Mark this date on your calendar! Saturday June 2nd is the fourth annual Customer Appreciation Day at Agincourt Library. We want to say thank-you to our wonderful library patrons so we're throwing a party!!!!
Come into the branch from 10am-4pm to:
Enjoy free refreshments
Browse our booksale
Get active with some high stepping dance demonstrations featuring Zumba and line dancing.
Kids can:
Get your face painted by members of Agincourt's own Youth Advisory Group
Enjoy great stories, songs and rhymes, then make your own greeting card
Enter your best guess in our Guess the Gummi contest!
Adults can enter for a chance to win a great TPL tote bag full of books and goodies, and check out our book displays too.
When I was a child I had a doll whose factory name was Sweet Tears. My grandfather, apprised of the doll's special talents (Sweet Tears could "drink," and pee, and as her name suggests, cry) was flummoxed. Why, even if you liked dolls, would you want it to do those things? Is it the verisimilitude? The ramping up to later-life caregiving? Or a more obscure attempt to observe ourselves in simplified form, and by imitation parse the differences between real and made?
Which brings me to The Invention of Hugo Cabaret, the bestselling book by Brian Selznick and Academy Award-winning movie. If you've read or seen the story, you know that at its centre is a mysterious automaton what the character namesake Hugo is trying to rebuild. The automaton is a lynchpin in the plot, but is also emblematic of the fascination we have with the "place" where human and technological intersect - very much a theme of the book and movie. The automaton is mysterious, and familiar.
Every age has its version:
Hephaestus, ancient Greek god of fire and manufacture, engineered the kourai khyseai . . . golden robot handmaidens . . .
"[Hephaistos left his bellows] took up a heavy stink in his hand, and went to the doorway limping. And in support of their master he moved his attendants. These are golden, and in appearance like living young women. There is intelligence in their hearts, and there is speech in them and strength, and from the immortal gods they have learned how to do things. These stirred nimbly in support of their master."
Mary Shelly explored the nexus between human and manufactured human in her 1818 novel Frankenstein.
Our modern versions of automata are whimsical: "Don't Tase Me Bro'!" . . .
Wrouggghh! . . .
. . . and look forward to an age that sees the distinctions between organism and machine blur yet more.
The new James Gleick book called The Information: a History, a Theory, a Flood also addresses - with extraordinary scope that includes chapters on language, bio-chemistry, cybernetics, physics, math - the ways in which humans and other organisms are more like machines than we once imagined.
Do you live in the Steeles L'Amoreaux area? Want to make a difference in your community? Come to the 3rd Annual Youth Speaks event at L'Amoreaux Community Centre on June 15th 5-10pm. The conference is for young men and women from the Scarborough area. It is free! Sign up by June 1st to slyecoordinator@slye.ca or call 416-460-7755.
In case you hadn't noticed, Mother's Day is coming up soon, and what better way to celebrate after spending some time with your special someone than curling up with a good book about Moms good and bad! Check out the trials and tribulations of Moms, expectant Moms and their families in these funny, touching and intense reads:
Or try some Non-fiction about celebrity Moms and daughters:
Many of these titles are also available as eBooks or eAudiobooks from Overdrive.
If you're at the Agincourt branch for the exciting Chinese Homelands Festival events on Saturday, May 5, or just visiting the library this May, check out our Asian Heritage Month displays.
The second-floor display highlights books on Asian history, art, and architecture, including titles like:
The display in the first floor rotunda area features colourful cookbooks from a variety of Asian cuisines, great craft books to keep you busy this spring, and travel books to inspire future treks.
means better managing your pain, your emotions and your daily activities. You will receive a copy of the book “Living with Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions.”
This workshop is for adults of all ages.
Caregivers are welcome.
For more information and to registercall 416-396-8950.
Central East Local Health Integration Network Self-Management Program.
10:30 am Puppet Workshop, by Puppet Adventure Make your own puppet and learn how to use it in a puppet show. For children of all ages.
上午十時半
木偶縫制班
學習縫制木偶及如何制作木偶劇。適合兒童參加。
11 am Dragon Daze Puppet Show, by Puppet Adventure Presenting the friendly dragon who sings, tells fantastic stories, and dances the boogie woogie. For children of all ages.
上午十一時
觀賞木偶劇 - 大笨龍 Puppet Adventure制作
用一個人見人愛的大笨龍木偶，演繹出它能歌善舞及講 出非常動聽的故事。適合兒童參加。
2 pm Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony Presentation, by Chinese Tea Culture Canada Inc. An introduction to the history, culture, and art of drinking Chinese Tea, by Tea Master Connie Fong. Includes a tea tasting.
下午二時
傳統茶藝示範 主持：加拿大中國茶文化集團
由茶藝大師方余淑華女士介紹茶的歷史，
文化及品茶的藝術。包括品嘗不同種類的茶。
3 pm Chinese Dumpling Cooking Demonstration and Dumpling-Making Contest, by Mandarin Restaurant Scarborough Learn how to make Chinese dumplings. See if you can make the best one! There will be samples and prizes!
Spring has sprung and the Bridlewood Branch has a new “season” of “Ready for Reading” Programs for children and their caregivers.
Join us for stories with mice, songs with birds, crafts with cats, and other fun activities.
Baby Time Bouncing and tickling rhymes, songs and stories for babies from birth to 18 months with their parents or caregivers. Thursdays, Apr. 19-May 10, 10:30-11 am
Preschool Time Stories, songs and rhymes for children age 3 to 5 years with their parents or caregivers. Tuesdays, Apr. 17, Apr. 24 and May 8, 2-2:30 pm Tuesday, May 1, 11:00-11:30 am
Family Time Stories, songs, rhymes and activities for children age 5 and under with their parents or caregivers. Tuesdays, May 1-Jun. 5, 6:30-7 pm
Please call 416-396-8960 to register and then hop on over to Bridlewood Branch and get “Ready for Reading”.
Welcome to the Agincourt District Libraries blog. Our purpose is to provide information about local events and news, library programs, user education classes, author visits and other special events.
