Lillian H Smith Blog

What are you doing this long weekend? Come check out these free events happening at Lillian Smith!

Celebrate Asian Heritage Month

this May long weekend! 

We have two great programs ready to go this Saturday May 18th starting at 11 am!

From 11am - noon we are featuring A Taste of the Dragon Boat Festival: Food demonstration and tasting, a Cooking Demo & Tasting with Shirley Lum!  Culinary historian and tour guide, Shirley Lum of A Taste of the World Walks will share lore and legends behind the long paddle boats, a dead poet and the delicious sticky rice dumplings, a.k.a Zong Zi. During this session, she will also shed light on how you make the savoury and sweet dumplings, then participants get a chance to make one to take home as well as try a sampling of dumplings pre-made by Shirley. 

    Afterwards at noon there is the Henna Workshop for Teens  where teens between the ages 12 and 18 can learn the art of Henna from an expert and get a sample design!  We are lucky to have artist Henna by Fia lead a workshop on the history and science of Henna.  See you there!

Space is limited for both events so please call our branch at 416-393-7746 to register.

 

Starting an Etsy business for the crafty

Lately I've come across a few new e-commerce books we have in our collection here at Lillian helping crafters, artisans and designers sell their designs online.  Online e-commerce site Etsy.com is one of my favourite places to find both local and unique gifts, jewelery, clothing and other handmade gems.  If you're a crafter or designer and you're interested in selling your items online, check out these great books to help you develop a successful shop and online presence (we even have the e-book versions too!).  Whether you're just starting out and want to turn your hobby into a business or want to learn how to run a full-time business on Etsy, these books will help you imagine the global possibilities for marketing and selling your wares!

     

   

 

 

 

 

What does Earth Day mean to you?

It's April 22nd and all around the world people are celebrating what is known as "Earth Day". But what if we treated everyday as Earth Day and didn't wait for that one day a year to think about our impact on the environment.  Major environmental issues like climate change, ozone layer depletion, waste disposal, pollution, addiction to fossil fuels, food and water crises, and so much more, all tell us that these issues are things we need to always be talking about.  Yes, it's days like today that provide us with opportunities to participate in a neighbourhood clean-up or tree planting activities, but what if we took that enthusiasm a little bit further? If you're like me and interested in knowing what's happening with our changing environment and how we can make things better and not worse, here are some great books to get that conversation started.

 

Need some more inspiration? Check out this motivating article in NOW magazine by Adria Vasil.

Earth Day is also a great day to get the conversation started about the environment with your children, students and family members. Check out these books and more for children about Earth Day and the environment.

 

Is it patio season yet!?

Every year when we get our first warm beautiful day in the city I start to get excited about "patio season"! This snowy winter has had me longing for those balmy summer nights spent sitting outdoors on patios with friends sipping on something cold. Whether your outdoors is the patio of your favourite local bar, a park picnic or a backyard/rooftop/condo balcony, you'll want to have a drink that reminds you of summer and helps you forget about snow shoveling. Now let's just hope this weather gets even better!

Check out these titles for ideas on your next favourite patio drink.

April Fools' Day and Consumerism?

So we've made it through yet another April Fools! 

I must admit, growing up I was always a trickster, so nowadays I usually am overly suspicious of anyone and everything come every April 1st. It was no different logging online yesterday to see some of the jokes circulating on the web.  When checking my email, I received a few emails about fake online websites, as i'm sure anyone who was on Google yesterday saw their share of jokes.  One that really made me think was from Ethical Ocean(EO).  I received an email from them promoting a new e-commerce website called Unethical Ocean geared towards shoppers who like to "own what's cruel".  One fake "Unethical" seller claims “we’ve built a very profitable business on selling really cheap toys.  Sweat shops, lead poisoning, pandas in hand-cuffs – these are all part of a hard days work. We’ve realized there is a big market out there of people who ‘don’t give a crap’ and we’re serving that market”. I had a good laugh as this fake website was a great political satire of e-commerce and brings to light the negative environmental and social affects of capitalism.

If you're interested in these aspects of consumption, and wondering where or how your stuff has come to be, check out these great titles:

 

                      

 

 

Streetstyle Photography: Something Old New Again

The rise of street style photography has seen photographers, bloggers, stylists and average fashionistas shoot to fame with a single (or multiple) snaps.  It occurred to me while walking into the recent Toronto Fashion Week ("World MasterCard Fashion Week") there were so many fashion fans hanging outside David Pecaut Square, were they waiting around waiting to be snapped?  While the popularity of street style photography has created quite a few "peacocks", the medium is still the message as documenting street style around the world is a great way for budding fashion designers to get some exposure and to see how regular folks wear their clothes. Toronto even has a site dedicated to street fashion found on the streets of the City.

It's important to note that even before Scott Schuman snapped his first picture, there was Bill Cunningham, a fashion photographer for The New York Times who was a Harvard drop out.  I recently watched the Bill Cunningham New York documentary and was blown away by his talent! Definitely worth the watch for those interested in street photography from a delicate and intriguing artist.

Place holds on these titles for some street fashion history and inspiration!

    

       

 

Planning a wedding and having trouble finding "the dress"? Let TPL help you!

Sometimes you never know where to start when planning a big event or party. But often times you end up starting with what to wear!  So looking for a wedding dress was no different for some of my recent married friends, than planning outfits for that vacation or new years party.  Personally, I was a bit overwhelmed at where to start when looking for a dress and magazines seemed like a no-brainer.  TPL has a few great wedding magazines, like Weddingbelles and Modern Bride that make it easy and free to see what's on (bridal) trend.  We also have quite a few books featuring vintage wedding dress fashion that is great for getting inspired on planning your complete outfit. Not to mention TPL also has all of the Knot's great publications that goes beyond planning your look to helping you plan your entire wedding!

 

 

One of my favourite bridal books has to be Randy Fenoli's (eye roll please... yes, the "Say yes to the dress" host!) book "It's all about the dress". This book was indispensable in the sense that he really did "tell it like it is" outside of the typical wedding cliches you hear everywhere.  Randy "dumbs it down" and covers everything you need to know from understanding your vision to setting out and looking for "the one".  He even includes chapters on what to do about accessories, bridal party and mother of the bride dresses, and groom attire as well!  Whether you've already found "the one" or are in the middle of your dress fittings, this book is worth checking out to get you inspired, excited and prepared for your big day!

 
Looking for similar titles? Check out more books here to help you find that perfect dress!

 

 

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

4月2日,  9日, 16日,  23日(週二);   午後2時 至 3時

April 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd, 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)

 

 

Spring Training

The Toronto Blue Jays started Spring Training last week in Florida and I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited for a Jays season since the mid 90's.  I've always been a Jays fan but let's be honest, being in the American League East, it hasn't always been easy.  Last week I came across a DVD in our catalogue that peaked my interest, it was about the Jays in the '92 and '93 World Series.  Wow, it definitely took me back.  There were so many things that I had forgotten about those two World Series wins, it was nice to see them all over again.  I highly recommend this DVD for all you Jays fans waiting for this season to get started.  Here's hoping Toronto fans have something to cheer about, we surely deserve it.

 

 

Anyone remember this classic commercial from the 90's?  

Banned Books Countdown: The Diviners by Margaret Laurence

Many writers are delighted when their books are challenged. 

Margaret Laurence was not one of these.  She was deeply shocked when schools in the Peterborough area challenged her novel The Diviners in 1976. Some of her distress may have had to do with the disdain of a number of letter writers in Canadian newspapers at the time, one of whom for example opined that "the educators in Peterborough would be deficient in their duties if regard were not had for those whose values and sensibilities might be offended by profanity and explicit sex as found in Mrs. Laurence's "work of art."¹ Other anonymous poison pen letters sent directly to her, comparing her to well known "pornographers" such as Xaviera Hollander or Jacqueline Susann wouldn't have helped matters.²

The Diviners was certainly not the first book to depict sex or even interracial sex. But as we have seen with the case of Slaughterhouse-Five, censors often focus their efforts where they have been led by others rather than by familiarity with an author or literary precedents.  Perhaps if it hadn't won the Governor General's Literary Award, the Diviners might never have caused such a stir!

Although she wrote one or two children's books and non fiction works afterward, the Diviners turned out to be Margaret Laurence's last novel. 

¹ Toronto Star. Friday February 13th 1976 p7 Letters

² Turcon, Shiela. The Censorship of Margaret Laurence's The Diviners from McMaster Digital Archives.