From February 23-March 1, 2014 we celebrated (quite quietly, though) Freedom to Read week. National Library Week was April 13-19, 2014. The motto was “Lives change @ your library®”. So very true. But without forward-thinking educators and politicians to approve funding at all levels (who needs books, WTF, who reads anymore, LOL, TTFN) libraries as repositories of knowledge and hubs for community engagement and knowledge-building, are at risk. You simply can’t cuddle a Kindle. I remember when we moved to Beamsville in 1959 or so. Back then, it was a flyspeck village on the flank of Niagara Region (Stoney Creek, Grimsby, Beamsville, Fruitland, Vineland, Jordan, St. Catharines) and known for tender fruit farming, the annual Beamsville Fair and immigrants. Until then, the only place…
… random observations from my journeys through a well-lived life
Posts tagged “libraries”
A happy way to end the year and to begin preparing for 2013. It may sound trite, but in these often terrible times when unspeakable acts are perpetrated – seemingly every day – it may help us get through them if we can focus on what is most important. The things that bring us joy – a hug, a smile, friends, a great read, loving family, a delicious meal shared with good friends, catching snowflakes on your tongue. The ways in which small kindnesses that we commit bring peace or happiness or solace to others. We need to focus, go inward, to uncover the myriad of little events that enrich our lives and warm our hearts. Then, once we’ve unearthed some vestige of serenity,…
Tagged: 1000 Awesome Things, awesome, happy, libraries, life, Ontario Library Association
Last week, I attended the Ontario Library Association Super Conference at the Metro Convention Centre. There were over 4000 delegates registered from Canada and the US – an amazing assembly of dedicated, energetic professionals. One of the after lunch sessions was a talk by Neil Pasricha, author of The Book of Awesome and two follow-up bestsellers. Now anyone who’s ever been to a conference knows that the post-carb-laden lunch time slot is the most challenging, especially in a dimly lit room of strangers. But there was no lethargy, because Neil is a dynamic, engaging presenter. I’d heard him speak before, at Word on the Street, before he became uber-famous. You know something? He is still the same honest, humble, humorous young man he was back then.…
Tagged: affirmations, awesome, libraries
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