Book Discussion Groups

Book Discussion groups are growing steadily in popularity again, no longer considered a past-time only for the elderly, or socially challenged teenagers who talk about fantasy novels. Book groups have branched out in recent years, becoming much more flexible, embracing new technologies, providing both an opportunity to broaden one’s literary experience and to socialise with a group who may have members with similar or diverse points of view.

The Library supports around ten book discussion groups, providing some with a location to meet, borrow booksets, discussion notes and access to obtain other titles from the statewide library network.  Some book groups choose to read all the same book and discuss that, others read books from the same author, or same genre, and others simply talk about books they have read regardless of title, theme or author.

If you’re interested in book discussion, there’s definitely a book group out there to suit you, be it a group at the library or one of the many that are rapidly appearing on the internet. There’s a list of online book groups here, but you can also check out some of the groups on Yahoo or similar websites. If you want the face to face book discussion experience, give the Library a call and we’ll help you find a group to join or the tools to start your own.

Highlights in 2009!

The New Year is a time for lists, reflecting on the successes of the previous year and making resolutions.    Many things happen within the life of a Library Service on any given day, but here are our  top 10 highlights:

1. Library Thing installed as part of the catalogue.  Enables everyone to write reviews of titles, and quickly link to similar titles or recommended reads within a click of the mouse.
2. 27892 new items added to the collection for you to borrow.
3. Easier access to the cookery, craft, travel, and parenting sections in the Non-fiction collection, through changes made to call numbers and adding shelf guides.
4. Star Wars Family Day held on 15 July attracting 2200+ people to the Library Service participating in a variety of activities for all ages.
5. Launch of the Carer’s collection to enable easy access to information for carers within the community.
6. Launch of the Toddler-Time program for children aged 2-4 and their parents, aimed at developing literacy skills. 
7. Health and Wellbeing Expo held over two days.
8. 17 authors highlighted at Library events during the year.
9. Technology Demystified workshops run in conjunction with Council of the Aging.
10. Access to 1000+ Newspapers in a variety of languages from around the world using Library Press Display accessible from the Library Website.
11. SMS Pre-overdue reminders launched  (always wanting to cram in an extra one!)

What were your library highlights for 2009?

A snapshot of the Library for 2009.

In 2009

… the Library welcomed 399,176 people through the door …
… including 5,154 new borrowers.

We checked out 1,168,694 items …
… and checked-in (and reshelved) 1,171,228 items.

Patrons placed 108,702 reservations/holds.

Our cataloguers added 27,892 new items to the collection …
… and we deleted 26,118 old, warn out and damaged ones.

We ordered approx 2,500 InterLibrary Loans from other libraries …

… and 23,835 people attended Library Programs.

Yep, that felt like a really busy year … take a deep breath though, because its all about to start once again.

Happy New Year!

To all our patrons and those who follow our blog, a Happy New Year to you! May 2010 be filled with exciting and thought-provoking reads!

The library will be closed on New Year’s Day, but will open again on Saturday January 2nd at 10.00am.

You could BANK on it!

Local author Bill Watson, will be visiting the library to talk about his latest book, You could BANK on it! A Banker’s Life or alternatively Where there’s money there’s crime, a narrative based on his own life as a banker. Bill started out his financial life in Scotland, emigrating to Australia  in the 1960’s and continuing his career in banks at various locations around Adelaide and South Australia.  Bill goes on to discuss how the banking world changed radically in the last two decades and how restructuring saw the loss of many skilled and loyal employees. Bill comes to the library on January 25th, more information can be found here. Bill has previously authored Police Forces of the World a comprehensive look at the evolution of the world’s police forces. He is currently working on a non-fiction book about the world famous Bay to Birdwood Run.

The Dragon is renewed

Regular visitors to the youth area of the Library will have seen the pillar painted with a purple dragon, originally designed by our former Childrens and Youth Services Officer, Pam. 

Several walls in the Library have been given a fresh coat of paint recently, as part of routine maintenance.

Artist Nicky King has been in the Library for the last two days to give the Dragon a refresher, too, and make sure he lives on.

Check out the finished product on your next visit.

Whew it’s hot outside!

If you’re feeling the heat and would like to get some information about how to cope in these extreme conditions, we have some Heatwave Information Guide brochures in the Library.
They are produced by the State Emergency Service and the Government of South Australia and have lots of tips about staying healthy, checking on people at risk and heat stroke symptoms and treatment.
The brochures are available at either of the Library Desks and on the Community Noticeboard in the Library foyer.

More comprehensive information is available at the Health SA website, where you can view “Extreme Heat: guide to coping and staying healthy in the heat“.

Stay cool!

Spotlight on: Markus Zusak

Aussie author Markus Zusak was only 30 years old when international best seller The Book Thief was released in 2005.  Some of the concepts of The Book Thief were drawn from the experiences of his family in Nazi Germany and occupied Austria during the Second World War. Markus was drawn to writing during his teens after reading books such as Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, authoring his first novel The Underdog at the age of sixteen.  The Underdog was not published for several years, hitting shelves in 1999 with moderate success. It’s been followed up by two sequels. Markus then wrote The Messenger (alternatively titled I am the Messenger), released in 2002 which was the launching pad for his international career. The Book Thief will be released as a film in late 2010.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all in library blog-land! The library is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Sunday the 27th and Proclamation Day on Monday the 28th. Regular opening hours start again on Tuesday 29th at 10.00am

All of your holds have been extended so there’s no need to stress that you’ll miss out, and we’ll see you again after the break!

WoW gamerz – a graphic novel for you.

Now most World of Warcraft gamers are probably well versed in the myriad of interweb memes and webcomics out there,  but recently the ongoing series CTRL+ALT+DELETE internet comic has been released as a series of Graphic Novels. Started in 2002 this comic follows the lives of a small group of Online Gaming addicts, whose very being revolves around gaming, to the point where the lines between online life and RL (that’s gamer talk for Real Life I’m told) become a little blurry. The library has started collecting the series, but if you want to see the latest strip go to the original website here, where a new strip is published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.