Two Public Library Leaders Conferred as Federation’s 1st Honorary Members

 At its Annual General Meeting on February 1, 2012, the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries conferred a lifetime designation of Honorary Member on two individuals in recognition of their longstanding service to the organization. This is the first time in the Federation’s history that the Board of Directors has conferred the title of Honorary Member.

“Our bylaws allow the Board to give honorary membership to individuals who over many years have been instrumental in advancing the strategic direction, projects and organization of the Federation, and whose sound judgement, strategic acumen and cohesive leadership are respected by their colleagues,” said Board Chair Jim Bennett.

Barbara Clubb, former CEO of Ottawa Public Library, is one recipient. Her contribution to the Federation includes influencing the advocacy agenda and gaining member support for proposed changes to the funding model for provincial operating grants. Barbara also spoke on behalf of the Federation at such high profile events as the annual convention of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. In addition, she served as inspiring mentor to various Federation eaders on an ongoing basis, and ensured her library provided generous gifts-in-kind to support the Federation’s operations.

The other recipient is Marzio Apolloni, retiring CEO of Bruce County Library. Marzio has been a passionate advocate for the value of public libraries in connecting people to their communities and fostering life-long learning. He served on the Federation’s Board of Directors since its inception in 2005. As Board Chair from 2008 to 2010, a critical formative period for the organization, Marzio oversaw many advances in raising the Federation’s profile with the provincial government, and in building the case to support public libraries. During his tenure, membership in the Federation rose by 19%.

“We congratulate Barbara and Marzio on becoming Honorary Members and we look forward to benefitting from their continued association with the Federation as volunteers and advisors well into their retirements,” said Jim Bennett.

The Federation of Ontario Public Libraries is a not-for-profit membership association that provides a single, strong voice for public libraries in Ontario to enhance library policies and programs. Its services focus on four strategic pillars: advocacy, marketing, research and consortia purchasing. The Federation’s 215 member libraries are responsible for serving 80% of Ontario’s population.

The Walkerton Branch Library has announced this year’s dates for their Annual Juried Art Show. This exciting juried exhibition is open to residents of the Municipalities of Brockton, South Bruce, West Grey, Hanover and Arran Elderslie and gives local artists the opportunity to show their work and compete for prizes.  The show will run from Wednesday April 18, 2012 until Saturday April 28, 2012 with the Awards Ceremony set for Tuesday April 17th, 7:30 pm at the Walkerton Library Gallery.  Prizes will be given in the following categories; Painting – oil or acrylic; Painting – watercolour; Drawing – pencil, charcoal, pen and ink or pastels; 3-Dimensional – sculpture (this catagory also includes stained glass); Photography- film or digital, printed on photography paper; Mixed Medium – includes collage and printmaking;   Youth – under 18, using any medium; and a special new catagory  – The Challenge.          
Entries must be submitted by hand on Friday March 30th, 3:00 - 6:00 pm or Saturday March 31st, 11 am – 2 pm, to the Walkerton Library Gallery, Lower Level, 253 Durham St., Walkerton, Ontario.

For further information, call Walkerton Branch Library at 519 881 3240 or click on the following link.
 Walkerton Library Juried Art Show 2012 Entry Form

 Attention young filmmakers!  Public libraries across Grey and Bruce Counties are seeking submissions of films to be screened at Galaxy Cinemas in Owen Sound for the Grey Bruce Youth Film Festival.

Short animated or live action films of a maximum of 10 minutes in length from students enrolled in grades 7 through 12 may be submitted.  Interested teens can pick up an application form from their public library or download the form below or from the Teen Buzz section of the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library’s website: www.owensound.library.on.ca.  Deadline for submissions is February 12, 2012.

Selected films will be shown at a festival screening to take place at the Galaxy Cinema in Owen Sound on March 26, 2012 starting at 5:30 pm.  Winners will be selected by a panel of industry judges and announced during the screening.  Winners of the Grey Bruce Youth Film festival are awarded cash prizes.

This event is coordinated by the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, and is enabled through the participation and sponsorship of Galaxy Cinemas, The United Way of Bruce Grey, Bruce County Public Library, Grey Highlands Public Library, Hanover Public Library, Meaford Public Library and West Grey Public Library.

For more information about the Grey Bruce Youth Film Festival please contact Nadia Danyluk, Children & Youth Services Librarian at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library at 519-376-6623 ext. 4 or ndanyluk@gmail.com.

GBYFF Guidelines and Application

Award winning librarian and C.E.O. of the Bruce County Public Library, Marzio Apolloni, has announced his retirement at the October meeting of Bruce County Council. The effective date will be March 31^st, 2012. Apolloni indicated that he will have been with the Bruce County Public Library for 23 years. Together with other library positions he will have spent 30 years in public libraries. In his report to Council Apolloni attributed the success of the Bruce County Public Library to the relationship between Bruce County Council, the Bruce County Public Library Board and the library, and further suggested that this arrangement is the envy of many. He expressed his desire that this relationship continues, and reminded Council that the staff of the library is their greatest resource, and it was their dedication which had allowed him to become involved in larger issues at the provincial level. Marzio Apolloni also indicated he would like to stay involved with the Bruce Remembers project, and that should an opportunity arise, he be considered to represent & voice the needs of rural libraries in Ontario.

Apolloni has long been an advocate of rural libraries and worked through different organizations in which he took a leadership role. For 2 years he was the Chair of the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries as well as a representative of the Rural Caucus on the Federation’s Board of Directors. As well he served as President for 3 consecutive terms on the Ontario Library Consortium, a collective organization whose goal is to bring cutting edge library automation technology to rural libraries, and served in other positions on the executive. During his tenure with Bruce County Public Library, he has lobbied and advocated for rural libraries continuously, resulting in significant funding for rural libraries over the past 5 years.

Mr. Apolloni has indicated that while he may be in retirement, he has asked the Board to keep him in mind should an opportunity arise for a representative to voice the needs of rural libraries in Ontario. Meanwhile, he can be found fishing, working with groups in his community, and using his local library branch.

Need to connect and don’t have access to a computer?   Try our new Internet User Cards and take advantage of the use of our Public Access Computers found in all Bruce County Public Library locations, at a slightly reduced price. At present the charge for each half hour Internet session is $1.00 – the coupons give regular Internet users the chance to save $2.00 by buying our new $8.00 Internet User Card, good for 10 half hour Internet sessions and available for sale in all branches.
 Library Director Marzio Apolloni says: “The world of information is more than ever an online world. The Library offers affordable access to the Internet through its public access computers, free wireless in all of its locations, and now with our internet coupons.”

 For more information, check with your local Branch Library or call 519 832 6935.

The Write@Your Library contest is coordinated by the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, and is enabled through the participation and sponsorship of The Sun Times, The United Way of Bruce Grey, Blue Mountains Public Library, Bruce County Public Library, Grey Highlands Public Library, Hanover Public Library, Meaford Public Library and West Grey Public Library. This year’s winners have been selected and an awards ceremony was set for June 13^th at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library to celebrate the young writers from across the two counties.  

The judges this year were Kristan Anderson, past Owen Sound Poet Laureate, Barbara Hehner, author of several non-fiction children’s books, and Richard Thomas, author of the D. B. Murphy mystery series.  Virginia Eichhorn, director and curator for the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, was the judge for the cover contest.

The winner’s of this year’s contest as selected by the judges are as follows:

 Cover Design – Annika Dyck (West Grey – Durham)

 Junior Short Story

First Place – Molly Boley “Dear Mr. Weston” (Owen Sound)
Second Place – Shauna Armstrong “Sisters” (Owen Sound)
Third Place – Ocean Sabrina Poels “A Fairy’s Tale” (Bruce County – Lucknow)
Honourable Mention – Meghan Johnson “The Garden Culprit” (Bruce County – Ripley)

 Junior Poetry

First Place – Alexandra McLaughlin “The Goldfish Poem” (Bruce County – Kincardine)
Second Place – Amanda Clark “Let My Voice Be Heard!” (Meaford)
Third Place – Ocean Sabrina Poels “The Night” (Bruce County – Lucknow)
Honourable Mention – Brooke Giles “Have You Ever?” (Grey Highlands – Flesherton)

 Senior Short Story

First Place – Magali Rousseau “Jack’s Family” (Owen Sound – Georgian Bluffs)
Second Place – Clarissa Fortin “Life, the Universe and the Subway” (Bruce County – Port Elgin)
Third Place – Desiree Blondin-White “The Train” (Bruce County – Wiarton)
Honourable Mention – Tina Reynolds “Dying at Dusk” (Bruce County – Walkerton)

 Senior Poetry

First Place – Nicole Prowd “Think” (Owen Sound – Chatsworth)
Second Place – Sarah Campbell “Pure Black” (Owen Sound)
Third Place – Miralia Bodnar “Writer’s Block” (West Grey – Durham)
Honourable Mention – Nicole Prowd “The Circle Crasher” (Owen Sound)

 Congratulations to all of the winners!

Bruce County Public Library is going green….in more ways than one!  On July 22^nd at 10 am. BCPL will be officially showing off our new Green (in colour that is!) Logo, with lots of logo T-shirts, Mugs, Bookmarks and more for giveaways and for sale.   At 10:30, The Junkyard Symphony from Ottawa will be presenting their Recycle Rock Show - a fun hour of edutainment, involving plenty of audience participation, radical rhythms with recycled instruments, terrific tricks, and discussions about recycling.
Also, on both Friday July 22^nd and Saturday July 23^rd, we’re hosting our Massive We Reduce so you can Reuse Book and Garage Sale from 10 am to 3 pm both days.  Come out and join in the fun, rain or shine, and win a free logo T-shirt (while quantities last) with every $20 purchase of great summer reading!

Attention young writers!  Public libraries across Grey and Bruce Counties are seeking submissions of poetry, short stories and comics for the 2011 Write @ Your Library creative writing contest for teens.

The winning entries, as chosen by this year’s judges, will receive cash prizes and have their work published in the Write for 2011 anthology.  Check out previous years’ copies of the Write for anthology at your public library. 

An awards ceremony and reading of the winning entries will be held at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library on Monday, June 13.  In addition to this, the first place winning poems and short stories will be published in The Sun Times. 

Submissions are also needed for the cover design of the 2011 anthology.  The artist responsible for the winning design will receive a $100 cash prize.  Designs must fit on an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper and include the words “Write for 2011”.

Contest guidelines can be picked up at your local public library or downloaded from the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library’s website: www.owensound.library.on.ca or the Bruce County Public Library’s website: http://library.brucecounty.on.ca .  Submissions must be emailed to Nadia Danyluk, at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library no later than May 13, 2011.

This event is coordinated by the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library, and is enabled through the participation and sponsorship of The Sun Times, The United Way of Bruce Grey, Blue Mountains Public Library, Bruce County Public Library, Grey Highlands Public Library, Hanover Public Library, Meaford Public Library and West Grey Public Library.  For more information or to submit please contact Nadia Danyluk at ndanyluk@gmail.com, or phone 519-376-6623 ext. 4.   

For more information contact:  

Nadia Danyluk
Children & Youth Services Librarian
Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library
Tel: 519 376-6623 ext 4
Fax: 519 376-7170
Email: ndanyluk@owensound.library.on.ca

Write @ Your Library Rules and Guidelines 2011

Draw @ Your Library Rules and Guidelines 2011

Gardening 2011 at Library Live!

For those whose green thumbs feel itchy when March arrives, or those wanting more information on public gardens in our community, Library Live! presents Gardening 2011 on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. Port Elgin Library’s Friends get you growing with Linda Gowanlock of Beagle Run Nursery and Orchard, Rebecca Cushnie for Community Gardens, and Jayne Jagelewski on the municipal Adopt-a-Garden program.

Linda Gowanlock founded the area’s largest garden centre nearly 30 years ago. A graduate of the University of Guelph in Nursery Management, she has been involved in planning and planting many gardens throughout Saugeen Shores. She also helps property owners identify horticultural treasures  that might take many years to replace if pulled out in haste. The family’s business donated and installed the plants for the outdoor part of the Library’s 2008 renovation.

Rebecca Cushnie has gardened in Southampton for several years and in 2010 was active in organizing the Community Garden on the grounds of G.C. Huston School. Community gardens offer space to those who love to grow food, but may not have space at home. “Students are a major part of this project,” says Rebecca. With student help, she will bring a look back and reveal some of this year’s plans.

Jayne Jagelewski, Acting Director of Community Services, is an enthusiastic supporter of the local Adopt-a-Garden program. “The Town realizes we can’t maintain all of our gardens without the help of our much-needed volunteers.” She sees the program as a way for groups to build team spirit while enhancing the beauty of our town.

Adult programs in the Library Live! series take place in the Community Room at Port Elgin Library. Admission is by donation toward the Friends’ projects. Participants can browse displays of material from the Library’s collection to help with gardening plans and challenges.

Port Elgin Friends of the Library is a charitable organization supporting the programs and services of the Library. Membership is open to anyone wishing to befriend the 102-year-old Carnegie Library. The Friends are currently raising funds to restore the original table and chairs, now in the upper level of the building.

For more information about Library Live! please contact Anne Judd 519-832-5837.
For further information about the Friends, please call Nancy Bonham, chair, 519-832-9473, pfriend28@yahoo.ca

Local artist Susan Seitz will be displaying her work at the Walkerton Branch Library from March 22nd until May 14th.

When asked about her art, Susan commented that, “Growing up in the rural communities of Bruce County has been the source of my inspiration. Painting with elements of nature in mind offers an engaging experience on may levels for me. A sense of simplicity, peacefulness and beauty is evident.”

Susan’s style is a balance between the abstract and the representational world of art, creations that are both visually rich in texture and colour.

The public is welcome to view Susan’s artwork at the Walkerton Branch Library, 252 Durham Street during library open hours. (Tuesday 1-8, Wednesday 10-5, Thursday 12-8, Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-2)