Library e-News
No. 12 - December 2006
“It is, indeed, the season of regenerated feeling – the season for kindling, not merely the fire of hospitality in the hall, but the genial flame of charity in the heart.” Washington Irving (1783-1859)
International Volunteer Day is on December 5. There is no better month than December to celebrate the crucial role that volunteers play in helping to make life a little better for many in our community. Volunteers give of their time to do the little things that make a big difference in the lives of others. They drive the elderly to appointments, they coach kid’s hockey teams, they feed the hungry, and comfort the distraught.
The OPL is using the occasion of International Volunteer Day to celebrate the people who give some of their valuable private time to help Library staff, help borrowers to enjoy the Library experience. Read on to find out more about volunteering at the library.
There are plenty of reasons to celebrate in December at the OPL: An online auction follows another successful OPL Foundation Literary Gala, and your local librarian may be a radio star! To top it all off it is the holiday season and once again time to count our many blessings.
For a complete listing of OPL programs and campaigns visit us at: www.BiblioOttawaLibrary.ca or pick up a copy of Preview, our quarterly magazine, available at all branches and the bookmobile.
- Volunteer Day
- OPL Foundation Raises Money for Important Library Initiatives
- The OPL is on the air!
- Awesome Authors
- Find Some Good Reads for the Holidays
- Got the Term Paper Blues?
- Kill-A-Watt meters on loan at the OPL
- Partnerships
- Holiday Open Houses
- Beyond the Headlines – will return next month
- Top 5 Requested books
- December Programs
- Feedback
- OPL Privacy Policy
- To be Removed from the Library e-News Distribution list
Volunteer Day
Each year the OPL celebrates the contributions made by volunteers. Volunteers will be recognized on Dec. 5 for their service to their communities by giving up some of their valuable time to help Library staff, and borrowers enjoy the Library experience. These volunteers help repair books; replace books on shelves, repair audio and videotapes, and many other important tasks that help keep the Library running. If you are interested in becoming a library volunteer, click here to learn more.
Getting involved with Friends of the Ottawa Public Library is another great way to help the library provide resources and services for your community, just click on the link above to find out how you can become a Friend.
So next time you checkout your items at your branch keep in mind all the people in our community who help the OPL, help you enjoy the library.
OPL Foundation Raises Money for Important Library Initiatives
The OPL Foundation follows up on a highly successful Literary Gala with an Online Auction taking place until midnight Dec. 17. Many fabulous items donated by local businesses are up for bid. This is your chance to pick up some unique gift items at a great price while helping the OPL Foundation raise funds for your Library.
The 2006 OPL Foundation Literary Gala was a success with well-known journalist and broadcaster Patrick Watson headlining the evening. Over 300 library supporters and literary fans helped raise over $40,000 towards funding additional children's literacy programs, purchasing adaptive technologies, and making improvements to the Main Library's Ottawa Room.
The audience was treated to an evening of stimulating conversation, great silent auction items, and a fabulous meal. Host Adrian Harewood of CBC Radio's All in a Day kept the evening light and entertaining, and special guest speaker Patrick Watson read excerpts from his autobiography This Life has Seven Decades and talked with the audience.
To find out more about the OPL Foundation and about how you can help ensure that libraries remain an important and vibrant part of our city click here.
The OPL is on the air!
Turn up the radio and tune in some good reads! In partnership with The Jewel 98.5 FM, OPL librarians are hosting The Book of the Week, every Saturday and Sunday, just before the noon news on The Jewel.
Every week OPL librarians will offer short book reviews, covering a wide variety of genres in a lively and entertaining way. Listen and discover a new author, or be reminded of an old favourite and then head to your local OPL branch to check it out!
The Book of the Week compliments the OPL’s monthly participation in CBC Radio’s All in a Day Book Panel featuring City Librarian Barbara Clubb. On the first Monday of the month up to six new books from the best in international and Canadian fiction and non-fiction are reviewed.
These two radio features are just another way the OPL helps readers find great literature that is as close as your local branch, or the online catalogue.
The OPL – all you need to know!
Awesome Authors
Do you know an aspiring young poet or a short story author? The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) is encouraging authors aged 9 to 17 to participate in the Awesome Authors Contest. First-place winners will receive cash prizes, and over 100 door prizes will be handed out at the awards presentation.
Last year, over 240 local youth took part in this writing contest that is sponsored by the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library. Thirty-four awards and 14 honourable mentions were handed out at an evening awards presentation that celebrates literacy, and features prizes, refreshments, and fun.
Deadline for submission is Tuesday, January 16, 2007. For contest guidelines, click here.
Find Some Good Reads for the Holidays
With the holidays season approaching it’s a good time to think about requesting some holiday reading - but what to read?
The Good Reads page of the OPL website is a great place to start. Find listings of past and present award winning books, bestsellers, along with reviews, and a list of current Express reads titles.
A regular feature of Good Reads is the Spotlight on … page where you will find staff picks on various topics of interest that are refreshed on a regular basis.
Great reading is just a click away with the OPL website and the Good Reads page!
The OPL – all you need to know!
Got the Term Paper Blues?
If you or someone you know is feverishly working on a term paper, Sm@rtLibrary is a great resource that is as close as your OPL card.
Sm@rtlibrary gives OPL cardholders 18 years of age and older access to the academic libraries of Carleton University and the University of Ottawa, as well as the vast resources of the OPL and its inter-loan library service. You can also search the collections of the two non-lending sponsors: Library and Archives Canada and the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI).
The OPL is here to help you through end-of-term anxiety by offering partnerships that open up all the resources you need to succeed. To find out more click here!
Kill-A-Watt meters on loan at the OPL
Library users can save electricity and money with the Kill-A-Watt lending program. OPL cardholders can borrow a compact digital power meter to measure the consumption of home appliances. The Kill-a-Watt meters help people become informed energy users and thus reduce their power consumption and costs.
Through a partnership with the Envirocentre and Hydro Ottawa, 200 Kill-A-Watt meters are in the OPL collection and can be borrowed from any OPL branch for a one-week loan period. OPL views this partnership as an efficient way to provide a valuable service to patrons with relatively little cost and effort because the circulation system of materials is already in place.
Request a Kill-A-Watt meter today from the OPL to begin saving energy and money tomorrow.
Partnerships
The holiday season is a great time to visit the excellent museums and theatres that the city has to offer, and the OPL is here to help cut the costs with partnership discounts and free passes. All you need is your OPL card!
Check out the partnerships page on the OPL website!
Partnerships at the OPL – All you need to know
Holiday Open Houses
Take this opportunity to visit your local branch to welcome the festive season with some refreshments, while selecting some library materials to enjoy during the holidays.
Click here to see participating branches.
Beyond the Headlines – will return next month
Top 5 Requested books
(Showing all available formats)
Fiction
| Rank | Title | Author |
| 1. | Echo Park |
Connelly, Michael |
| 2. | Break No Bones |
Reichs, Kathy |
| 3. | Cross |
Patterson, James |
| 4. | The Other Side of the Bridge |
Lawson, Mary |
| 5. | Whitethorn Woods |
Binchy, Maeve |
Non-Fiction
| Rank | Title | Author |
| 1. | The Innocent Man |
Grisham, John |
| 2. | Heart Matters |
Clarkson, Adrienne |
| 3. | Stumbling On Happiness |
Gilbert, Daniel Todd |
| 4. | Marley & Me: love and life with the world’s worst dog |
Grogan, John |
| 5. | You on a Diet: the owners manual for waist management |
Roizen, Michael F. |
List compiled by Collection Development Services
Programs for Adults
* Registration
Blackburn Hamlet
Book Chats
Our discussions are drop-in, informal and welcoming to newcomers. The book to be discussed is The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
Monday, Dec. 18, 2 p.m. (1 hr.)
Main
Author Visit
Kevin Dooley discusses his book, By the Hob, which is a story of an Irish couple's struggle to endure a difficult life.
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m. (1.5 hr.)
To search the event database click here!
Programs for Teens
* Registration
Alta Vista
Teen Book Club
Drop in and share some great reads with other teens!
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m. (1 hr.)
Hazeldean
Kanata Junior Chess Club
Participants must know the basics. Different ages and ability levels play one another and chess ladders and tournaments will be offered. Ages 7-15 Cost $50.
Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 a.m. (2 hrs. *)
To search the event database click here!
Programs for Children
*Registration
Emerald Plaza
Mother-Daughter Book Club
The Mother-Daughter Book Club is a place where girls can share books with the special women in their lives.
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 7:15 p.m. (1 hr. *)
Main/Centrale
Snowflake Dreams
Enjoy seasonal stories and a craft. Bilingual
Saturday, Dec. 16, 2:15 p.m. (1 hr.*)
To search the event database click here!
Feedback
We hope to provide our readers with current information on programs that are of interest to them. Let us know how we’re doing. Send your comments and feedback to programming@ottawa.ca.
OPL Privacy Policy
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