I really wish someone could explain to me why the leader of our country is going to make a business of building more prisons while Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (a Harper Mini Me) contemplates closing libraries. If you put the money for prisons into libraries and education, you won’t need the prisons. Not that simple, but the basic concept is a lot more sound than thinking building prisons will make the problems Harper and his group of cronies has no idea how to solve go away.
The Saturday Globe and Mail is coming in regularly now and I manage to get the first look at the arts pages before the paper is let loose for patrons to read. Unfortunately, we can’t have the paper here for Saturday but it has been getting to the reading table by Tuesday.
We have just ordered Childhood Under Siege: How Big Business Targets Children, a book written by Vancouver law professor Joel Balkan. The Globe review has several major criticisms of the book; however, it does present an overall look at how corporations are defining the future of our children through advertising and by basically taking over the education systems (and libraries).
Also ordered is Michael Ondaatje’s new book The Cat’s Table. In my search for reviews on the book, I found an interesting and worthwhile blog I will return to. The blog is called Kevin from Canada and the link will be added to the library website and to our Facebook page. Ondaatje’s book seems to be faring well with reviewers.
We at the library are compiling e-mail lists for the various genres of new books coming into the library. Should you wish to know when the books are available, either e-mail us at info@crestonlibrary.com or fill out the very small form at the circulation desk. You can be on one or more lists from audio books to westerns. No money on it but several of us feel the mystery list will have the most patron email addresses.
I have just received, via one of our patrons, a must hear set of CDs from Michelle Mungall’s office. The CDs are titled Women and Water and are taken from a radio series that shares the stories of women advocating for water. It does not get much more serious as water is the most important resources we have and, like farming land, we seem to be hell-bent on losing it though our own ignorance and greed. The CDs feature women from federal, regional and provincial organizations and goes right down to a private farmer from the Okanagan. We don’t want this to get lost in the stacks so look for it on the shelf labelled Thought Provoking in the middle aisle of the library.
Once again, Gleaners still needs volunteers and the library has more room for volunteers. If you have a lot of time, you could do both!
Ann Day is the chief librarian at the Creston and District Public Library.