocate, asking whether the novel itself was drawing out all the themes Kinew spoke on or, "Do we need Wab Kinew beside us while we read?"

In the end, while both books offered the utmost in literary merit, the grave importance of the issues raised in The Orendatipped the balance in its favour, particularly as this year's Canada Reads theme is "What is the one book that could change Canada?".

Though set nearly four hundred years ago, its relevance remains as reconciliation and Aboriginal rights remain key issues in Canadian society. Panellist and humanitarian Stephen Lewis confirmed his belief in the importance of reconciliation, saying the horrifying mistreatment of First Nations peoples historically in Canada is "the original sin from which everything else flows." Kinew posed The Orenda as a chance to "reclaim the narrative [of Canadian history] and re-insert an indigenous voice". He went on, speaking to a packed house. "We can't change where we have been but we'll be damned if we can't understand it."

Bee put in an impassioned final stand for Cockroach, getting choked up as she asked the room to consider that "a sense of belonging can happen in the smallest of moments... change ripples out from individuals". She managed to sway fellow panellist and Olympian Donovan Bailey to her side, as he voted to eliminate The Orenda during the final tally. Lewis voted against Cockroach.

The deciding vote fell to actress Sarah Gadon, who had been defending Annabel by Kathleen Winter until it was axed on Day Three. Gadon had asked intelligent questions about both final books during the debates, objecting to what many saw as the nihilism of Cockroach and questioning the roles for female characters in The Orenda. In the end, however, she chose to eliminate Cockroach, leaving The Orenda as the last book standing.

The Orenda will enjoy the coveted "Canada Reads effect" in addition to its exposure as a Scotiabank Giller Prize and Governor General's Literary Award nominee.

Boyden was reached on the phone after The Orenda's victory was confirmed. "I'm shaking," he said. "I'm in Thunder Bay and I'm shaking — not from the cold". When asked what he thought of Kinew's performance, he said, "I've started a hashtag on Twitter: #WabKinewforPrimeMinister".

Hage was not called, but his presence was also felt; he had sent a friend to the debates bearing a gift for all the panellists — fresh Montreal bagels. They should come in handy as, after a week of some of the most intense and emotional Canada Reads debates to date, the panellists are sure to have worked up an appetite.

Originally posted by Grace @ Open Book Toronto

What are your thoughts on Canada Reads?

Canada Reads Highlight: Year of the Flood

2014-02-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

Next Up in our Canada Reads Highlights is "Year of the Flood" by Margaret Atwood

Year of the Flood will be defended by Stephen Lewis in this years Canada Reads

The following review is from My Porch

Margaret Atwood prefers the term speculative fiction rather than science fiction to describe her latest novel The Year of the Flood (and her other works like it). Some might be hard pressed to understand the difference, but perhaps the distinction may be that Atwood speculates about the future based on our current trajectory rather than making up a new universe out of whole cloth. Not having read much science fiction over the years, I am not going to weigh in too much on this one. Suffice it to say that Atwood calls it speculative fiction. And since she is a goddess among us, I will defer to her wishes.

All of the speculative oddities included in The Year of the Flood seem less crazy not only because one can see the roots of the idea in what is happening in the present, but also because Atwood is a master prose writer and draws the reader effortlessly into this world. She doesn’t hammer these ideas home, she gently, in bits and pieces, introduces the reader to this dystopian future. Like all of Atwood’s novels, the characters are interesting and nuanced and don’t necessarily need the setting to make them so.

This story of survival, in the most trying of ecological and societal circumstances, is at times as whimsical as it is an overwhelmingly sad prediction of our future. A religious sect interested in bringing the biblical peaceable kingdom to fruition on earth attempts to get the lion and lamb to lay down together by genetically engineering “liobams”. The thought being that these lion/lamb hybrids would make such peace possible. However, as Atwood notes in the novel, the results were less than vegetarian. But this is only the tip of the iceberg (which don’t seem to exist in the future). In The Year of the Flood Atwood creates a complete world full of creatures and circumstances that are fascinating and yet seem entirely plausible after a few chapters.

This brings me to another aspect of Atwood’s great talent/skill. In addition to her writing ability, she knows so much about so many subjects or at least does the research to make it seem like she does. Like other great writers she is adept at weaving in deep layers of religious, mythological, psychological, philosophical, scientific, and cultural references. She also doesn’t shy away from sex, drugs, and violence, and writes about them in a way that makes you forget that she just entered her eighth decade.

One aspect of the story I found disappointing was her depiction of gender roles. Atwood’s future contains all kinds of advances in science but it doesn’t seem to include any evolution of male/female roles and attitudes. It is possible that this was a conscious choice on her part. Maybe she thinks the future doesn’t look bright for gender equality, or perhaps in this dystopian world where physical survival is paramount and weapons are hard to come by, gender roles devolve to something a little more Neanderthal. But I got the feeling that at least some of it suggests that Atwood’s personal outlook on gender--which doesn’t seem to grasp that men frequent spas--is stuck somewhere in the past.

There is definitely an environmental message here. About global warming, genetic engineering, the promise and danger of technology, and the effects they all will have on life as we currently know it. At no time does it come across as a political tract, unless you are one of those folks who believe we can do whatever we want to the planet and not suffer any consequences. If that is you, you will hate this book. As depressing as Atwood’s future world is, it kind of helps me cope with the stress of feeling powerless to do much about the enviro-political greed and stupidity we must deal with these days. Of course it is a fatalistic kind of relief. As in, won’t the planet be a better place without us? And personally, the idea that death means donating oneself “to the matrix of life” is quite comforting to me.

Finally, some of you are going to ask if you need to read Oryx and Crake first. The answer is no. It might enhance certain aspects of the book as some of the characters do reappear, but the book is fabulous enough to stand on its own.

Other views (if you have reviewed it, let me know and I will link):
Boston Bibliophile
Shelf Love
Books - Sliced and Diced
Savidge Reads
The Mookse and the Gripes (This reviewer hated it so much I wasn't sure we read the same book.)

This review was originally published by Thomas at My Porch
http://myporchblog.blogspot.ca/2009/11/book-review-year-of-flood.html

That wraps up our Canada Reads Highlights! We hope you enjoyed reading the reviews! Celebrate Canada Reads with Us February 27 and March 6 from 7-9. Visit http://oml.prl.ab.ca/Library_Programs#canadareads for more information

Have you read Year of the Flood? What are your thoughts?

Canada Reads Highlight: Cockroach

2014-02-17T11:41:00.000-07:00

Next Up in our Canada Reads Highlights is "Cockroach" By Rawi Hage

Cockroach will be defended by Samantha Bee in this years Canada Reads

The following review is from Corey of Shelf Monkey

Cockroach by Rawi Hage - review

Seeing as immigration is an integral element of the Canadian landscape, it should come as no surprise that authors might seek to dip into this cultural stew for dramatic purposes. Very few, however, would likely seek to add the phantasmagorical and hallucinatory elements that Rawi Hage’s novel Cockroach brings to the recipe.

The Canadian author arose seemingly from out of nowhere in 2006 when his debut novel De Niro’s Game was rescued from the obscurity of the slush pile at House of Anansi Press. The novel was immediately deluged with plaudits and awards, culminating in his recent win of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the largest English literary prize on the planet.

No one could blame Hage for any perceived degree of tentativeness in his approach to his sophomore novel. Yet while it contains many of the same themes as his first,Cockroach proves that Hage is not content to rest on his laurels.

Leaving behind Game’s war-blighted Lebanon, Cockroach sets itself in the more overtly familiar surroundings of Montreal. But while the country may be considerably dissimilar, Hage continues his penchant for bleak poetic atmosphere, transforming the bustling metropolis into an alien topography of menial jobs, mysterious accents, insect infestations, and class hostilities.Cockroach is first and foremost a character study of a stranger in a strange land. A very strange stranger at that, an individual who possesses the odd habit of imagining himself at times to be a cockroach; “Other humans gaze at the sky,” he explains, “ but I say unto you, the only way through the world is to pass through the underground.”

Hage has more on his mind than allusions to Franz Kafka, however. Like Kafka’s many baffled protagonists, Hage’s anti-hero may be bewildered by the machinations of the world, but he is no mere observer, taking pains wherever and whenever he can to make his presence felt.

Similar to the leads in De Niro’s Game, the narrator is not so much a hero as he is a survivor, but with a far bleaker approach to life. Unlike the start realism of the former novel’s, the narrator of Cockroach may or may not be on the brink of insanity, adding a surreal aspect to many of his daily encounters.Cockroach’s unnamed narrator is an immigrant to Canada, an man who ekes out a living through a combination of odd jobs, threats, and surreptitious thievery. After a haphazard suicide attempt, explained as being “a challenge to nature, to the cosmos itself, to the recurring light,” he is ordered to attend therapy sessions to assess his mental competency.

The narrator is not having an easy time of it living in Montreal, the clash of cultures altering the man he perceives himself to be. “[H]ere in this Northern land,” he laments, comparing his new life to his old, “no one gives you an excuse to hit, rob, or shoot, or even to shout from across the balcony, to curse your neighbours’ mothers and threaten their kids.”

Alongside a gift for breaking and entering, the narrator prides himself on his ability to lay bare the true natures of those who surround him. “I see people for what they are. I strip them of everything and see their hollowness. I strip them, and they are relieved of the burden of colour and disguise.”

Hage writes his tale in short, declarative sentences, capturing the despondency of a life of potential trapped in a world as similarly rigid in its caste structure as the land that he left. The narrator grimly acknowledges himself and his acquaintances as “the scum of the earth in this capitalist endeavour,” and it becomes readily apparent that Hage did not have to trek too far to revisit the themes of isolation and pain that suffused the pages of Di Niro’s Game.

Like that novel, Cockroach occasionally betrays a wicked wit beneath the pathos, manifesting through the narrator’s inserting himself into the lives of those he watches. “I was part of their TV dinner,” he writes after one young couple watches him as they would watch a reality television show, “I was spinning in a microwave, stripped of my plastic cover, eaten, and defecated the next morning just as the filtered coffee was brewing in the kitchen and the radio was prophesying the weather, telling them what to wear, what to buy, what to say, whom to watch, and whom to like and hate.”

Despite its many admirable qualities, Cockroach is not flawless. There is an abrupt switch at the halfway point as a more formalized plot begins to force its way onto the page. The ending, involving a weirdly-played subplot of a mysterious figure who draws the attention of the narrator’s friends, feels rushed and incomplete.Cockroach is also, like its hero, a supremely frustrating creature, alternately fascinating and confused. By the finale, the skill of Hage is readily apparent, but there is a maddening sense of incompleteness to the whole of the novel, an impression exemplified by the narrator’s frequent digressions that entertain and provoke but don’t linger in the mind, a dilemma De Niro’s Game so effortlessly avoided.

Nevertheless, Cockroach reveals Hage to be no mere fluke, but a fearless talent with his best years ahead. Regardless of its shortcomings, Cockroach exposes a world so otherworldly to most Canadians as to be near-unimaginable, and reveals an author on the cusp of greatness.

Originally published (heavily expurgated version) in the Winnipeg Free Press, August 31, 2008.

This review was originally published by Corey of Shelf Monkey at:
http://shelf-monkey.blogspot.ca/2008/09/cockroach-by-rawi-hage-review.html

Celebrate Canada Reads with Us February 27 and March 6 from 7-9. Visit http://oml.prl.ab.ca/Library_Programs#canadareads for more information.

Have you read Cockroach? What are your thoughts?

2014-02-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Tech Corner Tip - Get 50GBs of free cloud storage (Limited time Ends February 15th)

Cloud Storage Basics

If you know a little about cloud storage, you would know that it is an easy way to store files and photos on the internet. The Advantage of this is that you can access these file and photos anywhere in the world as long as you have internet access. It also is great for storing valuable stuff like family photos because if your house burns down or your computer fails and so on, you can always get those files back by simply logging online to another computer, tablet, or phone.

Popular Cloud Storage Services

These include

Dropbox

Google Drive

Skydrive

All of which offer 2 - 10GBs of Free Cloud Storage while charging if you require more GBs

Box

There is another Cloud Storage Service called BOX

Now BOX originally comes with 10GBs of free storage, but until February 15th BOX is giving away 50GBs of free storage in celebration of their iPhone and iPad application

This brief video shows you what you can do with BOX Cloud Storage

How do I get this 50GBs of Free Storage?

Following these steps

- Simply downloading the "BOX" application on an iPhone or iPad

- Signing up or Signing into the iPhone or iPad application (you will have to verify your account first if your signing up)

- You should then receive an email saying "You got 50GBs" Where you click the "Go To Box" icon

- And then you should have your 50GBs of free storage (check your account setting to make sure)
Post Describing the Same steps Here

What if I don't have an iPhone or iPad?

If you do not have an iPhone or iPad for this process you can still get your 50GBs by borrowing someones iPad or iPhone and deleting and re-downloading the application (if already downloaded on that device) and then following the same process as above

Afterwards you can use the BOX web and Desktop applications to upload and transfer files

Things to Remember

- This is a limited time offer. After February 15, 2014 the offer will expire

- You can log onto box.com from any computer to access your files

- Download "Box Sync 4" on your computer for easy transfer and uploading of files

Canada Reads Highlight: Annabel

2014-02-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Next Up in our Canada Reads Highlights is "Annabel" By Kathleen Winter

Annabel will be defended by Sarah Gadon in this years Canada Reads

The following review is from JK of Keeping it Real Book Club

Just a couple pages into her first novel, Annabel, Kathleen Winter writes, “Some know, from birth, that their homeland has a respiratory system, that it pulls energy from rock and mountain and water and gravitational activity beyond Earth, and that it breathes energy in return. And that others don’t know it.”

The land be described is Labrador, a place that was once a dark zone in my imagination, dominated by a general sense of darkness and cold. Yet after reading this enchanting novel, I could not feel more differently. For Winter breathes life into every bush, every bird of this formidable island, inflating it with her reverence, evoking a hidden, but essential life force that pulses through all ofAnnabel.

It’s a secret energy as well, known only to those with the patience and the sensitivity to seek it. For this is a book of secrets, ones buried deep in places we hide from others and even from ourselves. The most obvious example of this lies in Annabel’s protagonist, Wayne Blake, a inter-sex child raised as a male by his parents who fear there is no place for a son-daughter in 1960s Croyden Harbour. In this small coastal town, men’s and women’s roles are sharply defined and separate. The men leave for the bush to tend the traplines for months at a time, while the women tend the home. This division of tasks enables them to survive the long, hard winter, but at the cost of certain freedoms and flexibilities. Winter writes, “Women of Croydon Harbour knew what was expected of them at all times, and they did it, and then men were expected to do things too, and they did these, and there was no time left.” Since these roles are so closely tied to survival, challenging them comes with a high risk.

It’s a harsh world for someone like Wayne who haunts the boundaries between the sexes. As a child, he is drawn to symmetry as he tries to seek balance between his two selves – the boy he knows, and his secret self, Annabel, named for a girl who drowns in the book’s prologue. As he tries to connect with his traditional trapper father, Wayne also knows he wants a women’s sequined swimsuit. He searches for beauty, not in the places his father sees it (out in the wilderness), but in bridges, in art, in the synchronized swimmers on TV. Luckily, Wayne has the support of Thomasina, mother to the drowned girl, and a woman who bridges the male/female spheres by working and traveling, breaking down physical and metaphoric borders. She never feels Wayne needs to be either/or, and is the one who raises Annabel while Treadway and Jacinta are busy raising Wayne. For “to Thomasina people were rivers, always ready to move from one state of being into another. It was not fair, she felt, to treat people as if they were finished beings. Everyone was always becoming and unbecoming.” Though Treadway is disturbed by the fact that Wayne doesn’t have the same connection with nature that he considers both sacred and necessary, Thomasina realizes that Wayne has a similar irrepressible life force inside of him, one equally deserving of reverence.

We watch Wayne grow up over the novel’s 400 pages, trying to find a space unrestricted by expectation, convention and definition. He physically loses his male edges as he ventures deeper into the unknown female part of himself, searching for the deeper energy, like the land itself. And venturing within, attempting to hunt one’s own secrets, is as lonely as Treadway’s long voyages into the forest.

It’s a book where all the characters suffer from a palpable loneliness, sometimes isolated and sometimes isolating themselves. In one of her excellent posts as guest editor of the Afterword recently, Winter makes the connection between Wayne’s lonely search for something indefinable, and our own approach to literature:

Part of what attracted me to the story of Wayne’s hidden gender was what I consider to be the hidden person inside each of us. Because s/he is hidden and unrecognized, this real self experiences deep loneliness. If art, music and literature have a function, perhaps that function is to release us from solitude and help us find our true selves.

For fundamentally, we’re all looking for a connection — with others, with ourselves, with art — and Annabel‘s main characters are no different. In fact, though it was the mysterious magnetism of Labrador that drew me into the story, it was the tender, troubled characters that held my interest as they desperately try to connect with one another and with the world, to find someone who speaks to their secret selves. I was inspired by Thomasina’s independence, courage and sensitivity (and chagrined when she departed for many chapters); I was moved by Jacinta’s love for her husband and son, and her own cautious independence; I was enchanted by Treadway’s connection to the natural world and absolutely devastated when he could not find the same connection in his child. As Wayne and Treadway try to repair their relationship, the experience felt so precarious and so pivotal that my eyes welled with subway tears, and I was too engaged to care.

Winter’s writing is quiet and measured, though it has a sense of vulnerability as well. And in the manner of Lisa Moore, she has an incredible eye for detail. A line like “He saw that his father’s hands were big around the berries, but his thumb and finger had no problem aiming for the delicate berry and picking it” perfectly encapsulates Treadway’s character, especially at the moment she’s chosen. The fact that Jacinta prefers plain white garden gloves to the ladies’ variety, and that Treadway knows this, and loves this about her, speaks volumes about their relationship.

Annabel is a sensitive, wise, and important exploration of how we connect with nature, ourselves and with others. In a book about breaking down barriers, this sure-footed storyteller’s remarkable achievement is that she has largely abolished the barriers between reader and page, so that Labrador is not just a living and breathing entity, but one lives and breathes within you.

This review was originally published by JK of Keepin' it Real Book Club http://kirbc.com/2010/07/12/annabel-by-kathleen-winter/

Celebrate Canada Reads with Us February 27 and March 6 from 7-9. Visit http://oml.prl.ab.ca/Library_Programs#canadareads for more information.

Have you read Annabel? What are your thoughts?

Canada Reads Highlight: Orenda

2014-02-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

Next Up in our Canada Reads Highlights is "Orenda" By Joseph Boyden

Orenda will be defended by Wab Kinew in this years Canada Reads

The following review is from Jennifer Dawson of Literal Life

Joseph Boyden’s newest novel, The Orenda, is epic. And I don’t use this word in the over-inflated urban dictionary, affected manner. No. The Orenda is truly an epic novel. It’s sweeping and has a nearly magical feel about it. The story is set during the very early 17th century, a time when Canada’s native people had been living without interference from outsiders. But European explorations had been making inroads, bringing white populations to the country, and Jesuit missionaries were attempting to reach the indigenous people, to convert them to the Catholic faith. The Orendadeftly presents all of these issues; it is a tough and challenging story that will awe readers.

Boyden has three narrators, and so we gain three diverse perspectives: Christophe is a French Jesuit missionary; Snow Falls, a teenaged girl of Haudenosaunee nation (Iroquois) has been kidnapped by the Wendat (a Huron nation); and Bird – a leader of the Wendats who has been grieving the deaths of his wife and children.

The book opens boldly, with a violent act and a difficult journey. And this opening, is emblematic – the book is punctuated by acts of violence. Early on in the story, we are told that ‘the orenda’ represents a life force which is present in everything – and the orenda is not reserved only for humans. But we also learn about tortures visited upon some characters. While utterly brutal, and seemingly counter to the life force, these forms of torture seem revered and are highly honoured. As a counter to the sufferings, we are also shown the power of the orenda in healing ceremonies.

This balance between opposing ideas is integral. Boyden seems to have well-captured each side – and there are always more than two – with such respect and understanding. Horrible things happen in The Orenda – but because something from our past is difficult, readers should not shy away from this novel. It is so evident, through Boyden’s beautiful and nuanced writing, just how important this story is, and how much it needed to be told.

Recently, The Orenda was selected as one of five books competing in Canada Reads 2014. The theme chosen for the 2014 edition of the program is social change: what is the one book that could change Canada?

Joseph Boyden & Wab Kinew
Photo © CBC Books

The Orenda is a very strong contender, and it has excellent representation for the debates. Championing Boyden’s novel isWab Kinew. Kinew is an amazing guy – he’s a musician, broadcaster and educator, and has hosted programming on the CBC. In 2012, the University of Winnipeg named Kinew its first director of indigenous inclusion. At the launch event for Canada Reads, Kinew spoke so eloquently and passionately about reconciliation and hope, not only for First Nations’ people – but for all Canadians.

Reconciliation is an important theme in The Orenda and this novel seems well-poised to spark important conversations (even while it is showing us and teaching us things that are nearly irreconcilable). With hope, true change, healing and acceptance can result from reading this one novel. We need to learn from our past and we need to do better – individually, as human beings and collectively, as a nation. Joseph Boyden and Wab Kinew can help get us there, if we open our hearts and minds, listen and learn.

Book’s Description:

A visceral portrait of life at a crossroads, The Orenda opens with a brutal massacre and the kidnapping of the young Iroquois Snow Falls, a spirited girl with a special gift. Her captor, Bird, is an elder and one of the Huron Nation’s great warriors and statesmen. It has been years since the murder of his family, and yet they are never far from his mind. In Snow Falls, Bird recognizes the ghost of his lost daughter and sees that the girl possesses powerful magic that will be useful to him on the troubled road ahead. Bird’s people have battled the Iroquois for as long as he can remember, but both tribes now face a new, more dangerous threat from afar.

Christophe, a charismatic Jesuit missionary, has found his calling among the Huron, and devotes himself to learning and understanding their customs and language in order to lead them to Christ. An emissary from distant lands, he brings much more than his faith to the new world.

As these three souls dance with each other through intricately woven acts of duplicity, small battles erupt into bigger wars and a nation emerges from worlds in flux.

Publisher’s Information:

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Canada (an imprint of Penguin Canada)

Hardcover: 496 pages

Publication Date: 10 September 2013

Language: English

ISBN-13: 978-0670064182

I am happy to be participating in Penguin Canada’s Daily December Delights holiday campaign. As a participant in this special month-long event, I had the chance to read the most amazing novel. And I am very happy to recommend The Orenda to you today. It truly is a novel everyone should read.

This Review was originally published by Jennifer Dawson of Literal Life at: http://literallife.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/the-orenda-joseph-boyden

Our Canada Reads Celebration will be held on January 27 & March 6 from 7-9 pm at Olds Municipal Library. For more information visit: http://oml.prl.ab.ca/Library_Programs#canadareads

Have you read "Orenda" - if so, what are your thoughts?

Canada Reads Highlight: Half-Blood Blues

2014-01-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Canada Reads is just around the corner. We'll be featuring a review of each book by our fellows in the blogging community.

The First is Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan.

Half-Blood Blues will be defended by Donovan Bailey in this years Canada Reads.

Today brings us Literary Lindsey and her take on Half-Blood Blues

"Sid Griffiths, an elderly bass player, is invited to attend a festival in honor of former band mate Hieronymus Falk. The documentary shown there reveals a secret that Sid has kept for many years. He stood by and watched as Hiero was arrested by the Nazis. Everyone believes that the great trumpeter died shortly after the war, a casualty of racism and Sid’s refusal to intervene. At the festival, Sid’s friend and former band mate Chip reveals that Hiero is not dead after all. In fact, Chip and Hiero have been corresponding and now Chip thinks they should go visit him. This revelation takes Sid back to Berlin and Paris in 1939, the scenes of some of his greatest failures.

In Paris, they meet up with Louis Armstrong and start to work on a track that will be lost and then discovered after the war. This song will forever change the face of jazz music. “Of course, the recording’s cult status had to do with the illusion of it all. I mean, not just of the kid but all of us, all the Hot-Time Swingers. Think about it. A bunch of German and American kids meeting up in Berlin and Paris between the wars to make all this wild, joyful music before the Nazis kick it to pieces? And the legend survives when a lone tin box if dug out of a damn wall in a flat once belonged to a Nazi? Man. If that ain’t a ghost story, I never heard one.”

Ms. Edugyan does an excellent job of transporting the reader to Berlin and Paris on the verge of war. You feel the tension as they go from safe, familiar places to war zones. The dialect is very unique and specific to both the time period and the circles which Sid and his friends frequent. For a novel that revolves around music, it is still very accessible to someone who knows nothing about jazz.

The characters are well-written, but none of them really find their way into your head or your heart. The novel switches between past and present, and our narrator Sid is more interesting as the old man with regrets than as the jealous young musician. The other characters feel underdeveloped, especially Hiero. Although it may have been a conscious decision to make the object of Sid’s admiration and jealousy an enigma, it makes it difficult for the reader to feel anything for him. The other musicians don’t get a lot of page time, which is a loss because the little that we do get is interesting. Even Delilah, the beautiful songstress who captures Sid’s heart, remains mostly unknown to the men and to the reader.

I liked this book. I enjoyed reading about a niche group and the unique issues that the musicians faced because are black. While this is a good read, it’s not a book I feel compelled to extol to every person I encounter. With all of the buzz that this book and its author are receiving, it will be interesting to see what Esi Edugyan does next. "

Originally Posted by Literary Lindsey at

http://www.literarylindsey.com/2012/04/review-half-blood-blues.html?spref=bl

Have you read Half Blood Blues? What are your thoughts?

Don't Forget to visit us at the library for Half Blood Blues February 27 and March 6 at 7-9 for our Canada Reads Celebration! More Details Here: http://oml.prl.ab.ca/Library_Programs#canadareads

2014: Books on the Big Screen

2014-01-13T10:40:00.004-07:00

Love Books? Movie Go-Er? 2014 is an exciting year for film adaptations - Here's a list of must reads before the book hits the big screen:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Movie release date: March 21 -2014

Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

Request it from the Library

Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Movie release date: June 6 2014

Summary: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten

Request it from the Library

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Movie release date: September 19 2014

Summary: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he's not alone. When the lift's doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade-a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they've closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up-the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Request it from the Library

Gone Girl by Gillian Flyn

Movie release date: October 3 -2014

Summary: On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick's clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn't doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife's head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media--as well as Amy's fiercely doting parents--the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he's definitely bitter--but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn't do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Request it from the Library

Monuments Men by Robert Edsel

Movie release date: February 7-2014

Summary: At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: "degenerate" works he despised.

In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.
Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world's great art from the Nazis

Request it from the Library

Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight

Movie Release Date: TBA

Summary: A stunning debut novel in which a single mother reconstructs her teenaged daughter's life, sifting through her emails, texts, and social media to piece together the shocking truth about the last days of her life.

Litigation lawyer and harried single mother Kate Baron is stunned when her daughter's exclusive private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn, calls with disturbing news: her intelligent, high-achieving fifteen-year-old daughter, Amelia, has been caught cheating.

Kate can't believe that Amelia, an ambitious, levelheaded girl who's never been in trouble would do something like that. But by the time she arrives at Grace Hall, Kate's faced with far more devastating news. Amelia is dead.

Told in alternating voices, Reconstructing Amelia is a story of secrets and lies, of love and betrayal, of trusted friends and vicious bullies. It's about how well a parent ever really knows a child and how far one mother will go to vindicate the memory of a daughter whose life she could not save

Request it from the Library

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Movie Release Date: August 22 2014

Summary: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands

Staff Spotlight! - Victoria

2013-10-21T08:21:00.000-06:00

Name: Victoria

Position: Library Page

How long have you worked in libraries? I have been working at Olds Library for one year now. This is the first library position I have ever had but I certainly enjoy it! :)

What's the most interesting or funny thing that's happened to you in the library? One of the most interesting things at the library I've seen is the places you'll find things. I've found books shoved under the shelves that are almost impossible to get out, so how did they get in there? They are often stuck behind or in between shelves and I can guarantee you books will be tucked away on the top shelf, just out of eye site.

What's your favourite book? I wouldn't say I have a favourite book but I definitely have a favourite author and that would be Sophie Kinsella. She is hilarious and always keeps you guessing till the last page.

What's your favourite library program? One of my favorite library programs is recommended reads. People submit a book title and let us no why they liked it and why other people would like it. I have always found the books that are recommended are great. So check it out next time you come and join us at the library! :)

What's your favourite Quote? I have two favourite quotes and both of these are so true about me.

"It's funny how I'm good at giving advice to others, but when it comes to helping myself, I don't know what to do."

"I would rather own little and see the world than, see little of it and own a lot."

Any hobbies or interests you're willing to share?

My hobbies include reading and traveling. I haven't had a lot of time to read lately but wish I could do it more often. Once I start reading I automatically fall into the main characters place and have vanished from the real world. Traveling is also something I love even if its just a road trip. I love it when I look at a picture and think I'm going to go their one day and how pretty it is and then when you get there it is actually ten times prettier.

Staff Spotlight! - Carson

2013-10-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

Name: Carson

Position: Computer Services Coordinator

How long have you worked in libraries?: Olds Municipal Library is my first job within libraries, and I have been here a little over 1 year

What's the most interesting or funny thing that's happened to you in the library?: This is a hard question because there is so many interesting things that happen in this library. That being said, something I will never hear the end of, at the last Christmas party, the staff pushed me into karaoke. Adriene and I sang "big girls don't cry" by Fergie. And let’s just say, Adriene can hold her tears back better than me.

What's your favourite book?: I don’t really have a favourite book and for someone that works at a library, strangely, I barely read books. If I do find myself reading, it’s usually non-fiction educational books that have to do with finance, computers, or art. I don't enjoy reading very much, but I love stories. I often find myself watching TV shows, Movies, Games just to observe the story. I also like reading scripts and then watching the movie at the same time to compare how the director visualized it, compared to me. Some of my favourite stories are Dexter, Breaking Bad, Inception, and The Prestige.

What's your favourite library program?: I don't get to attend many library programs as they run the same time as I work, but I do often get to sit in on the BusinessLink sessions. These sessions are sometimes very interesting, because they have to deal with business and technology being worked together, such as marketing, new trends, and using technology in the business place. This interests me, because some day I want to either own my own business or do work on the side as a business and the BusinessLink sessions can offer a lot of knowledge.

What's your favourite Quotes?: They say there is no place for you here, so you better make one - Letlive.

Any hobbies or interests you're willing to share?: Most of my spare time involves hanging out with friends, in a small town like Olds, you have to find new ways to entertain yourself. This is anywhere from camping, making 100ft slip and slides and playing human bowling, throwing down at concerts, or simply just having fun. Other hobbies include a few ways to occupy my time from drawing and painting, trying to make websites and iPhone applications, creating videos, gaming on my Xbox, longboarding, or plenty of other activities.

Board Spotlight! - Nahid

2013-10-07T09:00:00.000-06:00

Name: Nahid

Position:

Member of Board & Finance Committee, and Library Operations Assistant

Why did you join the library board?

I enjoy volunteering and have been a volunteer in the library at Calgary and in Olds, since 2008, helping with the programs and day to day operations. When I saw the ad accepting new board members, I thought this would be a good opportunity to utilize my professional skills.

What’s the most interesting or funny thing that’s happened to you since joining the board?

The first Board meeting that I attend was so formal and prestigious to me in one of the evenings in October. So I tried to be “very” formal and with a gesture as a “member of the Board”. We closed our meeting at 8:10pm and I said goodbye to everybody and left the room. Of course in a very formal and prestigious pose! At that time, most of the lights at the library were off. The corridor was dark. I thought that the main doors would be closed, so I tried to get to the back doors, passing through those large glass doors across the corridor.

Well… I was wrong! The large glass door was closed, and I couldn’t see it clearly, so I crashed into it firmly. My nose, left knee and left hand hit the glass! Along with a loud bang! I bounced back. Was it painful?! Of course it was! But I couldn’t stop laughing at it, especially with that formal pose just before the crash. The first thing that I thought at that time was whether anybody saw me, and then tried to get out the library quickly. I laughed, and laughed as I limped home. Still I laugh at it, each time I remember it.

I think, if we had a surveillance camera there, we could catch something for funniest videos. Anyway, I don’t try anymore to get that artificial pose anywhere; I just try to be myself!

What’s your favorite book?

Well, I really cannot select ONE, as my favorite book. If I did, then it wouldn’t be fair to the other ones. Actually, there are certain books that after a while I still enjoy reading thoroughly from time to time. I will limit them to my top 5 as follows (excluding the books written in Persian by the authors from my home country):

The Old & Sweet: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Affectionate: The Fruits of the Earth by André Gide
The Lively: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
The Right Hand: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The Ongoing: The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant

What’s your favorite library program?

English as a Second Language (ESL) program is maybe my favorite program, where I learned for the first time to communicate with the community in Canada.

What’s your favorite Quote?

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving” ~ Albert Einstein

Any hobbies or interests you’re willing to share?

I enjoy any type of mountaineering. That’s the way I learn how to enjoy life even during the hard times. Also, volunteering and sharing my times and efforts by helping people is one of my favourite things to do. If I’m not doing those, biking, cooking, reading, and gardening fill my spare time.

How much does the Library Save You?

2013-10-03T10:01:00.000-06:00

Thousands of Central Albertan residents head to the library every day to borrow books, music, and movies, to read newspapers, use computers, learn English, participate in programs, or get answers to their questions. Many use the library from home, taking advantage of resources like Mango Languages and PressDisplay online newspapers. These services and more are available with a library card, which costs central Albertans on average just over a $1.00 a month.

So how much money does your library save you and your family each month? Use our calculator to find out. Just enter your monthly uses for each offering to see your savings grow. With our new library savings calculator you can find out just how much you save by having a library card. Click here to find out how much you save. http://oml.prl.ab.ca/libraryvalue#node-4523

Did you know the saving to the community of Olds is Millions of dollars!? According to the 2012 statistics we can see that our community saved $2 666 895 This is money that members of our community can now spend on other important needs or invest in purchases in our community that can help our local economy. An investment in the library is an investment in the community.

Items Circulated Circulated ($20.00/Item):
2012: 94 131 = $1 882 620
2013 YTD: 62 249 = $1 244 980

In today’s market place, the cost of books, videos, magazines, audio books, and other materials can range anywhere from $10.99 for a mass market paperback to $35.99 for a hardcover new release. Non fiction items and audio books can range anywhere from $30.00 to $120.00. Using the average list price of books purchased by the library, a $20.00 value was given to each item borrowed. This includes all our items including ebooks, music, DVDs, and books.

Resources Used ($20.00/Item):

2012: 20 906 = $418 120
2013 YTD: 17 829 = $356 580

Not all members of the community check books out when they come into the library. Many users come into the library and use the resources without taking them home. This is a valuable service for people who just want to do research at our study tables, students, and patrons looking for a place to be during the day. While it's impossible to measure the value of having "place", the same formula as above can be used to find the value of this service per item.

Reference Services (25.00/Transaction):

2012: 6 904 = $172 600

2013 YTD: 5 742 = $143 550

This benefit is a lot harder to place a value on since the benefits of the service are not as easily measured. According to the St. Louis Public Library Cost Benefit Analysis the value of this service was valued at $50.00 per hour. The Olds Municipal Library keeps track of number of transactions instead of tracking of hour, therefore it is important to try and come up with a value per transaction. The type of questions the librarians are asked in Olds range from computer technical/troubleshooting help, (in the library and over the phone), answers to medical questions, readers advisory services, researching topics for school and business, job searches/resumes, tutoring and much more. Some transactions take days of research to complete and some only minutes, but the value to the researcher is abundant no matter the amount of time spent. The average cost of a computer technician, teacher, business consultant, etc. varies substantially. After much discussion it was decided that a conservative $25.00 per transaction was the estimated value of a reference transaction to the patron.

Hours of Computer Use ($5.00/ Hour):
2012 9 761 = $48 805
2013 YTD: 8 571 = $42 855

An average Internet Café in Alberta costs around $5.00 per hour. Federal and provincial government grants allow libraries to offer internet services at no charge to their users. Being able to use the computers at no cost evens the playing field and allows people who are unable to use the internet at home access. It is beneficial to business people in town for a short while, tourists visiting the community, students, or people who are trying to keep in touch with friends and family members. The information highway has become a huge part of daily life for almost everyone in today’s society and it is hard to measure just how valuable the service is. The stations in the library are almost always in use. This doesn't count the number of WiFi logins we have where people are able to login with their own computers or devices!

Programs and Learning Opportunities ($25.00/participant):
2012 5 790 = $144 750
2013 YTD: 2 397 = $71 910

This item is also very hard to assign a value to. The programs that run at the library include Story Hour for preschool aged children, after school programs and Homework Help for youth, to computer courses and many other programs for adults. The courses at the library are kept at low cost to assure they remain barrier free. The average value as compared with professional courses is approximately $25.00 higher per participant than is actually paid

There are also a number of indirect benefits to having a library in your community. Many of these are invaluable to the development of a community and it is impossible to put a monetary value on them.

Some Indirect Benefits

Workshops on survival skills like job hunting, test preparation, resume writing, word processing and spreadsheet programs prepare people for the workforce, affecting the long term economic health of the community.
Children attending summer programs have greater success when returning to school. Libraries contribute to the literacy levels of a community helping to create future voters that can make informed decisions.
The value of real estate may go up in the vicinity of a library or a new branch.
Crime and unruly behavior may go down if kids have access to library programs and services to ward off boredom.
Parents can know that their children have a safe place to be in a community with a library available to them.
Libraries offer ESL and Literacy training for new citizens and adult learners increasing their ability to be contributing members of society.
Other nonprofit groups have a facility to offer programs at no cost.
Community members have a central hub in which to find community information.
Providing volunteer opportunities for members of the community including youth. This gives great pre-employment skills for youth and the unemployed, gives seniors and the retired a sense of purpose, and connects people in the community together.

Staff Spotlight! - Adriene

2013-09-30T09:00:00.000-06:00

Name: Adriene

Position: Marketing Coordinator/Library Clerk

How long have you worked in libraries?

I have worked in libraries for 7 years now! I started in my high school library as a volunteer and then went on to get my Information Management & Library Technology Diploma from MacEwan University in Edmonton. I have enjoyed a variety of positions in both school and public libraries. I have been employed here at the Olds Municipal Library for 2 ½ years.

What's the most interesting or funny thing that's happened to you in the
library?Funny, strange or mysterious things happen here every day. Most commonly you find interesting bookmarks in the book return (birthday cards, Kleenexes, or even money). I’ve scanned microfiche for obituaries from the 40’s for family research projects, coordinated with an Arizona Library to find an eReader that would work in both places, and tracked down many books that were not anywhere that they should be – Every day is an adventure at the library!

What's your favourite book?
Well that an interesting question to pose. I love characters, stories and worlds you can immerse in. Every book is a worthy read! I don’t have a favourite book but instead choose to love them all. I tend to enjoy reading Fantasy/Sci-Fi, True Stories, History and other Non-Fiction.

What's your favourite library program?
I love the special events that the library hosts – from Author Talks, Muslim Exhibitions, Fair Trade Nights and Movie Documentaries. People from all walks of life come in and you are introduced to cultures and experiences that you might not otherwise get to enjoy.

What's your favourite Quote?
Three quotes stick in the forefront of my mind:

“Kill nothing but time, Take Nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints” John Kay

“The universe does not behave according to our pre-conceived ideas: it continues to surprise us” Stephen Hawking

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” Neale Donald Walsch

Any hobbies or interests you're willing to share?

In the summer I love cycling the backroads around Olds and a joke around here is that I hardly tend to pull out my bike for less than 10 km! In my down time I enjoy hiking, gardening, travelling and exploring, cooking, and the occasional video game.

A Visit from Hazel Litzgus

2013-09-20T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hazel Litzgus: Memories From the Farm

[Olds, AB]... Artist and author to visit Olds Municipal Library for Alberta Culture Days

A visit from Hazel Litzgus is part of the celebrations occurring throughout the province during Alberta Culture Days 2013. Hazel will be visiting the library for an open house and tea on September 27 from 1pm to 3pm at Olds Municipal Library (5217-52 st). Everyone is welcome at this free event; please call the library at 403-556-6460 to RSVP. Alberta Culture Days runs September 27 to 29 and is the province’s largest celebration of our heritage, arts, community spirit and cultural diversity. To learn more, visit www.AlbertaCultureDays.ca.

Hazel Litzgus was born and raised on a farm in Lloydminster, Alberta. The mostly self-taught artist and author will be visiting us here at Olds Municipal Library September 27 from 1-3. Her best loved painting series "Memories of the Farm" depict scenes from her rural upbringing on the family farm. It is part of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition (TREX). Her memories are depicted on canvas with watercolors; in a simple direct style with perspective characteristic of folk art. Her children's book Where the Meadowlark Sang also depicts the simpler days of our prairie beginnings.