Shelf Life [adult]

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner
@SPL: FIC Kushn

If you’re looking for a literary summer read that features adventure, brilliant prose, and scathingly witty dialogue, then have I got the book for you. The Flamethrowers is the second work of fiction by Rachel Kushner, and could in no way be called a sophomore slump compared to her critically acclaimed first, Telex from Cuba.  

The Flamethrowers is a coming-of-age novel that follows a young woman from her hometown of Reno, Nevada to the New York City art scene in the 1970s. We never learn her name – all other characters just call her after her hometown. Reno finds herself mingling in an image-conscious, social-climbing mix of anarchists, nihilists, minimalists and deconstructionists who bum around art shows and try to be authentically inauthentic.

Most characters don’t ever acknowledge what or who they actually are; those who do won’t allow their roots to be uttered in their presence. While none of them are strictly likable or even sympathetic, they are absolutely glorious waste-bags – lost, drunk, and full of hot air - and a pitch-perfect snapshot of the seventies’ NYC art scene on Kushner’s part. 

Reno falls for a suave older artist named Sandro Valera, heir to an Italian family fortune made building tires and motorcycles. During a visit to Villa Valera gone awry, Reno finds herself on the streets just as labour tensions spill over into riots against the Italian upper crust, including Sandro’s family.

Kushner’s prose sustains a tangible sense of place, from the arid salt flats of Nevada, to the electric/anarchic feel of New York’s streets during the 1977 blackout, to lush evenings at villa Valera, and ultimately to the poor Italian neighbourhoods of protesters. Much of the local colour comes from the dialogue of characters in each particular place, but Kushner also adeptly captures the emotional resonance of each location.

The cinematic sense of place and funky seventies cultural throwbacks may appeal to fans of Michael Chabon (especially his Telegraph Avenue) but readers should be aware that The Flamethrowers’ pacing is much faster. Also, the feminist edge to Kushner’s prose might be a welcome antidote to Chabon’s heavy testosterone for some readers. Ultimately, though, any readers who love literary fiction with a retro seventies bent and lots of action will enjoy The Flamethrowers.

 

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 27, 2013. Written by Shauna Thomas, Librarian.

Read More

Shelf Life Kids

Monday July 1 is Canada Day.  To mark this holiday, which will commemorate our country’s 146^th birthday, two recent books about Canada are highlighted.

Canada’s Immigrant Cultures by the editors of Weigl Publishing, 32 pages.

@ SPL: J 971.004 Can

Canada is a nation with a rich multicultural heritage.

Two main groups have played important roles in Canada’s development: Canada’s First Nations peoples and immigrants from many countries, beginning with France and Britain. As this book explains, many diverse cultures have helped to shape our country.  New immigrants continue to arrive each year: of Canada’s current population of about 34 million people, close to 20% were born outside of the country.

Why do immigrants come to Canada?  What circumstances would cause a family to move to a different country where new friends, housing, employment and schooling must be found – and a new culture and perhaps a new language learned?  

The answers can be found in this book, which explores the causes of immigration, how new immigrants to Canada are approved and what they face upon arriving here. A timeline which outlines Canada’s immigration history since 1605 (when Samuel de Champlain established the Port-Royal settlement) is included.  Often-asked questions and concerns about immigration (eg. “How should immigrant groups be assimilated into Canadian culture?” and “Do immigrants take jobs away from Canadian residents?”) are addressed.

This readable, concise and informative book explores the very relevant issue of immigration from both historical and contemporary perspectives.

** Recommended for ages 8 to 12 years.

The Canadian Shield Alphabet by Myrna Guymer, 32 pages.

@ SPL: JP Guy

The Canadian Shield covers over 50% of our country’s total land area. Myrna Guymer’s picture book takes readers on a colourful tour of this fascinating landscape, using the alphabet to organize various features and concepts which make this area such a distinct, diverse part of Canada.

Readers will be introduced to wildlife such as muskox, otters, jackrabbits and polar bears; to flora such as the bearberry shrub (also known as “kinnikinnik”), to special transportation methods used in this region such as tundra buggies, dog sleds; to kookums, qasgiqs and ulus and many more aspects of life on the Canadian Shield.

The area’s distinctive history is also addressed.  What was a York Boat; who were David Thomson, Alexander Mackenzie and “Jackrabbit Johannsen”; and what are pemmican, petroglyphs and pictographs? The Canadian Shield Alphabet delves into the people, events and culture which form the rich heritage of this region.

Myrna Guymer’s picture book provides an attractive, instructive introduction to a part of Canada which may be relatively unknown to children in southwestern Ontario.  A Saskatchewan resident, Guymer has travelled extensively by canoe and plane in the Canadian Shield.  Illustrator RoseMarie Condon lives on the edge of the Shield in Fenelon Falls, Ontario.  

** Recommended for ages 5 to 10 years.

“Happy Canada Day” to all!

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 27, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

Name that Dragon!

We have a new friend at the Library - a dragon. What an amazing gift for our PLOW coordinator,Trish, on her birthday. This little green friend will be a new guest to children's programs so don't forget to say, "hello"!

 

Now we need you help. The dragon needs a fun, unique and creative name. Please take a few minutes to brainstorm name ideas and submit your favourites on Facebook or on paper in the Library.

 

Help us name the green dragon and don't forget to check out the PLOW Programs and other Summer Reading Program fun happening all summer long at the Library and around town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More

Evergreen™ Featured Title: Eating Dirt by Charlotte Gill

Eating Dirt
Charlotte Gill
FIC Gill

A treeplanter’s vivid story of a unique subculture and the magical life of the forest.

Charlotte Gill planted her first tree at the age of nineteen. She had taken a summer job on a reforestation crew between her semesters at the University of Toronto. The work took her into the remote boreal forests of the north. She was instantly hooked on the outdoor exhilarations of the tree-planting life.
In her seventeen seasons as a tree planter Charlotte has worked on the Canadian Shield, in foothills of the Albertan Rockies and in many parts of British Columbia.  She has planted more than a million trees…

Learn more about this book and about the author at her website, and read a sample chapter!

This book has already received many accolades, from being on the Evergreen™ shortlist, to being a finalist for the Hilary Weston NonFiction Prize, and winning various awards like the B.C. National Book Award! Check out this CBC interview from February of 2012 – read and listen.

You can also watch Charlotte discussing Eating Dirt, as well as her upcoming work:

Have you read this book and now have a burning desire to spend your summers as a tree planter? Check out Canadian website TreePlanters.com for everything you will need to know, including how to get hired!

Don’t forget, if you read this book as part of SPL’s STARR Summer Reading program, you can claim 2 stamps on your Rewards Card, and also be eligible to vote during Ontario Public Library Week, October 20-26, to choose the winner of the Evergreen™ Award!

Find this book in our library catalogue

Find other nominated titles on the Evergreen™ Award shortlist in our library catalogue

Read More

Lego Library

When I was young I remember going to the St. Jacob's Outlet Mall to visit the Lego Store. I was in awe of the creations (works of art, really) and idolized the artists. Now I work at the Library and who would have thought that one of my coworkers would be one such artist? Staff, patrons and even people outside of Ontario are totally impressed by the work of Brandon, our Library Lego Extraordinaire. 

Look what he made in honour of our CEO's retirement:

Brandon will be running a drop-in Le-Go Adventures program this summer on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 7:30 for ages 5-12. Read more about it on our Summer Reading Blog.

Read More

Shelf Life [adult]

Making Transit Fun by Darrin Nordhal

@downloadLibrary ebook

The BBC reported today that a parking space in Boston sold at auction for $560,000 USD. North Americans have an emotional attachment to our cars, yet they cost a fortune - they are expensive to buy, to park, to repair, to run, they pollute our air, they keep us from walking or cycling and as an investment they suck, devaluing the moment one is driven off a lot. So why do we still love our cars to such an extent that we would pay the equivalent of a whole house for a piece of asphalt no bigger than a station wagon? That is one of the questions that Darrin Nordhal addresses in his book, Making Transit Fun. He argues that we love their cars because they're, well, sexy. We've been made to think they are sexy by the entire auto industry, from the designs of the vehicles down to the tunes used in their marketing. They are status symbols and they are fun. But in cities with large population densities cars are not fun for some of the reasons listed above, and those cities - London, Copenhagen, Tokyo, San Francisco among others - have created alternate transit that is not only healthier alternatives to driving, they are social, less costly and in some cases, just cool. The element most North American transit methods are missing is joy, argues Nordhal. The joy of discovering the staircase is not just painted to look like a piano keyboard, it IS a piano (Stockholm) to be played as you ascend or descend - while the adjacent escalator maintains its whirring monotone. The joy of parking ten bikes in a whimsically-shaped bike corral (New York). The joy of waiting for a bus not in a teeny glassed-in shelter but the spacious, yet cozy interior of a hollowed-out strawberry-shaped shelter (Tokyo), or one fitted with a swing (London) or periscope (New York). The joy of riding a trolley through a wooded meridian as if you are sitting on your front porch (Charlotte, NC), or sitting in the "love seats" of the Copenhagen bus system, installed to create opportunities for people to connect, communicate and perhaps smile a little more - something you don't necessarily have in the solitude of your car (tweeting while driving doesn't count). Nordhal wants North American transit companies and municipalities to invest in making alternative transit as sexy as driving cars, to seduce people out of the driver's seat and onto buses, trams, cycling paths and walkways by using age-old techniques - balancing function, cost and aesthetics, the latter or which appeals to the heart, making it alluring and "sexy". How about it, Stratford? Why not invest in unique buses that allow passengers to see a panorama of our lovely city by replacing the roofs with skylights? What about greenery-lined cycle track son major arteries that give both safety and freedom of movement to cyclists (Indianapolis has an excellent example)? And whatever happened to that plan to close off Market Square to vehicles to allow pedestrians the chance to wander and tourists to shop? Nordhal has some pretty nifty suggestions for the councillor or Chamber of Commerce wise enough to strike a committee or two...  Find Making Transit Fun for your ereader on downloadlibrary.ca

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 20, 2013. Written by Robyn Godfrey, Librarian.

Read More

Shelf Life [kids]

White Fur Flying by Patricia MacLachan, 112 pages

@ SPL: J FIC MacLa

Zoe’s father is a vet, and her mom has a passion for rescuing dogs in need, especially Great Pyrenees. The family provides a loving home for them until new owners can be found.

With the dogs, a talking parrot and a family which enjoys animals, Zoe’s house in the country is a lively, happy home.

Next door is a home which is silent and sad.  An unhappy young boy, Philip, is staying there for a time with his aunt and uncle while his parents “work on some difficulties”.  His aunt and uncle are well-meaning but awkward with children, and Philip has stopped speaking.

Zoe her sister, Alice, and Philip become friends. Gradually Philip comes out of his shell and begins to speak – not to people, but to the dogs and the parrot.  A special rapport is established between the boy and Jack, the youngest and newest dog to be rescued by Zoe’s family.  Perhaps each senses the other’s need for love and acceptance in the temporary homes in which they have been placed.

It is because of this bond that when a bad thunderstorm strikes late one night, with pounding rain and hail, thunder and lightning, that Philip is able to sense that Jack is in trouble. His fears are confirmed when he discovers that the young dog, terrified of the storm, has run off.  Philip finds Jack -  but they cannot find their way home. 

A happy and satisfying ending concludes this gentle, heart-warming story about acceptance, understanding and the strong bonds that can exist between people and animals. This story would be ideal for a family to share together. With its spare text and large print, it would also be a good choice for a child who is beginning to read chapter books.  

Like many of Patricia MacLachan’s stories, White Fur Flying is deceptively simple, but is filled with meaning and told with sensitivity.  MacLachan is the author of many children’s books, including Sarah Plain and Tall.

** Recommended for ages 7 to 10 years.

How to Greet a Dog and What to Avoid, by Sophia Yin, 24 pages.@ SPL:  J 636.70887 Yin

Children and adults alike can gain some useful advice from Sophia Yin’s little picture book, How to Greet a Dog and What to Avoid. 

Dogs often growl, snap or bite if they are approached by unfamiliar people in ways that they perceive as being threatening or rude. Even seemingly placid or small dogs can react in these ways. Yin supplies wise, practical advice such as approaching a dog slowly and calmly, not staring at a dog head on, not approaching a dog in a car and other tips on how to greet (and how not to greet) unfamiliar dogs.  

While such advice may be obvious to a dog owner, it won’t be obvious to a child who is unused to interacting with dogs. 

 Accompanied by humour and simple cartoon illustrations, Yin’s advice is dispensed in a light-hearted rather than a lecturing style.

The Stratford Public Library has many other books for both children and adults about the treatment and care of dogs and other pets.

** Recommended for ages 3 to 7 years. 

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 20, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

Evergreen™ Featured Title: Up & Down by Terry Fallis

Up & Down

Terry Fallis
FIC Falli

Did Commander Chris Hadfield’s adventures make you wish you could visit the International Space Station? Did his shared photos spark a desire to see Earth from space? Take a trip with this entertaining, humorous novel, which satirizes both the advertising world and the idea of space travel.

What’s it about? The publisher says:

David Stewart has left his job on Parliament Hill to join the team at a dog-eat-dog international PR firm in Toronto. Within his first few moments on the job he is assigned to a major project with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA to revitalize the public's interest in the CSA and NASA. David suggests the most out-of-this-world idea imaginable: hold a contest where two regular, Joe-Blow civilians accompany a shuttle mission for an orbit around the Earth.

Terry Fallis recently helped SPL launch our participation in the Evergreen™ reading program. Here he is with a happy bookclub! Find more photos of his visit on the library’s Flickr stream.

photo credit ©Irene Miller Photography

Terry also writes a blog that is full of news and humour. To follow his musings and news, check out his colourful and entertaining website!

If you’ve read any of his previous books, you might be interested to hear that his first novel, winner of Canada Reads 2011, is being adapted into a 6-part tv miniseries that is set to air in 2014.

Don’t forget, if you read this book as part of SPL’s STARR Summer Reading program, you can claim 2 stamps on your Rewards Card, and also be eligible to vote during Ontario Public Library Week, October 20-26, to choose the winner of the Evergreen™ Award!

Find this book in the library catalogue

Find the other nominees on the Evergreen Shortlist

Read More

Heading out of town and don't want a hold to come in for pick-up?

Have your holds suspended while you're on vacation!

If you're planning a trip or have a busy week this summer you may want to consider suspending your library holds until you return or have more time to pick them up. After all, you don't want to miss your turn with The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult or Academy Award winning Argo.

To check your requests and manage your holds, you need to log into your account. Click on "My Account" in the top right corner of any library webpage or "Log In" on the catalogue site, BiblioCommons. You will need to enter your library card (or username) and your PIN. Your PIN is generally the last 4 digits of your phone number. Once logged in, go to "My SPL" and click on Holds to view a list of your requests.

To Suspend a Hold:

1. To change the status of a request, click in the checkbox next to each title, and then click the Suspend button. 

1. A calendar will appear where you can select the reactivation date.

1. Cancelled and suspended holds are each shown on separate pages. You can reactivate suspended holds at anytime from the Suspended page.

While in the catalogue, you might also want to ensure the items you have out are renewed to prevent any annoying late fees.

Did you know that you can be notified about your holds by email?  To set this up call the library at 519-271-0220 or ask the next time you are in.  

Enjoy the sunshine!

Read More

Shelf Life [adult]

Shakespeare Saved My Life : Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura Bates
@SPL: 822.33 D-B

Is Shakespeare still relevant? Professor Laura Bates and convict Larry Newton would both answer a  resounding yes. In this powerful book, Bates discusses her years of teaching Shakespeare in prisons, a program that drew Newton out of his years of silence in solitary confinement.

At first, Bates wasn’t sure that she could work with Newton -- at 17, he murdered another young man, and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. But he responded immediately to the excerpt Bates shared with those interested in the program: Richard II's speech beginning “I have been studying how I may compare / this prison where I live unto the world.” Shakespeare clicked with Newton, and he became her star pupil, and the focus of this book.

Bates not only discusses Shakespeare, she also examines the American prison system. The interaction of the details of daily life in prison with the words of Shakespeare is powerful. Newton draws stark and direct links between the mistakes he and other prisoners have made and the psychological insights in Shakespeare. His life changes with this new focus, and he becomes acknowledged as the local expert, sharing teaching duties. As he writes in the introduction to The Prisoner's Guide to the Complete Works of Shakespeare (a workbook that Bates is trying to have published):

“What I can tell you is that ANY serious reader of Shakespeare is going to experience an evolution! ...It is not Shakespeare's offering that invokes this evolution. The secret, the magic, is YOU! Shakespeare has created an environment that allows for genuine development.”

In the examples Bates shares, the idea that Shakespeare can change lives is made real. As prisoners confirm when she asks, reading Shakespeare has literally saved lives, as students have become more self-aware. And it has also saved the wasted lives of those like Newton, giving them new purpose, focus, and understanding. To read this book is to believe that literature can change lives.
This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 13, 2013. Written by Melanie Kindrachuk, Librarian.

Read More

Penny Pots Update

Thanks for giving us your two cents! 

The Friends of The Stratford Public Library collected over 71,000 pennies to benefit Library programs. Many thanks to SPL patrons and the community for their contributions.

Want to learn more about the Friends?

Check them out on our website and see how you can get involved. 

Read More

Shelf Life [kids]

Mind Gap by Marina Cohen, 168 pages.

@ SPL: YA Cohen

 

When Jake was a young child, he dreamed of being invisible, of being able to sneak around and do things without being noticed or questioned. Now he is invisible, caught in a freaky “mind gap” or alternative universe, against his will. Jake can see his distraught mom and younger brother, who fear that the worst has happened to him – but they can’t see him or hear him. He’s unable to comfort them, and it is a horrible, helpless feeling.

 

How long will he be trapped in a limbo where no one can see him or hear him – as if he no longer exists? Does he still exist?

 

Fourteen-year-old Jake has been making too many wrong choices lately – at school, at home and with his friendships. He’s been hanging out with some gang members who are into gambling and other things. His latest choice was sneaking out to attend a midnight flash party, which he never reached. Instead, Jake is now caught in a nightmarish adventure that may never end.

 

Worse, he realizes that he has inadvertently put his brother, Drew, in terrible danger.

 

Jake can only hope that he will soon be given an opportunity to make another choice – a choice that can save his brother’s life.

 

Marina Cohen’s chilling, paranormal thriller features a teen with feelings which will be familiar to many readers. It’s satisfying to see Jake eventually emerge from the thoughtless past behaviour which has hurt his family, to assuming responsibility by the end of the story.

 

Although it delivers a message about making choices, this fast-paced story never becomes preachy and would be a good choice for both reluctant and avid readers. 

 

** Recommended for ages 11 to 14 years.

 

Beyond by Graham McNamee, 226 pages.

@ SPL: YA McNam

 

Lexi is the only person who knows the grim secret of her best friend, Jane. She knows the truth behind Jane’s near-fatal “accidents” – why she swallowed drain cleaner, grabbed a live wire, almost threw herself under a moving train and most recently, aimed a nail gun at her own head.

 

People in Jane’s community think that she tried to kill herself on these occasions, but Lexi knows better.

 

Jane’s shadow has been trying to kill her.  More than once, it has pushed her into danger. In the most recent incident, there were a few seconds before the doctors could bring Jane back to life.  During those seconds, she could sense a malevolent “something” waiting for her in the darkness. What did it want? Now Jane wonders if she is being haunted by a force from beyond the grave – a force which may have taken over her shadow.

 

Then Jane crosses paths with a real-life serial killer, and her next “accident” is far more horrible than anything she could have imagined.

 

Graham McNamee’s skillful mix of the real and the paranormal makes this dark horror thriller truly terrifying. As the tension builds, it is almost impossible to put the book down – or to stop thinking about the story when it’s over!

 

** Recommended for ages 12 to 15 years

 

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 13, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

Student Help with Online Databases from the Stratford Public Library

Do you need answers and information for some end-of-the-school-year assignments and projects?  Stratford Public Library’s online databases, offering accurate and up-to-date information, can help!

These databases can be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from home or wherever you have Internet access. If you are having trouble accessing a database please call us during open hours at 519-271-0220 or email askspl@pcin.on.ca

 World Book Online for Kids is one such online database.  Every article from the 22-volume World Book Encyclopedia set, plus many more, can be accessed here, complete with sound, images and videos.  Articles are easy to read and cover a wide variety of topics: sciences (including ideas for science projects), countries of the world, history, world religions, people, sports and hobbies, and more.  A dictionary, games, activities and a picture section are included.  A “Maps and More” component offers interactive maps, outline maps and flag outlines which can be filled in and coloured.

The Stratford Public Library also offers EncyclopedieDecouverte (World Book in French), as well as World Book Science Power and World Book Social Studies Power as online databases.

And there’s more.  The New Book of Popular Science, another online encyclopedia, is both educational and fun for children to use.  Information  is easy to read and understand, and is accompanied by pictures, diagrams, science trivia, biographies of famous scientists, science games, puzzles, brain teasers, ideas for hands-on projects and links to relevant websites which have been carefully evaluated.

The PebbleGoAnimals and PebbleGo Earth and Spacedatabases are designed for kindergarten to grade 3 students.  Featuring interactive content, learning activities and games, the databases are attractive, colourful and very easy to use.  (Parents will wonder “Why wasn’t science this much fun when we were in school?”)  Teacher resources are included.

To use these and other online databases, visit Stratford Public Library’s KidsSite.  You’ll need your Stratford Public Library card number (no spaces).

For more advanced information, students in grades 7 to 12 can visit the Teen Lounge.

This review appears in The Stratford Gazette on June 6, 2013. Written by Sally Hengeveld, Librarian.

Read More

GO! Get Ready for the TD Summer Reading Club at SPL!

Excitement is buzzing at the Stratford Public Library over the programs that will be launching soon for this summer! 

Cool down on hot summer days in the library with fun activities including stories, songs, crafts, and many programs that will have your children eager to continue and enhance their love of reading.  Registration for the TD Summer Reading Club will begin on June 17, 2013.  

Registration is quick, and only takes a minute or two.  Upon registration, you child will be given an activity book and passport to track their summer reading.  Bring the passport each week to receive a sticker and a code to unlock new levels of fun at the TD Summer Reading Club2013 website.  

We can’t wait to see you at the library for registration, and we hope that you’re getting as excited as we are!

Jacqueline Carter and Maggie Cook
Summer Program Coordinators
519-271-0220 ext. 25
summerread@pcin.on.ca
www.splsummer2013.blogspot.ca

Read More

PCIN Welcomes North Perth Public Library

On May 22, 2013, the Perth County Information Network (PCIN) welcomed North Perth Public Library. PCIN now includes North Perth Public Library, West Perth public Library, Perth East Public Library, St. Marys Public Library, the Stratford Public Library, and the Stratford-Perth archives. 

What does this mean for patrons? Your library catalogue has grown! The catalogue now contains materials from the Atwood, Monkton and Listowel branches of the North Perth Public Library. You can put requests on items from North Perth and visit their Library locations to checkout and return items, hassle-free. 

Julia Merritt, the Interim CEO at North Perth Public Library, will be replacing Sam Coghlan when he retires June 18 as the new CEO of Stratford Public Library.

Read More

STARR: Stratford Public Library’s Teen-Adult Reading Rewards Program

Welcome to STARR, the Stratford Public Library's first annual summer reading program for adults and teens!

Why should kids have all the fun?

This program is open to all library members 13 and older.

It begins June 11 and runs to August 31. Each week will bring fun reading lists to pepper your summer with interesting stuff, as well as featured reading links and discussions on our STARR Facebook page.

How do I join?

Simply ask at a service desk for a teen or adult Reading Rewards card, then start reading!

Any Library books, ebooks or audiobooks count toward your reading total. Graphic novels count!.

When you’ve read a book, present your Rewards card to staff and we will stamp one umbrella for each book that you report reading.

When your Rewards card is full, put your name and contact on the back and drop it into our draw box, then start afresh with a new card!

And if you read one of the titles on the Evergreen™ Award Shortlist, it will net you two stamps on your card, plus a chance to vote for the winner during Ontario Public Library Week in October!

Why bother?

For the fun of reading! Not enough? How about a weekly draw for prizes? There will also be a grand prize draw at the end of the summer, for both a teen and an adult prize pack.

Get Social!

Share your finds with other readers by using the library’s catalogue, Bibliocommons. Follow the SPL_STARR account to get great recommendations! Rate your reads, make comments, create reading lists, or tag your books with the official Summer Reading tag, #starr2013. Use the hashtag on Twitter, too!

Join us on our STARR Facebook page to share your opinions and discuss your summer finds with other readers. You’ll find polls, fun links, and lots of book-talk all summer long.

Read More