Calling All Aspiring Teen Writers

Calling all aspiring writers. Are you a teen and interested in writing?  Then come and join the Barbara Frum Teen Writers Group.  Our first meeting is on Thursday, January 6 at 5:30 p.m. and is open to anyone 12-19 who has a passion for writing.  The group is sel  f-sustained and is for those who are seriously pursuing the writing life.  Bring your work with you and we will read and critique it.  You can also look forward to special author visits and workshops that will help build your writing skills.  Hope to see you there!

New Year’s Resolution Day at Barbara Frum Library

Mark it down on your calendar folks, Thursday January 20, 2011 is New Year’s Resolution Day at the Barbara Frum Library.

What does this all mean? Here in Canada and in most western cultures, at the beginning of each year, we promise ourselves that we will change our habits for the betterment of our lives.  Some of us practice "cold turkey" while others gradually ease into a new life committment or get rid of an old one.  But even Oprah Winfrey, a popular television host, will be the first to tell you that most new year resolutions are broken in just a few weeks.  If you don’t believe me, read this article featured on the Oprah Magazine website called “Why is it so Damn Hard to Change Your Bad Habits.” And by the way, the library subscribes to the full e-version of Oprah Magazine, in case you like these kinds of articles.

So what is New Year’s Resolution Day at Barbara Frum all about and why does it still matter?  Well if you are serious about making some positive and meaningful changes in your life then why not be informed about the necessary steps to get there?  This upcoming new year we have two programs that will help you eliminate a bad habbit or develop a good one.  The first program helps you overcome clutter and the second gets you to think positively in order to set and achieve goals.

January 20, 2011 at 2 PM - Decluttering Your Space and Mind, see the Download Decluttering flyer for further information.

January 20, 2011 at 7 PM – Positive Thinking through the Law of Attraction, see the Download Positive Thinking through the Law of Attraction flyer for more information.

Barbara Frum's YAG member shares her thoughts on the library

Theevz, one of Barbara Frum's YAG members, shares her thoughts on her membership with YAG this year.

The Barbara Frum Youth Advisory Group’s (YAG) final meeting of the year took place on Thursday December 9.  I attended the meeting thinking of all the fun activities that took place over the last year. Looking back at the contributions I made to the library, I feel a great achievement. With the group’s creative thinking, we help create new programs for the library and book choices that are specified to teens.

At our last meeting, we held an Open Mic night.  Several YAG members got up and showcased their talents.  We had 2 singers, a hip-hop dancer, a comedian, and a story teller.  It was a lot of fun. 

The library is becoming more open to events for youth. For example, in the New Year, there will be Yoga for Youth and a Teen Writer’s Group.  YAG enables youth to make changes to their library in order to make it welcoming for everyone.

-Theevz

Help Unison Health and Community Services help you

Unison Health and Community Services wants your feedback!  Help improve the services in the Lawrence Heights and Bathurst Finch community by filling out an online survey.  It will only take a few minutes to make a difference.

Please read the following preamble forwarded from Unison Health and Community Services:

Unison Health and Community Services is pleased to work with you in helping identify needs, strengths and opportunities within the neighbourhoods we serve (Lawrence Heights, Bathurst Finch, former City of York - including Weston-Mt. Dennis). If you work, live or go to school in any of these neighbourhoods, we are asking for your help. Below is a link to a 20-minute key informant survey. We hope you can complete the survey before December 17th, 2010. The survey is anonymous.

This survey is part of a broader research scan. The results will be published in a report on our website in April 2011 (www.unisonhcs.org).

Your understanding and perspective on neighbourhood issues is important to us. Please contact Jen Quinlan if you have any questions.

Survey link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W5WTXQM

Thank you for your help!

Jen

Jen Quinlan – Community Health Planner
[email protected]

 

Cheerful holiday celebrations at the Barbara Frum Library

Old Man Winter is here and so too are the cheerful holiday celebrations.

Have you seen the latest forecast?  Flurries and sub-zero weather conditions expected all week.  Whether you like the cold weather or not, the Barbara Frum Library has some programs that will warm you up!

The celebrations kick start this Wednesday December 8 at 7 PM with the Chanukah Concert.  The Toronto Jewish Folk Choir will perform songs from their current repertoire in several languages including, Yiddish, Italian, Judeo-Spanish and English.  So come out and sing-a-long or dance the evening away.  See program details for more information.

This Thursday Dec 9 at 5:30 PM, Barbara Frum's Youth Advisory Group (YAG) will be celebrating the holidays.  Enjoy food, drinks and an open mic session.  See program details for more.

Just one week later, on Thursday December 16 at 2 PM, Barbara Frum’s Seniors Group is throwing a party.  Enjoy live music, food, good conversations and a special trivia game.  Please register for the Seniors Group if you would like to attend and see program details for more information.

People of all ages come to the library and enjoy your favourite family films, Family Film Frenzy beings Monday December 20.  Movies that will be screened from 2-4 PM include:

1. Shrek Forever - Monday December 20
2. Ramona and Beezus - Tuesday December 21
3. How to Train Your Dragon - Wednesday December 22
4. Toy Story 3 - Thursday December 23
5. Nancy McPhee Returns - Tuesday December 28
6. Despicable Me - Wednesday December 29

The order of books: Dewey Decimal System

 
I've had library customers asked me how our Non-Fiction books (about real things, events, people, and places) are arranged on the shelves, what the numbers on the spine means and more importantly, how to find them. I've even had customers give me a barcode number with the hope that I would be able to help them find that number on the shelf. For those that find it challenging to locate a specific book on the shelf, you may have wondered how library staff keeps track of it all.

The answer is: the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC, also called the Dewey Decimal System). This number system provides a standard for arranging Non-Fiction library books on their shelves so that they are maintained in order. The specific number system was invented by Melville Louis Kossuth (Melvil) Dewey, an American librarian when he was just 21 years old. It became the world's most widely used library classification system, giving a place on the self for every book. The goal of the system was to make it easy to find any particular book and return it back to its proper place on the shelf.

                        
                                     

All the Non-Fiction books (all knowledge) are organized into 10 main classes (000 - 900) and each of the ten classes is divided into sub-categories. Each of the sub-categories themselves contains ten sub-divisions. Confused and dizzy yet? Not to worry. You won't be receiving all the knowledge of the DDC now. I'll be explaining each main class in a series of blog posts. Next up is the 000s.

                                                
 

Tarek Fatah draws an army of eager participants

Nearly two weeks after Tarek Fatah’s emphatic author reading at the Barbara Frum Library, people continue buzzing about his performance.

Fatah’s latest work, “The Jew is Not My Enemy,” certainly got a positive reaction from the community.  If the number of people that showed up is not a good enough indicator, then how about the locked-in eyes centered on the evening’s center-piece or the look of satisfaction on the inquisitor’s face.  I think everyone will agree that it truly was an engaging and interactive presentation throughout.  What a great way to end the third season of the Eh List Author Series at the Barbara Frum Library! 

Stay tuned for a sneak peak of the upcoming fourth season of the Eh List at the Barbara Frum Library expected in Spring 2011.