Digital Storytelling

This is the digital age! Digital media is everywhere: Computers, cell phones, cameras, ipods, and TV are all digital. Even books can be found in digital formats. Yes, digitization is everywhere and part of nearly everything.

So it was hardly surprising that a Digital Storytelling Workshop was offered at the local college. Also not surprising, I had to take a couple of holiday days and attend it.

I had visions of creating some masterpiece of digital art. What I did create is the following short video:

Understand that this is a pretty rough first draft. I probably shouldn't even be sharing it just yeat, but I was so excited about what I learned, I just couln't help myself. The last two slides have some missing text. This, I assure you, was not my fault. There was some glitch with the software and it happened to several of the workshop participants. But that's okay. It was a fun beginner project and I'm amazed at how well lit turned out with less than two days to work on it.

With a little more practice and lots more patience, I plan on reworking this piece. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed it - even in it's highly amateur state!

Blanketing Our Whole Community

It seems like many traditional crafts are experiencing a renaissance these days. Knitting, weaving and quilting are among the increasingly popular pastimes that are infecting both women and men with the creative bug. People everywhere are picking up needles, looms and sewing machines and producing incredible works of art. And they are not just armchair crafters, picking away at personal projects in front of the TV during the evenings. Not at all. Serious crafters are gathering together and forming groups that are both social and supportive.

For many years in Houston there has been a spinners and weavers group and a quilting group. More recently a knitting group has formed.

The quilters who are officially known as The Cut Loose Quilters meet biweekly in the Canfor Room at HPL to hone and share their skills. Yarn It All, the knitters, also meet bi-weekly in the Canfor Room to do the same. We aren’t sure where the spinners and weavers are gathering, but I’m fairly sure that they are gathering somewhere!

The resurgence of these crafts in recent years is interesting to say the least. The artisans that create such beautiful and practical items do so with passion and pride. Not a single item seems to be less than a labour of love.

Last week, one of the members of The Cut Loose Quilters entered the library and unfurled an example of this labour; a gorgeous quilt, which was donated to HPL for the purpose of fundraising through raffle ticket sales. The tickets will be on sale between March 24th and May 24th after which a draw will be held to determine the winner. (See picture above)

This beautiful quilt is not just a pieced-together blanket. It is a community project that started with a simple idea and will culminate in a lasting legacy for the entire community. The purchase of the material to make the quilt was sponsored by the Bulkley Valley Credit Union. The quilt itself was created by the members of the Cut Loose Quilters (quilt mom: Ene Groot; quilting done by Pam Sjoden). It was then donated to HPL. The raffle will raise money that will be used to purchase new chairs for the Canfor Room. And some lucky winner will have it to treasure for – hopefully – many, many years to come. It could even become an heirloom!

The number of people that have, are and will be touched by the quilt is extraordinary. This humble little blanket is wrapped around many shoulders. It is a symbol of how our community works together, helps each other out and rallies to support good causes.

Tickets will be on sale at the Bulkley Valley Credit Union, the Houston and District Chamber of Commerce and, of course, at the library.

(BC Gaming License #32292)

Mr. Brewstir Retires After Serious Arm Injury

For over a decade Mr. Brewstir watched over the HPL collection, ever vigilant under the weight of his personal stack of tomes. His loyalty and dedication to the library, the staff and patrons as he silently stood guard will be sadly missed as he now retires from service.

Mr. Brewstir came to Houston from the land of Costco in 1997. His first appointment was at Brewstir’s Books on the corner of 10th Street and Poulton Avenue; a job he fondly recalls as being “pleasantly aromatic.” “The smell of fresh coffee mixed with clean books... Ah! A most pleasurable place to earn a living,” Brewstir reminisced just prior to the surgery he recently underwent to mend a severely fractured right arm.

His move to the library was precipitated by the closure of Brewstir’s books in 1999. Though he nearly retired at that time, Mr. Brewstir decided to continue is career when a position suddenly opened up at the library. “I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be surrounded by all those beautiful books,” Brewstir said.

Brewstir’s peaceful work life came to a shattering end this past February when an errant and unsupervised toddler wilfully knocked him over. In the fall, Brewstir’s right arm sustained multiple fractures and his beloved stack of books was forcefully ripped away from his body. Staff members were horrified, but quickly assisted the fallen bibliophile back onto his unscathed plinth. The noble little man didn’t so much as groan, though the pain must have been terrible.

Arrangements were made to transfer the wounded Brewstir to a nearby hospital – of sorts – where he was lovingly tended to by Dr. D and his assistant T. The surgery to repair his damaged arm took just over two hours, followed by another 24 hours in traction to be sure the breaks would mend properly. It is expected that Brewstir’s stack of books will be returned to him tonight or tomorrow and that he will be able to continue to hold them for many years to come. Some follow-up, cosmetic surgery to hide the scarring is scheduled for the coming weekend.

Mr. Brewstir misses the library very much. “But it is nice not to have to spend nights and weekends all alone,” Brewstir said. “I think I shall find retirement quite enjoyable.”

"He was quite a character," said librarian Toni McKilligan. "He'll be missed around here."

At Mr. Brewstir’s request no retirement party will be held in his honour. He simply asks that everyone continue to visit the Houston Public Library and enjoy “the great books, awesome programs and convenient services thereof!”

Off to a Great Start

As the Houston Public Library Association moves into its 46th year of incorporation, we are pleased to welcome three new Trustees to our board. At the Annual General Meeting held in the Canfor Room last night (Feb 22) Natasha Tenbrinke, Lisa Makuk and Joe Aersens all accepted nominations and were elected by acclimation for two-year terms. We also welcomed back Rob Newell and Kim Marks for two-year terms. These five volunteers round out a complete board of nine Library Trustees. Until last night, we had been short two board members for some time.

At the same time the three new board members joined our team two others took their leave as Trustees. Having completed the maximum eight consecutive years permissible under the Library Act, Helen Ludditt and Margaret Monkman passed the torch – so to speak – and retired from the board. It is with great sadness that we see these two amazing women step down. HPL wishes them both the very best, but we know that we will still see them at the circulation desk and at fundraising events where they will continue to volunteer on behalf of HPL as members of the Friends of the Library.
With that, we move forward into a fresh new year full of possibilities – both good and bad. Funding issues still hover, like the grim reaper, himself, in board rooms and budget meetings all over the province. At HPL we remain optimistic, but the reality is that the province and the District of Houston hold the purse strings and can draw them tighter at any moment. On the sunnier side of things, we have already secured funding for one project: new tables and chairs for the Canfor Room. Approval for a grant from the Bulkely Valley Community Foundation along with a donation from the Friends of the Library will enable us to purchase comfortable folding chairs and sleek new folding tables. Meetings will never be the same again!

Our brand new popcorn popper is on its way to us, too. Thanks to a generous donation from Bev Lyons of PV Restaurant, our movie nights and matinees will be more theatre-like experiences for our patrons. And we won’t have to schlep the popcorn popper back and forth from the Credit Union any more! (Though we are very grateful to the Credit Union for allowing us to use theirs and for supplying the popcorn free of charge!)

So far, so good! New Trustees, new popcorn popper, new tables and chairs... 2010 is off to a great start.

It's No Turkey Dinner...

I know it’s not spring – Yet! But it’s coming fast and with it all sorts of stressful demands that libraries face on an annual basis at that time of the year. AGMs, SOFIs, PLSB surveys, summer student applications and the summer students that follow them... By the time summer hits, Librarians are hoping for a breather, only to discover that it’s time to start thinking about budgets and grant reports and fall programming and .... Well, suffice it to say, it’s always something.

At HPL the something we are focussing on is the AGM, scheduled for February 22nd. AGMs are a lot like Christmas dinner; hours of preparation and it’s all over with in about 30 minutes. Then there’s the clean up! More reports to submit and new board members to train before we can settle into a routine. (Not to mention dive into the next something!)

With only ten days before the AGM, I am pretty much ready to go. All that’s left is to arrange for the goodies that we traditionally serve, tweak the agenda and print the Annual Report. It’s always good to be ahead of the game, but that often just means more time to worry about the details – like do I have the right dates on the reports. Last year I didn’t!

The AGM is a requirement for all public libraries. It is supposed to be the time when we tell the supporting public what we’ve done with all those tax dollars that have been channelled our way over the previous year. Unlike some governments (how’s that for diplomacy?), we are held accountable and have to justify our spending. It’s part of the game, one of the hoops we must jump through – there are many others!

I’m happy to report that in 2009, our fiscal responsibilities were handled quite well. We achieved a great deal with what we had and ended with a bit left over. Little by little my vision for HPL is evolving into reality and over the next few years, I believe that we will continue to do well. As long as our funding remains stable and no unforeseen disasters strike! But that is also part of the game; the unknown future on which we all bank to provide us with a good and prosperous return.

So, the date to remember is Monday, February 22nd. The time to remember is 7 p.m. The place to go is the Houston Public Library. The event is the Annual General Meeting. And while it’s no turkey dinner with all the trimmings, it is for a very good cause.

Hit the Ground Running

In my January report to the Board of Trustees I stated that we “hit the ground running in 2010.” Indeed, we’ve reached the end of the month in record time and, it seems, at warp speed! Before we know it, we’ll be preparing for year-end!

It’s scary how fast time passes, but like the saying “Time flies when you’re having fun,” we are having tons of fun at HPL. (I know this because balloons are hanging from the ceiling!)

Our Calendar of Events is chock full of great activities for all ages. Our children’s programs are in full swing, but there’s always room for more. Yarn It All (our version of the proverbial “stitch and b***h”) welcomes all who are interested in fibre arts to come and share their talents – or develop them. If you don’t know how to do it, we’ll teach you! (Or find someone who will!) Community Conversations is an interesting and fun way to learn about local and global issues that affect us all right here in good ol’ Houston. Book Club challenges readers to go beyond the norm and discover new authors and genres. NID Matinees provide youngsters a theatre-like experience - except the popcorn is free and the seats are big, comfy pillows on the floor.

See – tons of fun!

Our Calendar of Events is posted on our web site: http://houston.bclibrary.ca . The February calendar will appear any time now - just as soon as the web site fairies arrive to upload the file for me or the time fairies add a couple hours to my day!

One event that I would like to draw particular attention to is the Norman Leach Lecture Tour, which will be stopping at HPL on Friday, February 12, 2010 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Norman Leach is a renowned Canadian historian and award-winning author of the book Broken Arrow: America’s First Lost Nuclear Weapon, which tells the tale of the US B36 bomber that crashed in the Kispiox carrying a nuclear warhead.

When the wreck was discovered years later, more questions than answers emerged? What actually happened? How did the plane end up in Northern BC? What happened to the weapon it was carrying? Intrigued? Then please join us in the Canfor Room when we welcome Mr. Leach – who just may have some of the answers!