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Craft + Green + (multi)Cultural Hotspot =

June 9, 2014 | Erin | Comments (0)

Bottle Cap Bracelets!

For its inaugural year the Cultural Hotspot project is shining a spotlight on South Scarborough. This spot is hot because it is home to a diverse cultural scene, engaged community, growing economy, green spaces and unique local history.

On Saturday June 7, an enthusiastic group of kids, teens, and adults joined us for Cedarbrae Library's Cultural Hotspot Animation Weekend event "Make Your Own Bottle Cap Bracelet."

Cedarbrae is in Loop 2 of the Hotspot, which covers the themes of art, food, and history and covers the area from Lawrence Avenue and Eglinton Avenue from Victoria Park to Markham Road.

Art and history (and maybe a little food too) combined perfectly in the bracelets we made. Everyone found an image in our donated magazines that spoke to them. The magazines were from a variety of cultures, religions, and interests. After all, diversity and multiculturalism are part of what make Scarborough great, both past and present.

We then used Mod Podge® to seal the images into the bottom of bottle caps and made bracelets using the bottle caps as a pendant and rainbow loom as the bracelet.

Ta-da!

Bottle Cap Bracelets

For more information on other Hotspot events, check out their website or pop into one of the Hotspot Branches to pick up a brochure.

Branches in the Cultural Hotspot include:

Ripples in Spacetime

May 21, 2014 | Erin | Comments (0)

Ever wonder how gravity works? Or about the mysteries of black holes?

Gravity-talk

Join us this Saturday as Dr. Ilana MacDonald traces the concept of gravity from the earliest theories about how the universe works to her own fascinating research on the ripples in space-time caused by black holes.

Thought-exchange

 

Sat May 24, 2014

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Cedarbrae Library program room

 

Part of the Thought Exchange program series.

Presented in partnership with the Dunlap Institute, Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto.

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Maker Culture at Your Library

May 5, 2014 | Erin | Comments (0)

In case you haven't heard, maker culture is here, it is awesome, and it is an integral part of the future of libraries. Toronto Public Library is on board, with the opening of the Digital Innovation Hubs and a variety of maker programs.

Over the past 6 months or so we have introduced a maker program for kids at Cedarbrae called Make + Create (and keep an eye out for adult programs later in the year). We choose science, technology, and art activities that are self-directed, allowing participants to use their imagination and inventive skills. We've done everything from making musical stairs and game controllers out of MaKey MaKey, to making boats out of recycled material and then having a contest to see which boat can float the most potatoes, to creating stamps for making prints, to making and launching foam rockets.

This past Wednesday we experimented with squishy circuits. Squishy Circuits is a project that came out of the Thomas Lab at St. Thomas University's School of Engineering (watch the TED Talk here) with the goal of exposing children to electricity, physics, and engineering in a fun and interactive way - with LEDs, toy motors and buzzers, and dough!

Here are some of the cool things the kids made:

A Creeper from Minecraft with a glowing heart (LED covered in conductive dough).

A snail with a glowing mouth and moving tail.

A snowman with a glowing nose.

Survival Training

April 24, 2014 | Erin | Comments (0)

How did you fare without power back in Dec/Jan? Did you run out of food or water? Have trouble staying warm?

Then think waaaaay back to when it was hot last summer (I know, it may be hard to remember). Did you experience heat-stroke symptoms? Lose power in a rolling blackout?

Heavyelectricity

 

What if the ice storm was worse, something like the Quebec storm of 1998? 

 

 

Heatwave


What if the heat wave was as intense as the one that killed 2 people in West Bengal on Wednesday?

 

 

 

What if you got lost hiking in a forest? Would you know how to get back? How to start a fire to keep warm?

In this year's One Book community read, The Cellist of Sarajevo, people manage to survive in a city under siege, with creates some harsh living conditions. In tomorrow's Survival Skills workshop at 5:30 pm, expert David Arama from WSC Survival School will teach you the skills you'll need in order to survive in emergencies. 

Keep-toronto-reading

 

Survival Skills

5:30 - 7:00 pm

in Cedarbrae Library's program room

A City of Languages: Remembering International Mother Language Day

February 22, 2014 | Soheli | Comments (0)

Yesterday, February 21st, marked International Mother Language Day. It's an annual observance of the diversity in cultures and languages we have around the world. Although this holiday may fly under the radar for many, it is an important date for lots of Canadians, particularly Bengali-speaking ones.

The United Nations describes IMLD as "the date [that] represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh."

It was a pivotal event: having their native language recognized was, for many Bengali-speakers, something worth fighting for. Today, each February 21st, or 'ekushey February', International Mother Language Day is a solemn, yet proud celebration. Thousands of Bangladeshis visit the Shaheed Minar, a symbolic monument, to offer flowers and remember those that died for the right to speak their native language.

Shaheed Minar

In a city like Toronto, where non-official languages are spoken almost just as much as English, just imagine how important language really is! It's a huge link to who we are, again, as the UN notes:

"languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage."

For a lot of younger newcomers, in Toronto and different parts of Canada, there can often be a real struggle between maintaining fluency in native languages and adapting to our official languages. Do you speak another language other than English (or French)? In what ways is this language important to you?

Learn more about language and its place in our lives with some titles from the library:

Lang1  Lang2  Lang3  Lang4

And, of course, don't forget that we carry lots of materials in other languages too - check to see what's available in your mother tongue!

 

Tax Season - it's coming!

January 24, 2014 | Soheli | Comments (0)

TaxseasonAre you already dreading tax season? Not to fear! A number of library branches are offering free income tax clinics this year for eligible individuals and familes.

We have a number of dates and times available at Cedarbrae beginning this March.


If that doesn't work for you, check to see what else is available at other branches.

To be considered, you must meet the eligibility requirements - generally, individuals must not earn over $35,000 a year, gross; families must not earn over $40,000 a year, gross. Some criteria may vary from branch to branch.

For more detailed information about eligibility, and to register for an appointment to file your income tax, give us a call: 416-396-8850.

Good luck!

 

Warm up with some hot reads

January 7, 2014 | Erin | Comments (0)

Cold to hot

 

Here are some picks from several varieties of romance novels to help you do just that:

 

General Romance:

True love   IndexCARX4E2R

 

Urban Fiction:

Desperate hoodwives Zane

 

Paranormal Fiction:

Lover mine Archangel's kiss

Erotica (a.k.a. similar to Fifty Shades of Grey): 

Bared to youErotica

 

2013's best books?

December 19, 2013 | Erin | Comments (0)

There is a whole slew of lists out there proclaiming to be the definitive one. Which is the best? You be the judge. Here are links to the lists, and a sample book from each.

 

                The New York Times 

  15796700Also available in eBook format

 

                Publisher's Weekly

  160

 

                The Atlantic

SedarisAlso available in audiobook,

large print,

eBook and eAudiobook

 

                The Independent

 The-casual-vacancy-by-jk-rowlingAlso available in audiobook,

large print and eBook

 

                Library Journal

  PanopticonAlso available in eBook format

 

                Goodreads Choice Awards 

  MalalaAlso available in audiobook,

large print, and eBook

 

                Indigo

 18170143Also available in audiobook

and eBook

 

                Amazon

DAN-BROWNAlso available in audiobook,

large print, eBook,

and eAudiobook

Are there any you don't see on a list that you think should be? Personally, I'm a little bummed that The Ocean at the End of the Lane didn't make it onto any of the big-name lists. It was by far my favourite read of the summer.

Ocean_at_the_End_of_the_Lane_US_CoverAlso available in audiobook,

large print and eAudiobook

Homework Help (and you don't even have to wear pants.)

November 16, 2013 | Soheli | Comments (0)

The Homework Help Club at Cedarbrae has been a great success over the past few years, and it continues to be a popular spot for kids and teens looking to get a little extra assistance after school.

For all those that have joined us - thank you! We'll be wrapping up this session of the Club next week but hope to invite you all back again in the new year.

In the meanwhile, make sure to take advantage of lots of academic resources available to you online, right here through the Toronto Public Library website. All you need is a valid library card and internet access. If you're at home, you can do all this in your pajamas and still be a star student!

Databases to help you!
Here are a small selection of the many research databases you have access to, just based on the kinds of questions we get asked a lot here at Cedarbrae. For the full list, check out our A-Z List of All Databases.

Student Edition - High School
Full-text and indexed magazine and newspaper articles, online reference books, audio files, etc. A good spot to search for online references for that last-minute essay due!

Science in Context
Great for writing papers and doing science-related assignments.

Global Issues in Context
A selection of high-quality articles about international issues and current events, grouped by topic and country/region. Another good source, particularly for writing papers for Social Studies or Geography classes.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Pro/con essays on current social issues. Great for students writing assignments, presentations, debate preparation, and general research. Got an argumentative essay to put together, maybe about a hot-button issue like abortion? This database shows both sides of an issue and helps you gather ideas for your own work. You can also check out Canadian Points of View for additional pro/con info like this (with a Canadian slant, of course)

Still feeling lost? You can always come into a branch and get more guided help if you need it (but, yes, you must be dressed for that...!)

Good luck!

Make. Create. Learn something new!

October 18, 2013 | Erin | Comments (4)

After the success of our Maker Culture day at Cedarbrae Branch we're launching a session for tweens called Make + Create!

PainthandsIn this four week session we will experiment with different types of art, science, and technology.

LightlemonWhat is impressionist painting? How can you make a battery out of a lemon?

Come find out!

Play. Learn. Explore. Create!

 

 Nov 4, 11, and 18 from 4:00 - 4:45 pm.

Register at the Children's Desk or call the branch at 416-396-8850.

Welcome! This blog is written by the Cedarbrae Library staff and we want it to become a place where you can find out what's going on in the branch and in the community. But not just that - we plan to write about all things we might find interesting.