Lillian H Smith Blog

BLOCK LETTERS

As part of the Culture Days programming, we are very happy to be teaming up with Small Print Toronto on Saturday Sep 29, 2012 for BLOCK LETTERS.  Award-winning artist-author Cybele Young along with Chris Reed and Rani Sanderson of Small Print Toronto will be guiding urban explorers, ages 2-8, on a walk around our city block.  They will then create their own books based on their observations.   Cybele Young is the author of A Few Blocks and Ten Birds, the Latter won the 2011 Govenor General award for Children's Illustration.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After poking around on her website it is easy to see that she is a person of many talents.  She even created the art installation at St. Clair Ave W and Deer Park Crescent above the street car stop.  I know I've passed by it a hundred times and had no idea who the artist was.

It should be a fun program, so if you have nothing planned on the Saturday afternoon and want to do something with the little one, it's worth checking out.  All materials will be supplied. Parents and other family members are welcome to accompany their children as we walk around the historic Lillian H. Smith branch and see what fantastical stories spring to mind!

Please call the branch at 416-393-7746 for more information and to register. Space is limited.

免費有線無線网絡電腦學習班 COMPUTER CLUB – In Mandarin

你想學習和掌握一些日常會用到的電腦技能嗎? Come to learn computer@Lillian H. Smith Library

             使用互聯网 (internet)

             建立和管理自己的電子郵件 (email)

             使用多倫多公立圖書館的网上目錄搜尋和預訂中文書刊、電影 Library Catalogue

             如何使用電腦輸入漢字 How to type Chinese

             建立和管理自己的社交网絡賬戶:  Facebook , youtube  ..…等等

             使用筆記本電腦或手机連接到多倫多公共圖書館的無線网絡 (Wi-Fi)

             下載電子書刊和其他多媒体文件 Download e-books

             在网絡上購物或發布廣告和信息 Shopping

10月9日,   16日,  23日,  30日(週二);   午後2時 至 3時

Oct 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, Tuesdays 2-3 pm

Lillian H. Smith Library 圖書館 - 239 College Street 書院街（書院街/士巴丹拿）

 學習班可以以國語/ 廣東話進行.

 Please call 報名或查詢, 請聯絡 416-393-7746 (國語/ 廣東話服務， 請找 Fennie)

 

The Grange Festival

Every year University Settlement organizes the Grange Festival just behind the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Grange park.  Check out who was at our table this year!  Don't be fooled by the expression on my face, I was very excited to see Polkaroo.  Polka Dot Door and Polkaroo have been a staple of children television for decades in Canada.  I certainly remember watching countless episodes as a child and who could forget the theme song.

Truth be told......Polkaroo didn't visit our table at the festival (although that would've been pretty cool if he had).  What happened was, I saw a 7 foot Polkaroo cut-out in the distance and wanted to make my over at some point to snap a photo.  My plans were foiled when it started to rain halfway through the day and I could see someone carting off the cutout to shelter.  By the time I gathered everything he was nowhere to be found.  Luckly for me, if you go to polkaroo.com you can have your photo "polkaroo'd".  It looks like an old CBC contest but still loads of fun.   Overall, the festival is a great community event with lots of entertainment for the family.  There were Spanish dancers, circus performers, stilt walkers and many local community organizations.  It's certainly a good way to spend an afternoon.  Last year at the festival, I managed to snap a photo of a cool cop car from the Toronto Police which appears to be a 1957 Chevrolet 150.  Hopefully we'll see you and Polkaroo at next year's Grange Festival.

     

The Tutu Project™: Coping when a spouse has Cancer

Last weekend the Toronto Star published an article about a husband's plight to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer since his was diagnosed in 2003.  Armed with a keen eye for photography and a pink tutu, Bob Carey set out in the world to make his wife Linda laugh during one of the most difficult times in her life.  The Tutu Project™ began in 2003 as a joke when Linda began receiving chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.  She shared her husband's photos with other sister patients during her treatments for a laugh. 

Linda beat the cancer in 2003, only to have it recur in 2006. Her husband Bob states "during these past nine years, I’ve been in awe of her power, her beauty, and her spirit...oddly enough, her cancer has taught us that life is good, dealing with it can be hard, and sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others".  Bob's images are imaginative and moving and inspiring not only for those coping with illness but also for those who know laughter is the best medicine. The Project has garnished international attention from the popularity of the self-published "Ballerina" book that is a collection of Bob's tutu images.  You can visit the Tutu Project here and on Facebook.  When you purchase prints you are helping the Careys fund the self-publishing of Ballerina and net proceeds from the sale of the book will go to non-profits that support women with breast cancer.

This Project is just one example of how social media is fast becoming a preferred way to connect people who want to donate to different causes as well as connecting patients to others who are experiencing similar situations. There have even been stories from patients who have found donors through Facebook!

To read about the Project featured in the Star read here.

Book suggestions for spouses and families coping when a loved one has cancer:

 

 

Armstrong: The Review

On Wednesday July 18, we were very happy to welcome best selling author Kelley Armstrong to our branch.  She spoke about her current and future projects along with the direction some of her series are headed.  After a great talk, she held a Q&A session where she answered everyone's questions to the delight of the crowd.  She offered a peek into the world of writing and was very entertaining; you didn't have to be a big fan of hers to enjoy the talk.  She followed that up by signing everyone's items and took several photos with her fans.  All in all, it was a great event and judging by the comments I received from those in attendance, I wasn't the only one that felt that way.  For those who were unable to attend, I just noticed on her website that she will visit the Toronto Reference Library  on October 2 at 7pm.  So look out for that.    

I'd like to extend a BIG thank you to Kelley Armstrong for taking the time to visit our branch and to Bakka Phoenix for providing her novels for sale.

"What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?"

Just released last month was the book “What Do You Want To Do Before You Die?” published by Ben Nemtin, Dave Lingwood, Duncan Penn and Jonnie Penn, also known as the guys from the MTV series The Buried Life.

The Buried Life was a popular MTV series that ran for a few years and ended in 2010. The Buried Life began when four friends from Alberta realized that there was more to life then the mundane jobs they had and the degrees in school that they weren’t happy with.

The main premise of the Buried Life began with the guys travelling across North American and as they checked things off their bucket list they promised to help a total stranger check something off theirs.  I know this might seem a bit far-fetched thinking “who really has time to travel the world sneaking into the playboy mansion when I have bills to pay and a family to take care of” but I think there is a greater lesson here to be had.

Flipping through the pages in this book introduces the reader to different people these boys have discovered on their journey.  These are the same people that you come across everyday in your life and this book lends them a voice to tell the world what they want to do if they could do anything.  Whether it is to rekindle a lost friendship, to pay off debt or to ask someone for forgiveness, there was not one page in this book that didn’t give me chills.  This book hopes to give people the courage to believe anything is possible.  Two years ago a tight rope walker said he was going to tightrope across Niagara Falls and everyone thought it was impossible – today we all can see it’s not. Now comes the big question: if anything was possible - what would you do before you die?

Other books that might be of interest:

 

 

 

Kelley Armstrong @ Lillian Smith

 This coming Wednesday July 18th at 7pm, we are very fortunate to be having Best-selling author Kelley Armstrong pay us a visit.  For those not familiar with her work, she is the author of the bestselling Darkest Powers trilogy as well as the Otherworld and Nadia Stafford series.  Her novel "The Gathering" was the most circulated teen book in Toronto Public Library for the year 2011.  She recently did an interview with Word Out, our Teen Summer Reading program which can be found here.  In it she discloses her favourite monster movie, weighs in on who would win a pie-eating contest between Anne Rice and Stephenie Meyer and asks you to help build her summer reading list!  You can also check out this cool video below of Kelley talking about Werewolves and Vampires.

 

And for those interested, books will be available for purchase at this event.  If you have any questions, you can leave a comment or call us at 416-393-7746.

Mortgage 101

I've been thinking about jumping into the real estate market, so lately I've been familiarizing myself  with the wonderful world of mortgages.  It's not something I take lightly, seeing that it'll probably be a 25 year relationship.  I remember  a while back the Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, announced changes to mortgage rules.  This was in an effort to cool down the market.  What many people didn't know (myself included) was that the new rules took effect yesterday.  I happened to be reading a Globe and Mail article this morning by Michael Babad titled "Almost half of Canadians don't know new mortgage rules" which stated that yesterday was the first day of the new rules. From what I gather, the two main changes are the lowering of the amortization period to a max of 25 years and for those who plan on refinancing, you can only take out 80% equity as opposed to the old max of 85%.  Neither one wasn't going to affect me, but it's still good to be on top of all the rules.

If you're looking for more information about mortgages, then you're in luck.  This coming Saturday we just happen to be holding an information session titled "Mortgage 101" here at Lillian Smith Branch.  You'll be able to find some answers to common questions like:

- What is a mortgage and the different types available
- Terminology (Down payment, amortization, interest, principal, fixed & variable interest rates, equity line)
- A mortgage broker and the major banks: Who is doing what?
- Should you shop for rate or terms?
- The pre-approval process and how to prepare your credit rating in advance
- The Mortgage Act: Your rights and responsibilities
- Mortgage Renewals? Don't just sign them!
- Other costs and factors to consider (mortgage term insurance vs life insurance, recent changes, etc)
- Resources available/Questions & Answers

Space is limited. Please register in person or call 416-393-7746/ 647-404-8857.

Speaker: Omer Quenneville - Real Estate & Mortgage Broker, Graydon Hill Realty Inc.

Of course, if you can't make it to the session, you can always find information in branch or online.

This event is co-sponsored by Citizenship & Immigration Canada, CultureLink and Toronto Public Library.

The Way Things Were: Toronto Public Library Poster Pool

We've been doing some cleaning in our basement storage rooms recently, and it has been very interesting to see what we have been saving over the years. Boxes of old VHS tapes, piles of out-of-date brochures, lonely lost puppets that we hoped would someday make their way back to the right show . . . we even found containers full of rocks and crumbling shells! We donated what we could, and threw away the rest. 

Sifting through the garbage, however, we did find some unique treasures. One was boxes and boxes of annotated cards, from the card catalogue at Boys & Girls House, describing their collections of children's books. There are some classic comments on those cards, written by the first children's librarians in the city. I predict a fascinating research project for a willing grad student, and I will try to feature these in a future blog post.

Another treasure was a stack of hand-drawn and painted posters, depicting scenes from folk and fairy tales, characters from myths and legends, and some historical figures. We were mystified by these until we flipped them over, and noticed that some had a lined piece of paper attached to the back stating "Borrowing Period - 2 months."  At the bottom of the paper, underneath the hand-written names of branches (Beaches - March/71) is typed "Return to Toronto Public Libraries Poster Pool."  We must have had a lending library of posters for branches to borrow and decorate their rooms and displays. Most of the posters aren't signed, so it's impossible to know who the artists were. Did we hire outside, or were they library staff? One drawing is signed in pencil "M. Pouttin June/61." Artist? Person taking inventory? We may never know . . .  Enjoy these snapshots of some of the poster art, and please let me know if you have any memories of the poster pool at Toronto Public Library!

Battle of Hastings

Baba Yaga

Michael Faraday

Trail marker trees

Have you ever been hiking and come across a strangely-shaped tree? One that has a distinct elbow-shaped bend in it, so that the trunk grows up a short ways, then across and up? If so, there is a chance that First Nations people may have purposely shaped the tree long ago, in order to point the way towards a natural spring or safe river crossing. I read a very interesting article last week about trail marker trees. The article interviewed botanist Paul O'Hara, who recently found four trees like this in Oakville.  Ancestors of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation likely created these particular markers. 

Paul has been exploring the woods of Southern Ontario all his life, and studying the plants and trees there for over 20 years. For the past three years, he has been researching trail markers, and has written an article for Field Botanists of Ontario.  You can read it here: Download Markers-P.O'Hara.

I contacted Paul and asked him if any of these marker trees might still exist in Toronto's ravines. Here is his response:

O'Hara: "No, haven't found any marker trees in Toronto ravines.  There could be, but the woods in the city are of such low-quality and most of the development runs right up to the ravine edges that it would be hard to see any remaining.  Maybe there might be a couple remaining on the upper reaches of the Humber, Don or Rouge?  There certainly would have been some in the city historically."

Paul told me that marker trees in Toronto may have guided travellers along the Carrying Place Trail, a route that connected Lake Ontario to Lake Simcoe and other lakes farther north. Trees also likely served as natural signposts along what is now Davenport Road.

O'Hara: "The east west pathway along Davenport Road (the ancient Lake Iroquois shoreline trail) is the same pathway that intersects where I found those markers in the article. The ancient trail ran on the level ground below the hill where some protection from the elements could be found."

Just imagine: 8,000-10,000 years ago, the space where this library sits and everything up to Davenport would have been submerged beneath icy glacial waters!

Sugar maple markers, Burlington, Ontario. Photo © P. O'Hara, 2012

Here are some books for further reading and exploring:

Nature hikes: near-Toronto trails and adventures, by Janet Eagleson (2009)

 

Great country walks around Toronto: with reach by public transit, by Elliott Katz (2006)

 

Walking into Wilderness: The Toronto Carrying Place and Nine Mile Portage, by Heather Robertson (2010)