Author: Lindsay Moffatt

As everyone prepares for fall and kids to return to school, Bruce County Public Library Branches have released their September program schedules, featuring exciting activities and programs for every age. 

September is for celebrating Culture Days! Bruce County Public Library Branches are bringing back their wildly popular ‘Tiny Art Projects’ to celebrate. Culture Days are a national celebration of arts and culture in Canada, aiming to remove the barriers and create free opportunities for the public to participate in arts and cultural experiences. Join fellow artists to create your piece of tiny art. You may choose for your art to be part of our travelling Tiny Art Show from September 23 to October 16. Visit the Library event page to find out when your local branch will host its Tiny Art Projects program. 

Science literacy week will be taking place from September 19 to 25. This year’s theme is Mathematics. Stop by any branch to pick up a package containing a take-home activity.  

Bruce County Public Library’s 3D printers will finish their time at the Southampton, Tara, and Sauble Beach Branches before moving in October.  Each branch will be holding programs to help patrons get familiar with 3D printing.

After School Club is returning to Tara and Chesley on Tuesdays at 3:30pm and will be a brand new program Mildmay this year. This drop-in program is suitable for ages 5-12.

September will be closing out by recognizing Truth and Reconciliation Day. The Library honours First Nations, Inuit and Métis Residential School survivors. Share your expressions of support and learn about the Calls to Action with our in-branch activity this week. Join Priscilla Yellowhead at the Tobermory Branch at 1:30pm for a story telling and drumming ceremony. Please stop by the Truth and Reconciliation displays at each branch to learn more about this important day. 

There are many ways to stay updated on what is happening at your local branch. Bruce County Public Library posts daily on its Facebook and Instagram stories and sends out a monthly newsletter, or you can visit their always current events page.    

Bruce County Public Library is seeking donations from Local Authors to develop a Local Author Collection. This initiative will provide readers with access to local talent and promote books written by residents of Bruce County or the Saugeen-Ojibway Nation. Authors from neighbouring municipalities may be considered for inclusion based on expectation of local interest.

Bruce County Public Library is passionate about helping people make connections and building community. The Local Author Project is a natural fit between authors and readers.

Library Director Brooke McLean is excited to “…introduce library patrons to unique, homegrown talent while providing authors with another way to connect with their audiences.” Residents of all ages are invited to submit their title for consideration.

Items created by local authors will have a Local Author designation in the catalogue as well as a spine label indicating that the work is part of the local author collection. These printed items must meet basic formatting requirements and should be professionally printed and bound. One copy should be donated to Bruce County Public Library for review; the Library will purchase any additional copies required for the collection.

There is a great deal of creativity and many stories in Bruce County. If you need help getting started on a memoir, the Lion’s Head Branch will be bringing back its popular Memoir Writing program in the Fall of 2022. Want to share a writing workshop with your community? Email libraryinfo@brucecounty.on.ca with your proposal.

For those who already have a written work that they would like to have added to Bruce County Public Library’s collection, please visit any of our 17 branches for a submission form or find it online at library.brucecounty.on.ca/local-author-collection

Bruce County Public Library and Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre have received FamilySearch affiliate status and have added it to their in-person resources. The FamilySearch Affiliate designation allows local library and museum patrons to access this new popular ancestry search trend from one of their public computers.  

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help build this outstanding database, FamilySearch and its predecessors have actively gathered, preserved, and shared genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years.

FamilySearch has over 6 billion searchable names and 2 billion images of historical records that are now available to Bruce County patrons. With FamilySearch adding over 300 million genealogical records and images worldwide annually, it is quickly becoming the world’s top ancestry resource. 

What are historical records, and how do they help patrons learn about their families? Historical records are documents that recognize life events. Examples include birth certificates, census records, and marriage licenses. These can help discover details about where a family lived or came from, where they were born, married, or died. 

“Interest in our ancestral roots continues to grow with the popularity of DNA tests, reality tv shows like Long Lost Family or Who Do You Think You Are?, and the growing access to online genealogy records. Adding Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre and Bruce County Public Library as our newest FamilySearch Affiliate Library will enable patrons to make many fun, personal discoveries, and family connections,” said Paul Nauta, FamilySearch Public Relations Manager.

Next time you visit the Bruce County Museum or any of the Bruce County Library branches, take a moment to see what you can learn about your family on FamilySearch. 

Summer 2022 marks the return of in-person events, and Bruce County Public Library is jumping right in with a huge medieval-themed Summer Reading Club kick-off party! Join them Saturday, June 25, at their Sauble Beach branch, 27 Community Center Drive. The Kick-Off event will run from 10am to 4pm, with a full day of adventure planned. Practice your aim with the inflatable axe-throwing, challenge your family to a potato sack race, or test your creativity with a green screen photo and prop making. There will also be a schedule of timed events throughout the day, including two shows from Wild Ontario Birds of Prey and Knights in the Classroom activities. This is a free event open to all Bruce County residents.  

While there, you’ll want to make sure you steal away from all the fun and excitement to register for 2022’s TD Summer Reading Club! 

All summer long, readers will have the option to log their reading hours through Beanstack. Beanstack is an online platform available through a web browser or app, where you can create a profile for yourself or your child and log your reading, write reviews, challenge friends and more. No app? No problem! When visiting one of BCPL’s 17 branches, you can request a paper log to participate. Participants will receive a kit including a button, ribbon, sticker sheet, and fortune teller when registering. When they hit logged reading goals, they will receive a notification that they’ve earned another ribbon to add to their collection and pick it up at a library branch.  

All reading time logged each month earns ballots for that month’s draw. Prizes will include a Crayola Pour ‘n Paint, kits, and mini-dragons and will be drawn at the end of July and August, one per municipality. 

BCPL will keep the fun going all summer, with branches hosting weekly themed programs. Each program will have corresponding badges to earn for attending.

You can visit: https://library.brucecounty.on.ca/summer-reading-club/ to view the SRC brochure for the branch closest to you. 

June is Seniors Month, and Ontario’s theme is staying active, connected, and safe this year.

Bruce County Public Library (BCPL) recognizes Senior’s month with a series of in-person, small group classes teaching how to stay safe and connected online. There will be three classes held across the library’s 17 branches and will include:  Cell Phone and Tablet Basics, Internet Basics, and Email Basics. These classes are designed to help increase skills and comfort with technology and provide seniors with the building blocks of digital learning. 

This past April, BCPL received a generous donation of funds towards ten new iPads from NPX. This donation has aided BCPL in reaching their goal in developing this new program. It has also helped the library in becoming a digital community facilitator in Bruce County. 

If you’d like to learn more about when a class is happening near you, please call or visit your local branch for more information. Registration is required.

Every day of the year, Bruce County Public Library has a dedicated page on their website to Seniors Services, library.brucecounty.on.ca/seniors-services. Here you can find links for information on everything from online safety, housing and home support, government services and more. 

If you’re visiting your local branch, you can also use a library computer to access Ancestry, an online site that helps you understand your genealogy.  Bruce County Public Library carries a large selection of Playaway audiobooks, large print, and more non-traditional items like Memory Care Kits and puzzles and games.

Bruce County residents with mobility issues can apply to be a part of the new Borrow by Mail program launched earlier this year. Visit the BCPL website to learn more: library.brucecounty.on.ca/books-by-mail. 

Bruce County Public Library received a donation of funds dedicated to purchasing ten new iPads and cases from nuclear consulting specialists NPX. 
NPX has established a strong sense of community and have worked on several local fundraising and awareness campaigns. You can learn about all the incredible initiatives they have been spearheading on the Our Community section of their website. Donated iPads will be distributed to library branches to be used for instruction and demonstrations, including a new program being developed aimed at introducing seniors to technology. 

Bruce County Public Library Digital Initiatives Coordinator Jeremy Clark recognized the need for new equipment at the library branches. “The iPads are a key part of the library’s mission to support digital learning experiences for residents of all ages, both in the library and throughout the community. These tablets are used with the library’s coding and robotics kits as well as to offer support to people needing a hand using their own devices or the library’s digital collections.”  

NPX Project manager, Alec Holla added “NPX is proud to be a part of this community and happy to give back to its residents. The libraries are very important community hubs in Bruce County and the mission of digital learning fits in well with our company vision. We are excited to see the various uses that Bruce County Public Libraries has planned for these iPads come to life and we look forward to supporting them further in the future.”

New, up-to-date technology ensures BCPL can effectively support learning and help meet the goal of being a Digital Community Facilitator, which was outlined in the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan released earlier this year. Bruce County Public Library is exceptionally grateful for this donation and what it means to be able to support the residents of Bruce County better. 

Bruce County Public Library would like to thank Bruce Power for their generous donation of $15,000 towards their Bookmobile campaign. Bruce Power is well known through Grey and Bruce counties, not just as the largest employer in the area but as a community champion.

“Increasing access to the services of the Bruce County Public Library will be of great benefit to the residents of Bruce County,” said Dwight Irwin, Bruce Power’s Manager, Community & Media Relations. “We’re proud to support the library in its efforts to reach more of Bruce County’s residents.”

In 2014 Bruce County communities were surveyed about what they wanted to see from libraries. The response was clear, and services to smaller and remote communities were not just needed but wanted. The desire for a Bookmobile was reiterated in the 2021 Strategic Plan community survey. Studying the success in cities like Guelph and Toronto, Bruce County Public Library decided to start the Bookmobile campaign. 

Community support for this initiative has been outstanding. From donations to press and interview requests, Bruce County residents are excited to see the Bookmobile come to life.  

“Bruce County Public Library deeply appreciates the support from Bruce Power for our Bookmobile project. This donation will make a real difference in the lives of children, families, and seniors throughout Bruce County by bringing books and digital resources to them,” said Library Director Brooke Mclean. 

“Bruce Power is a great community partner, routinely supporting projects that enhance the quality of life for everyone in our region.  Their support for the Bookmobile is another example of this generosity and it is much appreciated,” added Library Board Chair Luke Charbonneau.

Bruce County Public Library has moved into the planning and designing stages of the Bookmobile. Staff are considering potential routes and service locations and determining what technology will best meet the needs of residents.

For more information on the Bruce County Public Library Bookmobile and how you can help, please visit library.brucecounty.on.ca/bookmobile.

Bruce County Public Library is bringing the Forest of Reading Program to Bruce County.  Presented by the Ontario Library Association (OLA), the Evergreen Award is part of their Forest of Reading program, which encourages Canadians to read from a selection of shortlisted books over several months and vote for their favourite.
This year Bruce County Public Library is asking patrons to help pick the winner of the annual adult book prize, the Evergreen Award.
OLA announced the list of 10 finalists during their Super Conference this past February, intending to bring the best titles in Canadian fiction and non-fiction to public libraries and their patrons. 

Branch Program Coordinator Nancy Kuhl is delighted that Bruce County is participating. “Bruce County Public Library proudly supports Canadian writers and books. The Evergreen program encourages our residents to experience a wide variety of authors and genres and vote for their favourite. This is the only awards program where the winners are chosen by readers. It is very exciting to offer our readers the opportunity to actively participate in the selection process!”

The reading program kicks off on April 1st.  Patrons of Bruce County Public Library can find the list of nominees and place holds on these titles through the Libraries online catalogue at brucecounty.bibliocommons.com, with the option to log their votes in Beanstack or through paper ballot available at their local library branch. Votes are due in by September 30th, and the winner will be announced during Ontario Public Library Week, held in October.

The Bruce County Public Library has gratefully received a $5,000 donation from Barry’s Construction. This generous gift will be used towards the launch of the Bruce County Public Library’s Bookmobile.

Barry’s Construction has been an active member of the Bruce County community as a family run construction business making people’s dream homes a reality across the Bruce Peninsula. They have also generously donated to many local initiatives, and the library is incredibly grateful to be added to that list.

Bruce County Public Library is moving into the active planning stages for the new Bookmobile, plotting potential routes, designs and more. By purchasing and modifying a vehicle and hiring staff to deliver scheduled visits and programs across the county, BCPL will connect digitally and socially to underserved community members.

Brooke Mclean, Director for the Bruce County Public Library, is excited to move into the planning stages of the Bookmobile. ” The Campaign Cabinet began meeting last summer and reached out to potential donors in the fall of 2021. The response we’ve received, not just from donors, but the entire public has been very enthusiastic. We appreciate the support of Barry’s Construction in making the Bookmobile a reality.”

If you would like to learn more about the BCPL Bookmobile, please visit our website at library.brucecounty.on.ca/bookmobile.