Our new computers!

Free online computer training

The Library has now made some great online computer training available to all library members! To find the new free online training, go to the library catalogue website (http://nwls.spydus.com ), click on "Online databases" in the left margin. Scroll down the page and click on "Learn computing". In the box labelled "Library code", type in your library card number and click on "Submit". You will see the front page of "Dynamic Learning Online". As you read down the page, you will see that as a new user, you can set up an account, which will allow you to log in to the course and keep track of where you are up to.

Last week we were very fortunate to have Year 10 Work Experience student, Shani, here at the Library. Shani checked 0ut the course and wrote the following review. Thank you, Shani!

"We are pleased to announce that a new and easy computer teaching website is now available to all library card holders. The website is designed to help people understand how to use their computers and the applications that come with them. From sending an email to writing a letter to searching the web, this site will help you to learn exactly what to do.

The fifteen lessons currently available include introductions and a few easy steps into using the chosen application. Some of the courses include: Introduction to computer technology, Using and searching the net, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows Vista and Setting up email accounts.

This course is very useful to Seniors and those who are new to computer technology, though it can also help those who wish to go further into using their computers and the internet.

I recommend this course to anyone and everyone who believes they may need help in the understanding of computers and the applications they provide." By Shani

Judy Nunn's "Maralinga"

November 2009 has been a good month for Australian author Judy Nunn. Her new novel, "Maralinga" was November's selection for the Daily Telegraph Big Book Club. To top that off, Judy Nunn was on the cover of November's edition of "Good Reading" magazine, and the lead story was about her writing career and "Maralinga". "Maralinga" is the story of British Lieutenant Daniel Gardiner, who, in 1956, accepts a twelve-month posting to the wilds of South Australia on the promise of promotion. His fiance, Elizabeth Hoffman, is an adventurous English journalist. The site Daniel is posted to is the top-secret nuclear testing facility at Maralinga. There he is drawn into the unique madness surrounding the nuclear tests, where the young soldiers and the local Indigenous people were exposed to radiation. Sarah Minns, writing for "Good reading" magazine, November issue, stated that "The book is hard to categorise: part historical fiction, part intelligent thriller, part romance, it is very compelling, and often the most memorable parts are the scenes inspired by the true accounts of the period. For example, a gripping scene in "Maralinga" portrays the time the young British and Australian soldiers were instructed to stand near the explosions wearing just their combat uniforms, so the army could test out various fabric's suitability to nuclear warfare".

Judy Nunn is one of the most popular authors in our Library.

Attention all writers!

There are some great opportunities coming up in December for writers to hone their skills. The first is the WritersLINK workshop at Macquarie Regional Library, Dubbo, on Thursday 3 December, from 9.30am- 4.45pm. The workshop lineup includes Trudi Sheppard, an experienced publicist, who will talk about PR and marketing and media release writing. Dr David Reiter will talk about the application of new media in the composing and publishing of text and cross art form works. Kathielyn Job will discuss living and working as a professional artist in regional Australia with a focus on short stories and contemporary poetry. Peter and Pat Dargin will run a session that focusses on children's books, historical biography and family history, and different forms of writing. Paul Stafford, a literacy consultant and author, will cover writing for children and will give hints and tips on the challenges encountered. His latest series of comedy-horror books "Horror High" are published by Random House Australia.

This is a fabulous opportunity to attend a regional writer's workshop, at a cost of only $25 (includes lunch). To register for this workshop you will need to contact Orana Arts, phone 6817 8705, or email Kerry Ellen kellen@oranaarts.com .

The NSW Writer's Centre in Rozelle, Sydney, are running a Masterclass; a Fiction Writing Workshop with Jean Bedford, who is a well-known Australian novelist and short story writer. She has also been a journalist and an in-house or freelance editor for many of Australia's mainstream publishers. She has taught creative writing for over 20 years in most of the universities and writer's centres on Australia's east coast and has been a judge for many prestigious writing awards. She currently lectures in Creative Writing at UTS. The objective of this workshop is to allow participants to focus on their own writing and the work of others, developing critical abilities and skills to bring the work to completion. Benefit from the insight of Jean and other writers, share your experiences and learn from other writer's mistakes. This workshop will be held on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 10am-4pm, at the NSW Writers Centre, Rozelle, and the cost is $250. For more information, call 9555 9757 or visit www.nswwriterscentre.org.au

Health issues- books for young people

The Library has received some new books for young people about various topical issues. The first one “Body image” by Ann Harth explores the influences on body image and self-esteem. An Australian publication, this brief book delivers lots of good food for thought in a bright, magazine style format. A second book; “Too fat? Too thin? The healthy eating handbook” is a British publication. It is also presented in a bright, attractive format with sections on body image, healthy eating, portion size, BMI, eating disorders, food groups, balanced diets and the benefits of exercise.

“Youth with bipolar disorder: achieving stability” by David Hunter and Phyllis Livingston tells a story about a young girl who develops bipolar disorder. This story is presented as a simple novel, with coloured information pages at the end of each chapter. These pages discuss the symptoms and possible causes of bipolar disorder, and treatment and techniques to maintain mood stability. This book is a US publication, presenting a lot of information in an easy-to-read format.

Another volume in the same series is “Youth with conduct disorder: in trouble with the world” by Kenneth McIntosh and Phyllis Livingston. This one tells the story of an angry, destructive boy who is diagnosed with conduct disorder. Again, each chapter of the novel is followed by a series of coloured information pages, which describe what conduct disorder is, its possible causes and treatments, and some ways of coping. While these two books are aimed at teenagers, they could help people of all ages to develop a better understanding of these disorders.

New magazines at the Library

Did you know that the Library has current magazines for you to borrow? These range from Notebook, Australian Country Style, Better homes and Gardens, Gardening Australia and Good taste to Wheels, Good health, Diabetic living, Good reading, Practical Parenting and Grass roots. We also have Handmade and Australian Patchwork and Quilting. We subscribe to Wartime, The World of Antiques and Art, Choice magazine, Australian Geographic and R.M. Williams’ Outback magazine.

We have recently added two new magazines to our collections. The first of these is Choice Computers. This is a bimonthly magazine, and it covers reviews of computers, software, devices and printers, and has tips for getting the most out of your computer. The September/ October issue tests 10 budget laptops, ergonomic keyboards and mouse alternatives and has a report on online privacy.

Our other new magazine is Australasian Dirt Bike. The October issue has a review of the new Yamaha YZ250F, the Husqvarna TE 610I.E., and the Suzuki Kingquad 500 4x4 . It also has a report on the National Motocross championships and on the 2009 Australasian Safari.
We hope you enjoy whatever you are reading this week.

Stress less over homework

Did you know that if you have a Gilgandra library card, you can log in to a free tutoring service online? The service is called “yourtutor” and you find it by going to the Library catalogue website (http://nwls.spydus.com). Scroll down the page and click on the link (“click here”) to access the program, using your library membership card number to login.

The tutoring is for year 4-12 students and is available from Monday to Friday, from 4pm-8pm. You can select from a range of subjects, so that you get a tutor who has expertise in the area you are interested in. The idea is that you would login with a specific question you wanted to ask. It might be a maths problem you are having trouble with, or an essay topic you are having difficulty researching. Or perhaps you have nutted out a plan for your essay and want to know if you are on the right track. “Your tutor” enables you to communicate with the tutor via instant messaging, and has an interactive whiteboard so you can draw a geometry question on the screen to show the tutor what your problem is. There is also a file sharing capability, so you can send your rough draft through to the tutor and receive immediate feedback. And finally, “yourtutor” enables the tutor to share websites with you through a co-browser, if you are having difficulty researching your topic.

Tutors are certified teachers, professional tutors, post graduates and advanced undergraduates from Australian universities. Gilgandra Shire Library has taken a 12 month subscription to this service, which is provided by an Australian-owned company called Tutoring Australasia. We have had the subscription for just over a month, and have received a report from the company on the last month’s usage. At the end of each session, students are asked if they were satisfied with the service, and also to give a comment. This month, a year 11 student commented that “It was excellent. They really helped me a lot and gave me ideas on how to write creatively.” So why not give it a go and maybe cut some of the stress out of homework time.

Books Alive- "Esme Lennox" is a wonderful book

“The vanishing act of Esme Lennox” by Maggie O’Farrell is one of the books listed in this year’s guide “50 books you can’t put down”. The main character, Esme, has an unhappy childhood in colonial India, and later finds herself a troubled woman in 1930’s Edinburgh. Unable to fit into society, she is betrayed by her sister and edited out of the family history for over sixty years. Then, a young woman, Iris, discovers a great-aunt she never knew she had; Esme.

This is what author, Maggie O’Farrell, had to say on her website when asked what inspired her to write this novel: “It is a novel I’ve wanted to write for a long time. I first had the idea – of a woman who is incarcerated in an asylum for a lifetime – fifteen years ago. I tried to write it then, as my first novel, but it didn’t work and I ended up abandoning it to write After You’d Gone instead. This was in the mid nineties, after Thatcher’s Care in the Community Act, when psychiatric hospitals were being closed down and patients turfed out. There were a lot of stories flying around at that time of people, particularly women, like Esme who had been put away for reasons of immorality and left to rot. A friend told me about his grandmother’s cousin, who had just died in an asylum, having been put there in her early twenties for “eloping with a legal clerk”. The idea never went away and I gradually amassed more and more stories and examples of girls who had been committed in the early Twentieth century for little more that being disobedient or recalcitrant. When you start to dig a little deeper, into case notes and medical reports, the findings are terrifying. I’ve always been interested in the idea of what happens to the same type of woman – uncompromising, unconventional, refusing to fit into the domestic role society has set out for her – at different times in history. Centuries ago, she might have been condemned as a witch but as recently as sixty years ago she might have been deemed insane and committed to an asylum.” (http://www.maggieofarrell.com/bio2.html) Sounds like an interesting premise for a book, doesn’t it?

Well, I was intrigued when I read this, and I took the book home at the first opportunity. It thoroughly lived up to my expectations. It was well written, and I couldn't wait to get back to reading it. Between sections of narrative, the thoughts of one character seague into those of another, but I never found it confusing. I found the characters believable and moving and I have since recommended it to several friends. Thank you for a wonderful book, Maggie O'Farrell.

More Books Alive!

One of the books chosen for this year’s “Books Alive 50 books you can’t put down” is “The Slap” by Christos Tsiolkas. This book begins at a suburban barbecue, where a man slaps a misbehaving child who is not his own. This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the event. It divides this group of friends, with some supporting the outraged parents of the slapped child, and others supporting the man.

“The Slap” is told from the points of view of eight people who were present at the barbecue, with each given a chapter. How they each react to the incident draws the inherent conflict between their various personalities and beliefs to the surface. The characters are not all likeable, but it is fascinating to watch the story unfold, as the incident causes them to question how their own families work and what their beliefs are. I found this book very hard to put down, though I couldn’t easily identify why. It is set in Melbourne middle class suburbia, with many of the main characters being the children of post war migrants from various countries. There are age and cultural differences between the friends and yawning gaps between them in their core beliefs, which becomes divisive for the first time when they react so differently to the slap. I think the source of my fascination with this book was that the characters are so vividly drawn that it felt as though I was taking a walk in their shoes.

Another of the “50 books” is “The true story of Butterfish” by Nick Earls. It is the story of Curtis Holland, keyboard player in the famous band, Butterfish. Butterfish has imploded, and now Curtis is in his new Brisbane home, with a studio, set up to produce other people’s music. He plans to be reclusive, to avoid recognition, but he finds his single neighbour and her two teenage children have other ideas. He becomes involved, but then the former lead singer of Butterfish turns up, glamorous and fascinating.

This book was reviewed by Thornton McCamish on July 20 on the website www.watoday.com.au. He said “Earls' characters are superb, and the conversations in which they make furtive, toe-stubbing attempts to connect with each another are hilariously rich in the unsaid and the unintended. And while Curtis' low-key style can sometimes be unaffected to the point of homespun, the prose is also capable of artful shades of feeling, especially in the passages about the missing parents who haunt this story, and in some memorable descriptions of songs and singers, and the reasons we need music in the first place.”
Happy reading!

50 books you can't put down

Each year, “Books Alive” produces a handy guide booklet: “50 books you can’t put down”. It is a promotion of books and reading, and during the month of September, participating bookshops give away a specially commissioned book to anyone who buys one of the 50 books in the guide. The 50 books chosen for the guide are always an interesting mix of humour, crime, biography, history, and some children’s books. The books selected for this year’s “50 books you can’t put down” are as varied as ever; here is a taste of two of them.

The first is “How to break your own heart” by Maggie Alderson. In Australia, we probably know Maggie best from the column she has written for ten years in the Sydney Morning Herald’s “Good Weekend” magazine. She has been an award winning magazine editor and now lives in the UK. On her webpage she says that “How to break your own heart” is “the story of Amelia who is happily married to handsome, funny, loving Ed. So if she’s happy, you might ask, what’s the story? Well, Ed’s a daydream Mr Right on paper, but there’s just one rather major problem. He doesn’t want to have a baby. With her 37th birthday looming, Amelia is beginning to panic and when her dashing teenage sweetheart, Joseph, suddenly reappears in her life, and her best friend, Kiki, starts making mischief- things get very complicated, very quickly.” Maggie Alderson says this is a story close to her heart, because she was the woman “who found out at the age of 36 that your fertility goes down in a black ski run gradient at 37.”

Interestingly, this book was published in Australia 8 months before it was published in the UK; because her publishers identify Maggie Alderson as a “summer author”. In her blog, Alderson says she is very happy with this tag “because I like to think of my books as something you would reach for when you have a bit of time for yourself – such as stretching out on a pool side lounger, or settling into a flight to somewhere sandy and salty.” Sounds good to me!

On an utterly different note, “1788; the brutal truth of the first fleet” by David Hill was also selected for inclusion in the “50 books”. This book was reviewed by Cassandra Prybus on October 1, 2008 in “The Australian” newspaper (http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24392857-25132,00.html). Prybus wrote that histories of the First Fleet have usually started in England and then jumped to Port Jackson, “as if the eight months in between were some limbo where history and life experience was suspended until the settlers touched terra firma once more”.

Prybus contrasted this to works by historians about the colonisation of America, and about the slave trade, where the voyage, with all its hardships and deprivations, is seen as a critical part of the formation of the character of the travellers, whether colonists or slaves. Prybus hoped that “1788” would remedy this, but she was very disappointed. She was scathing in her review of this book; and contrasted it with “The Commonwealth of Thieves” by Tom Keneally (2005): “as a foundation narrative for the popular market, Keneally's is as good as you would want”. Prybus also stated: “Robert Hughes's The Fatal Shore (1987) is a masterpiece, while Sian Rees's The Floating Brothel (2001) comes close to being the kind of book on early Australia that I want to read. Good popular history, like that of Hughes and Rees (both initiated overseas), is informed by the best scholarship and pushes readers beyond what they learned in school.” Ouch!

The Library has all of these books, as well as “1788”. Whether “1788” deserved to be included in this year’s “50 books” guide will make for some interesting discussion in the future! The guide is available from the Library or at www.booksalive.com.

Free help from tutors for year 4-12 students

Gilgandra school students can now receive free tutoring help online at their library or home, through an innovative new service just introduced by the Library. The service, called “yourtutor“, creates an online classroom where students are connected to qualified tutors for one- to - one help with homework, assignments, exam preparation and study questions.

English, Maths and Science subjects are included and the service is available 4pm-8pm, Monday to Friday from either library or home computers. Help is immediate, professional and secure and it’s free to library members. Students in Years 4-12, simply log on to the library’s website (http://nwls.spydus.com/), scroll down and click on the link to access the program, using their library membership card number to login.

Tutors are certified teachers, professional tutors, post graduates and advanced undergraduates from Australian universities. They can review specific homework and assignment questions with students on line, using features like controlled chat, an interactive white board and shared web browsing. This service has a lot of advantages for students. It is immediate: when they login, within moments they are in a one to one, instant messaging conversation with a tutor. It’s anonymous: students have said that it’s easy and comfortable to ask questions online, even if they think it’s something they should already know. It’s interactive: co-browsing the internet, file sharing and the interactive whiteboard allow students and the tutor to work their way through a specific question.

Students should use yourtutor if they get stuck on a maths question, want feedback on an essay before they hand it in, would like a tutor to help with a chemistry equation, or need help finding resources and researching a topic. Gilgandra Shire Library has taken a 12 month subscription to this service, which is provided by an Australian-owned company called Tutoring Australasia. We would like to know whether you think this service is worthwhile; please give it a go and tell us what you think.

Book of the Year- some of the Children's Book Council of Australia prizewinners

The winners of the Children’s Book Council of Australia prizes were announced last Friday; just in time for Book Week; this week. The Library has most of the shortlisted and prize winning books, so please call in and borrow some of these great Australian books!

The winner of Older Reader’s Book of the Year was “Tales from outer suburbia” by Shaun Tan. Teacher Fran Knight reviewed this book on the Allen and Unwin website “A story and picture book for adults and children alike, Shaun Tan draws a mirror to the face of Australia, with lonely people, houses where constant bickering between parents causes the boy to sleep on the lawn, communities where people use the missiles in their yards for practical purposes and an exchange student who lives in a house where little exchange takes place. Each story provokes thought about how we live and entreats the reader to give more serious consideration to our lives and the lives of those around us”.

The winner of the Younger Readers Book of the Year was “Perry Angel’s suitcase” by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Stephen Michael King. This the third book in the Kingdom of Silk series, which began with “The naming of Tishkin Silk”. In the story, Perry arrives at the Kingdom of Silk one day on the 10.30 express, carrying only a small and shabby suitcase embossed with five golden letters. What do those letters mean? And why won t Perry let go of his case? This book has been described on the Allen and Unwin website as a gentle and moving story about finding your place in the world.

The prize for Early Childhood Book of the Year was won by Bob Graham, with his delightful book “How to heal a broken wing”. A pigeon flies into a skyscraper window, and in the busy grey city only one little child, with red jacket and golden hair, notices. He and his mother wrap the pigeon carefully in her scarf and carry it home, where with ‘rest, time and a little hope’ slowly, it heals. Bookseller + Publisher wrote about this book that "Children from as young as three will empathise with Will, while older children and adults can sharpen their visual literacy skills, noting the filmic techniques that inform and move readers of this perfectly designed and heart-warming book" (as cited by Walker Books website).

Picture Book of the Year was won by Kylie Dunstan, with “Collecting Colour” This is the story of best friends Rose and Olive, and the day they spend in the bush in the Top End, collecting pandanus leaves and “colour”; roots and berries to dye the pandanus. Later they see how the leaves are woven into beautiful baskets, and make their own mats. The author worked as an Arts project officer at a community in the Northern Territory. This book is illustrated in vibrant colour and is a pleasure to hold and read.

Happy Book Week!

We love Corduroy!

This week, the Library has received a copy of “Corduroy Mansions” by Alexander McCall Smith. You may remember that we wrote about this book late last year, because McCall Smith was publishing this book in daily bites on the Telegraph UK website. People could read all of the chapters to date, or listen to Andrew Sachs, best known as Manuel in Fawlty Towers , reading the latest chapter. Readers could also make plot suggestions to McCall Smith, and he responded to these suggestions on the website. One of the people who posted a plot suggestion called this online novel ”Dickens for the digital age”.

“Corduroy Mansions” was published in this manner in 100 instalments, over 20 weeks from September 2008 to February 2009, and now the hard back copy of the book has been published. I’ve been reading it over the weekend, and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far. It has all the delightful whimsy and wry observation that people enjoy so much in McCall Smith’s writing. My favourite bit so far is the airport sniffer dog, Freddie, who is retrenched in an affirmative action move when they discover that all of the sniffer dogs are male! The collaborative method of writing this book seems to have been a successful experiment.

McCall Smith posted an online letter to his many readers when the series finished. He said
“We are now coming to the end of this novel. This is a sad moment for me, as I have enjoyed the writing of this greatly. And I have also very much enjoyed the comments that you have made – you will see, I hope, that I have taken many of them to heart and tried to embody them in the plot as I developed it. Thank you so much for your support and suggestions.”

Telegraph Media won a media award for this project. The judges called it a “cross-media literary first. " The serial attracted 90,000 readers a week!

We hope you are enjoying whatever you are reading this week.

New books- "The Secret of Play" & "Sustainable Gardens"

The Library regularly receives new books. This week we have received “The Secret of Play: how to raise bright, healthy, caring children from birth to age 12.” by Ann Pleshette Murphy. Drawing on the latest research on brain development, social-emotional growth, and learning, “The Secret of Play” lays out a blueprint for play, from the first months of life through to the pre-teen years. “The Secret of Play” provides information about the value of play at each age and stage. It aims to show readers which ideas, toys, and games are developmentally appropriate.

Published by Dorling Kindersley (DK), it has their trademark book design; clear, concise and colourful. This is the kind of book you’ll enjoy dipping into and browsing, and it is positive and inspirational. DK have a video of the author talking about "The Secret of Play" on their website.

We have also received “Sustainable Gardens” by Rob Cross and Roger Spencer, published by CSIRO Publishing. The authors are botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, and this book is like a textbook on how to develop sustainable gardens. Did you know that Australians have the sixth largest individual Ecological Footprint (6.6 gha/person), three times the global average of 2.2 gha/person.

The book says this high figure can be attributed to the fact that we live in large houses with few occupants, use a large number of goods and services and travel long distances, depending heavily on fossil fuels (52% of the footprint) for our energy needs.

“Sustainable Gardens” looks at our consumption of resources and the effect this has on our environment. It shows how we can use sustainable gardening to bring a balance between humans and the environment we depend on. The chapter on designing low impact gardens is useful and interesting. It examines all kinds of materials used in landscaping and weighs up which ones are best in terms of protecting the environment. To find out more, you can listen to a recent interview of the authors of this book by Greg Muller, ABC radio Bush Telegraph reporter, at the website .
We hope you enjoy whatever you are reading this week.

"Still Alice" and "A letter to Sophie"

The library regularly receives new books. This week, we received “Still Alice” by Lisa Genova. This novel is the story of Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children, who is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away.

The author, Lisa Genova, has an interesting background. She holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and has done research on the molecular etiology of depression, Parkinson's Disease, drug addiction, and memory loss following stroke. She is an online columnist for the National Alzheimer’s Association in the US. She also spends a considerable amount of time acting on stage in Boston and in local independent films. Lisa Genova has said about her novel "I received lots of email from people who thanked me for writing the book…For someone with Alzheimer's or a caregiver of a loved one with this, to tell me that I got it right, that it’s uncanny how true it all was, that they saw themselves all over the book, well that's the highest compliment I can get."

Another recent arrival is “A letter to Sophie: from her mum and dad’s private diaries” by Carolyn Martin, Ron Delizio and Sally Collings. This book is a day-by-day account of what Sophie Delizio and her family experienced as a result of her two terrible accidents; first when a car crashed into her Sydney childcare centre in 2003, leaving Sophie with horrific burns, and again in 2006 when she was hit by a car on a pedestrian crossing, resulting in broken ribs, punctured lungs, a broken jaw and collarbone, brain injuries and spinal fractures. In the preface to this book, Sophie’s mother, Carolyn Martin, says “We have written this book to give an insight into the roller coaster of emotions experienced by both patients and their families, to put a very real face on a picture that for many is hard to imagine, and to say thanks again to the teams that helped to get us in and out of the front doors of two hospitals.” You can listen to a moving interview Sophie’s parents did with ABC Radio 666 Canberra breakfast presenter Ross Solly via the ABC website.

Finding family history- some handy sites for beginners

There is an increasing expectation that family history resources will be available free online. There are some useful free sites to begin from; mainly indexes, with the full records available either from pay for view sites or by physically searching microfilm and other hard copy resources. I have only just begun to learn what is available free online, so I thought I'd pass it on here, on case there are some other beginners out there! Lots of other people know a lot more about this than I do- so please forgive me if I'm stating the bleeding obvious!



When searching for people born in NSW, a good place to begin is with the Historical Indexes of the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages. Here you can check the indexes to find the most basic details, and also the registration number you need to be able to request a copy of a certificate. The online index to marriage records covers 1788-1958, births records cover 1788-1908, and death records cover 1788-1978.


Another useful site is the online index of the NSW State Records Authority. Here you can do a simple keyname search. I searched a name from my family and found that State Records have a record of an assisted immigrant of that name arriving in 1853, aged 8, with his family on a ship called the Talavera. The dates seem about right, so the next step would be for me to further investigate by looking at the actual record which is on a microfilm reel that I could view at one of the two records centres in Sydney, at The Rocks and at Kingswood.


Some, but not all, of these types of records are also available at the 40 designated NSW State Records community access points. These are mostly public libraries, which State Records have made repositories of the Archives Resources Kit; a collection of books and microfilms of records valued at about $20,000. Our nearest community access point is Macquarie Regional Library in Dubbo. I would jot down the details of the microfilm reel number from the State Records website, and then check the Macquarie Regional Library website to see whether they hold this reel. To do this, go to http://www.mrl.nsw.gov.au/ and in the search box at the top of the page, type in “Archives Resources Kit”. This takes me to a listing of the State Records items which can be viewed in Dubbo Library.



Alternatively, if I was certain this record would be useful to me, I could order a photocopy of it on the State Records website. This costs $25 for the first record, although up to 9 extra records can be added to the same order for $6 each.

So you can see that an internet search can start you off on a fascinating journey to find your family history. This is just a tiny taste of the experience, but people tell me it is highly addictive.

Reading more important than ever in the e-world

The internet has changed the way we gather information and the access we have to information. Now, from a computer in Gilgandra, I can hear from someone in Tehran about what is happening in Iran after the elections, see exhibits in the world’s leading museums, find the information I might need for an assignment, or discuss a complex issue with a community of interested people from around the world. But guess what skills all of this depends on? The ability to read, to understand what I have read, and in turn, to be able to express my own views clearly and unambiguously. Reading and being able to express oneself clearly are skills that are of ever-increasing importance in our world, just as they always have been.

So, what can we do to help children acquire these skills? Children need a language rich environment, right from birth. They need to be read to, sung to, talked to and played with, from the day they are born. This will give them the language building blocks they need to help them learn to read when they get to school. These building blocks are: knowledge of lots of words (vocabulary), familiarity with the idea that letters represent sounds (the alphabet), an ability to identify sounds (phonological awareness), an understanding of the idea that you read a page from left to right, top to bottom, and, most importantly, an understanding that reading is a fun thing to do! By reading to our little ones and showing how much we love reading ourselves, we are giving them that precious gift- literacy.

GREAT Day last Wednesday was a big step in the right direction. It was so much fun for everyone involved, and it was truly inspiring to see so many people of all ages celebrating the joy and importance of reading. Congratulations to the organisers of GREAT day. Thanks to them, Gilgandra is becoming a great place for reading!

What a GREAT Day!

Today, hundreds of children in Gilgandra took part in GREAT Day- Gilgandra Reads Everything Around Town Day. It is always a wonderful day, which celebrates the joy and importance of reading. There is a special emphasis on how vital it is to children’s development to read to them, sing to them, talk to them and play with them, right from birth.

This year, the theme was "The GREAT Adventures of Little Red Riding Hood". There were lots of fun activities at different locations around town, and the day culminated in a fantastic interactive performance of Little Red Riding Hood at the High School Hall. The kids were each allocated to a particular character ie Granny, the Wolf, the Woodcutter and Little Red. Each character would then lead their group of kids in a their theme song or chant at special spots in the performance. It was so much fun, and looked quite spectacular in a hall full of people wearing red (to show how well 'read' they are, of course!) The actors who led the performance were wonderful- you could tell how much fun they were having!

Congratulations to all the organisers of GREAT Day, on a job very well done.

To mark GREAT Day, here is a little collection of quotes about reading.

“Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.” Author Unknown

You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.” Paul Sweeney

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.” Oscar Wilde

“People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.” Logan Pearsall Smith, Trivia, 1917

“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Harper Lee

Happy GREAT Day!

National Simultaneous storytime and e-security week

It has been an exciting week at the Library. National Simultaneous Storytime was held on Wednesday 27th May at 11am. About 60 children and their parents and carers came to hear “Pete the Sheep” by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley. Ian McCutcheon was our special guest reader, and we want to thank him for sharing this fun story with the children.

Next week, from 5- 12 June, is National E-security Awareness Week. The aim of this week is to inform everyone about the simple steps they can take to protect themselves, their families and their businesses online. The Australian government website http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ states that there are five key things we can do to improve our e-security. They are: 1.Get a better, stronger password and change it at least twice a year. 2.Get security software, and update and patch it regularly. 3.Stop and think before you click on links or attachments from unknown sources. 4.Information is valuable. Be careful about what you give away about yourself and others online. 5.Log on to http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/ for further information and to sign up for the email alert service.

The Smallest room, Spydus and Simultaneous Storytime!

It’s all happening at the Library this week! The builders have started work on the new project at the Library. A disabled toilet including baby change facilities will be constructed in the space where the existing toilets are, thanks to Federal Infrastructure funding. However, this means that the Library won’t have any toilet facilities until the project is completed. The nearest public toilets are in Hunter Park, or behind Target, in the carpark.

Our computer software upgrade took place last week, and we’re gradually finding our way with the new version of our library management program, Spydus. For our customers, the biggest change is to the catalogue website. The website has a new look, but it is still under construction. Please bear with us while the links and information are completed. For customers who have already set up a PIN number at the Library, so that they can reserve books from home; the place to login is the Log In box on the top left hand corner of the page.

And finally, this is Library and Information Week, and to celebrate, we’re participating in National Simultaneous Storytime. On Wednesday 27 May at 11am, we will join organisations from Broome to Hobart, reading the picture book “Pete the sheep” to more than a quarter of a million Australian children. Our special guest reader is Mr Ian McCutcheon, who, along with his wife, Dianne, has done some great work with youth in Gilgandra over many years. Mr McCutcheon is also a farmer and grazier, and may have to forget his knowledge of the wool industry and suspend his disbelief considerably to read this story to our children!

“Pete the sheep” was written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley. It tells the story of Shaun, a new shearer in town, who has a sheep sheep instead of a sheep dog- Pete. Pete wears an Akubra and the sheep really like him. Instead of the conventional short back and sides, Shaun creates some wonderful new “dos” for the sheep he shears. Eventually, even the sheep dogs get in on the act!

So you can see that we are looking forward to a fun week at the Library. Hope you are enjoying whatever you are reading this week, as much as we enjoy “Pete the sheep”. As the book’s author, Jackie French, said recently: “Just think, at a certain moment hundreds of thousands of people all over Australia are going to be saying 'Baa! Baa!' How can life ever be the same?”

Memoirs of meth addiction

This week the Library will be upgrading the computer software we use to manage our loans and records- “Spydus”. We will have limited access to some of the features of Spydus during the upgrade, so we ask all borrowers to make sure they bring their library cards with them this week.

The Library recently purchased two books, one by David Sheff and one by his son Nic Sheff. “Beautiful Boy: a father’s journey through his son’s addiction” is David Sheff’s chronicle of Nic’s descent into crystal meth addiction. Before meth, Nic was an accomplished athlete, top student and award winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wreck who stole money from his eight year old brother and lived on the streets. David writes of his son’s journey, from the first subtle warning signs, through attempts at rehab, to the way past addiction. Armistead Maupin has said of this story “Beautiful Boy is so beautifully written that it will come as a welcome balm to millions of parents and loved ones who thought they were making this journey alone."

After Nic Sheff’s recovery a book editor contacted him and asked if he was interested in writing a memoir about his experience, one that might inspire other young people struggling with addiction. The result is the book “Tweak: growing up on methamphetamine”. Reyhan Harmanci, staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote of this book “Man, the kids are not "alright." But then wholesome childhoods and healthy living were never the stuff of memoir.... Nic Sheff's Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines seldom pulls punches. [He does] an admirable job of telling his story clearly and avoids heavy-handed exposition, and the effect is often moving. The trajectory of drug addiction is nothing new, but Sheff's lucid, simple prose makes the heartbreaking journey seem fresh. More than once, adults praise him for his candor - he lies frequently in his constant quest for more money and more drugs, but he also comes clean (so to speak) many times in the process. It's one of his most appealing aspects, and it's a necessary quality to autobiographical writing. One senses that he's not holding much back. [He] is a writer with a big future ahead of him.”

Both “Beautiful boy” and “Tweak” are available from the Library.

New books at Gil

The Library stocktake is now complete, a source of great relief for the people who work there. We would like to thank Gilgandra residents for their patience while the Library was closed. The good news is that we only need to stocktake every 2 years, so this won’t happen again until 2011. The stocktake triggered a stock rotation, so a lot of our books have been sent on to other branches of North Western Library. Over coming weeks, the other libraries will commence their stocktake, and our shelves will gradually fill again, as their books are sent on to us.

This week, we received a new book for older teenagers by Paul Jennings. Jennings books are well known and very popular, but he has previously written mainly for younger readers, with book series such as “Rascal the dragon”, “Wicked!” and “Deadly!” “The nest” is his first venture into “young adult” writing. On his blog , Jennings writes that it took him 4 years to write this book.

“It’s about a 16 year old boy who gets unwanted images flashing through his mind and questions about his past haunt him as he searches for clues within himself and his own writing”.

Another new arrival at the Library is “Choir Man” by Jonathon Welch. Jonathon Welch is known to most of us as the Founding Musical Director of the Choir of Hard Knocks. He is also a well known opera singer and conductor. This is the story of his personal life; his childhood in suburban Melbourne where he showed theatrical tendencies, his family story, the story of his wonderful opera and theatre career, and his involvement in the Choir of Hard Knocks. It should be a good read.

On Jonathon Welch’s website Jimmy Barnes is quoted as saying "Jonathon is not only compassionate, warm and friendly but is also extremely brave. Not because he has worked with people who are in need but because of the demons of his own that he shows to the world — his own frailty, his own fears and his own dreams. I think this is what makes him a special person. When I look at him, I see someone who is like me and someone who I'd like to be."

We hope you are enjoying whatever you are reading this week!

Treasure indeed!

The World Digital Library (http://www.wdl.org/en/) was launched on 21 April, 2009. It is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The digital library is made up of images of objects, manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, and photographs from around the world. So far the collection is relatively small (1,170 items), but the items are truly wonderful. They include an audio recording of a 101-year-old former American slave, Fountain Hughes, recorded in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1949. Only 26 audio-recorded interviews of ex-slaves are known to exist, and now we can hear this interview from any internet connection.
We can also examine the Waldseemüller map, or “Map of the entire world”, the earliest map to mention America by name. This is the only known copy of this particular world map. The World Digital Library includes some of the world's first films from the Lumiere brothers. Auguste and Louis Lumière are credited with the development of the Cinématographe in 1895. The Cinématographe was a light, portable device that brought the camera (weighing just over seven kilograms) out of doors. The Lumières sent crews around the world to record a wide array of scenes and images. These films were shown to audiences which were amazed to see moving action projected on an inert screen. The short films available on the World Digital Library date from 1896, and include processions at Lourdes and Seville, and bullfighting scenes.
We hope you enjoy exploring the World Digital Library. Dr. James H. Billington, from the US Library of Congress, has said that “These are really great treasures, not merely miscellaneous things about a country or culture.” As yet, there is not much Australian content in the World Digital Library, but we understand that the project leaders are looking for an Australian partner, and content will grow with time.

As we mentioned last week, Gilgandra Shire Library will be closed from Monday to Friday this week, for our biannual stocktake. We will be taking every item down from the shelf and scanning it, to help us to maintain the accuracy of our records. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you, and thank you for your patience.

Library card magic with NoveList

In previous weeks, we have described how you can use your library card to get access via the internet to World Book encyclopedia online and other great e-resources. This week, we’ll tell you how to get to another useful e-resource called NoveList.

To get there, first go to the library catalogue website (http://nwls.spydus.com). Click on “Databases” in the top menu bar, and you will see a drop-down menu. Click on “NSW NET.” The first time you go into NSW.net from your computer, you may see a screen that says “Please select your library”. Click on the arrow next to this and from the drop down menu, select “North Western”. Click on “Go”. This gives you a list of e-resources you can access from home, beginning with ANZ Reference Centre. Click on the At Home “Connect” button and you will see a log in page. Type in your library card number and click “Login”. Then click on “NoveList”.

NoveList is all about fiction books and finding something good to read next. There is a search box at the top of the screen, where you can type the name of an author, book or series. Try typing “Tom Clancy” into this box, then click on Search. You’ll see a list of his books, with plot summaries and star ratings. Click on the “Author Read-alikes” tab at the top of the page. You will see two articles. Click on the first one by Joyce Saricks. You will see that she suggests Stephen Coonts and Dale Brown as other authors whose writing you might enjoy, if you like Tom Clancy.

Perhaps there is a kind of book that you particularly enjoy- for example; forensic detective stories set in the United States. Type “forensic detective United States” into the search box, select the radio button below the search box for “Describe a plot”, then click Search. This brings up a list of 23 books you might like to try. Not all of these will be available locally, as NoveList is an American database, but some of them will be.

Using the same kind of search, you can look for a book you’ve heard about, but can’t remember the title of. Perhaps you remember that it was a medieval mystery story, about a monk. Try typing in “Medieval mystery monk”, selecting “Describe a plot” and clicking Search. This yields a long list of similar books, one of which may be your mystery book. NoveList is a great tool for readers of all kinds of fiction, and a wonderful way to find some new authors to track down. We hope you enjoy exploring NoveList.

Next week, the Library will be closed for five days for our biannual stocktake, from Monday 4th May to Friday 8th May. This is necessary as every item in the library must be scanned; all 17,000 of them! We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you. Items may be returned while we are closed via the book return chute. Please do not hesitate to contact us on 6817 8877 if you have any questions.

More Library card magic!

Here's another great e-resource you can access using your North Western Library card; the Literary Reference Centre.

Go to the library catalogue website ( http://nwls.spydus.com). Click on “Databases” in the top menu bar, and you will see a drop-down menu. Click on “NSW NET.” The first time you go into NSW.net from your computer, you may see a screen that says “Please select your library”. Click on the arrow next to this and from the drop down menu, select “North Western”. Click on “Go”. This gives you a list of e-resources you can access from home, beginning with ANZ Reference Centre. Click on the At Home “Connect” button and you will see a log in page. Type in your library card number and click “Login”.

Click on “Literary Reference Centre”. This is a great resource for anyone who loves English literature, or for students in Year 11 and 12. It combines information from over 1000 books, major literary encyclopedias and journals, and reference works. Literary Reference Centre (LRC) contains detailed information on the most studied authors and their works. You can type in the name of an author or book, or browse lists of authors or works.

For example, to search for Tim Winton, type in “Winton, Tim”. This will bring up a page of biography, and links to an interview with Tim Winton, plot summaries, some literary criticism, and reviews of his works.

Another feature of LRC is that it gives access to the full text of a lot of classic books. On the home page of LRC, click on “Browse works”. You should see a screen with the word “Select” beside a box, at the top of the page. Click the drop down arrow beside the box. Choose “Full-text classics” by highlighting it, and clicking “Go”.

This brings up a massive list of books that you can download and read. These have mostly been made available by Project Gutenberg, and are older classics (out of copyright or “public domain” works) which have been typed up by volunteers. You could also access these works from the Project Gutenberg home page http://www.gutenberg.org. If you haven’t come across Project Gutenberg before, you will be amazed at what is available.

In addition to providing links to the Gutenberg e-books, the Literary Reference Centre (LRC) provides links to literary criticism, plot summaries and biographies of the authors for each of these books. Using LRC, I downloaded a copy of “Cranford” by Elizabeth Gaskell. I could save it as either a web page (.html) or a plain text file (.txt).

I was also able to read about Elizabeth Gaskell’s life, and there were 11 articles which discussed the language, imagery, themes and ideas in “Cranford”. I learned that Elizabeth Gaskell began writing “Cranford” in 1851 when Charles Dickens invited her to send tales for his new weekly journal, “Household Words”. Dickens and Gaskell were so pleased with the first two “Cranford” stories, which depicted a community of genteel single women in a retired country village, that Gaskell went on to write fourteen more!

We hope you enjoy exploring the Literary Reference Centre.

How would it be if you were a boy raised by dogs?

A recent arrival at the Library is the book “Dog boy” by Eva Hornung. This story begins in a deserted Moscow apartment building where four-year-old Romochka waits for Uncle to come home. Outside the snow is falling, but after a few days hunger drives Romochka outside. Overlooked by passers-by, he follows a street dog to her lair in a deserted basement at the edge of the city. There he joins four puppies suckling at their mother's teats. And so begins Romochka's life as a dog. (The Daily Telegraph Big Book Club)

This book was selected recently for the Daily Telegraph Big Book Club, and it has met with good reviews. Mary Phillip reviewed “Dog Boy” for the Brisbane newspaper, the Courier-Mail, on March 13, 2009, and this is part of what she had to say: “Romochka is the hero of this book – and what a hero. Barely able to speak, absolutely illiterate, unskilled in the intuitive ways of dogs, he nevertheless masters his environment. He manages to survive in both worlds, veering towards one or the other as circumstances demand. His love for his adopted family is immense, and he grows strong on their loyalty.

When humans intervene in Romochka's life it is hard not to view them with a critical eye. So immersed was I in the underworld of feral dogs and subways that I resented this intrusion, believing that humans would wreck the balance that these dogs had constructed to survive.
Vivid and visceral in its depiction of street life, this can be a confronting book, but it is so creatively imagined that readers will be rewarded.”

Christopher Bantick interviewed Hornung for the Courier-Mail (March 14, 2009) and quotes her as saying the following: “I've always been interested in outsiders. I am one in some ways myself. I'd been writing a few stories, really to see the limitation of my own imagination. By using the consciousness of a creature, you are making a loud statement about stepping outside the novel. I'd read a news story a while ago about a boy living with animals and I wanted to speculate as to what this may mean.”

The Library will be receiving most of the books featured in the Daily Telegraph Big Book Club from now on, and we hope our readers enjoy the books in this selection

We decided to have a change of colours and layout- what do you think?

Your library card may be the smartest card in your wallet!

Did you know that your library card gives you free access to World Book online encyclopedia? Did you know that as a library member you can set up your membership so that you can search the catalogue from home and reserve books online? Did you know that you can read back issues of the Sydney Morning Herald online?

The website you need is nwls.spydus.com. This is the catalogue homepage of North Western Library, of which Gilgandra Shire Library is a branch. Here you can search the catalogue to see what we have. If you create a PIN for your card at the Library (see Library staff) you can also log in and reserve books, and check when your books are due. But the website has many more features. Click on “Databases” in the top menu bar, and you will see a drop-down menu of fantastic e-resources. Click on “World Book” and you will see the front page of World Book Encyclopedia online. In the box below “Service provided by North Western Library”, type in your library card number and click “Go”. Now you can access all the features of World Book encyclopedia from any internet connection.

Another great resource in the Database drop-down menu is NSW.net. (TIP: If you can’t get the menu to drop down after going back to the catalogue home page, try clicking the refresh button, or “go” button and refresh button in older versions of Internet Explorer.) The first time you go into NSW.net from your computer, you may see a screen that says “Please select your library”. Click on the arrow next to this and from the drop down menu, select “North Western”. Click on “Go”. This gives you a list of e-resources you can access from home, beginning with ANZ ReferenceCentre. Click on the At Home “Connect” button and you will see a log in page. Type in your library card number and click “Login”.

Try clicking on Australia NZ Reference Centre and MasterFile PREMIER. Click on the “Publications” tab at the top of the screen. This should bring up an alphabetical list of all the publications that are included in this database. Scroll down the page and click on the blue link for “The Age (Melbourne)”. You’ll see a list of issues available on the database, going back to September 1999. Click on “Apr 2009” and a list of this month’s issues appear. Click on Apr 4, 2009 and you will see that the database includes 184 articles from that issue of The Age. It doesn’t include advertising, so unfortunately you can’t check classifieds, such as Birth and Death notices. You can read a summary of each article by clicking on the blue title, or the whole article, by clicking on “HTML full text”.

To browse through issues of the Sydney Morning Herald, go back to the list of publications and in the search box next to “Browse”, type in “Sydney Morning Herald”. Click on “Browse”. Click on the blue title “Sydney Morning Herald, The”. This takes you to a page of issues going back to September 1999. You can search for a particular subject by clicking on “Search within this publication” on the menu bar. This will bring up a search box with JN “Sydney Morning Herald, The”. After those words, type the subject you’re interested in. Type in “Gilgandra”. There are 59 results. Click on “Next” at the top of the page, and where it says “After 56 years, it’s a close call in broadcasting in the bush”, click on “HTML Full text”. This brings up an article from the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 January, 2007 by Max Presnell about Bob Foran. You can print it out, email it or save it, if you wish.

This is just a taste of the resources that are available from the Library catalogue home page. Happy browsing!

New bestsellers from Danielle Steel and Faye Kellerman

The Library continually receives new books. This week we received “One Day at a time”, the latest novel by Danielle Steel. Fantastic fiction describes this book as follows:

“Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family. Her mother, Florence, is a mega-bestselling author. Her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood's top producers, who has lived with her partner, Liz, for ten years in a solid, loving relationship. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. But Coco, a law school dropout and family black sheep, works as a dog walker, having fled life in the spotlight for an artsy northern California beach town.
When Coca reluctantly agrees to house-sit for Jane, she discovers Jane's unexpected houseguest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who's fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn't be more different. The attraction couldn't be more immediate. And as Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood's hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their lives, old wounds are healed and new families are formed - some traditional, some not-so-traditional, but all bonded by love.

With wit and intelligence, Danielle Steel's new novel explores love in all its guises, taking us into the lives of three unusual, but wonderfully real couples. Funny, sexy and wise, “One day at a time” is at once moving, thought provoking, and utterly impossible to put down.”

Another recent arrival is “Cold Case” by Faye Kellerman. Matthew Lewin reviewed this book for London’s “The Guardian” newspaper on 2/9/08 and this is what he had to say:

“Computer software billionaire Genoa Reeves was an unhappy, isolated child, saved only by the sensitive attention of teacher Ben Little. Which is why, 15 years later, she offers the LAPD a huge endowment if they can discover who killed the much-loved teacher. The file is handed to Peter Decker and his team, who begin to unearth some very unsavoury people in the drug-ridden music business - and some uncomfortable secrets that have been buried in otherwise respectable lives. Faye Kellerman is an excellent writer whose work is hugely enjoyed by those who like a slow drip of revelations. But those who like more excitement will find this a little too plodding, and the tense but messy denouement unsatisfying.”

I have always enjoyed Faye Kellerman's books, and I think Mathew Lewin is probably correct- I do enjoy the slow reveal... So this review hasn't put me off at all!

Both of these writers are regularly on bestseller lists. According to Wikipedia, Steel holds the distinction of having been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989 for having a book on the New York Times Bestseller List for the most consecutive weeks of any author—381 consecutive weeks at that time. Faye Kellerman and her husband, Jonathon Kellerman are the only married couple ever to appear on the New York Times Bestseller List simultaneously, for two different books (Wikipedia). It will be interesting to hear what Gilgandra readers think of both these books. Tell us what you think!

James Patterson and modern reading aloud miracles

Gilgandra Library continually receives new books. This week we received the latest James Patterson novel. “8th confession” by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro is the latest book in the “Women’s murder club” series. This is what Fantastic Fiction has to say about it:

“When a preacher with a message of hope for the homeless is found brutally executed, reporter Cindy Thomas knows the story could be huge. Probing deeper into the victim's history, she discovers he may not have been as saintly as everyone thought...

Rich, beautiful, and powerful, Isa and Ethan Bailey were living in the spotlight as San Francisco's perfect couple--until they are found dead in their luxurious home.

As the hunt for two criminals tests the skills of the entire Women's Murder Club, sparks begin to fly between Detective Lindsay Boxer and her partner, Rich Conklin, making it difficult to stay focused on the case. The electrifying new chapter in the Women's Murder Club series, THE 8TH CONFESSION serves up the mile-a-minute twists that only James Patterson can deliver.”

Patterson has written 55 novels to date, many of them with co-authors. Interestingly, he also has a strong interest in encouraging children to read. He has a social networking site called Read Kiddo Read which has lots of good book recommendations, though being an American site, some of these books can be hard to find here. There was recently a post by “Book Chook” on this site stating that
“less than half the children under six in the USA are read to each day. The number is similar in Australia, where two thirds of the parents surveyed reported they didn't read to their kids because they didn't have enough time.”

In answer to this, Kate Wheeler made the following comment :
“I work for an organization that provides opportunities for parents who are physically separately from their children to read aloud via DVD from wherever they are in the world. How does this work? We connect deployed military servicemen and women around the world with their children at home. Right now, in nearly 160 recording locations around the world, soldiers and sailors are reading to their children. If a US Navy Seal can take the time to read to his child from a tent in a war zone in Afghanistan, why on earth aren't the rest of us?

When we show the videos of these men and women in uniform reading stories from Navy ships in the middle of Persian Gulf, it tends to inspire those parents at home to read a story before bedtime.”
"Parents play roles of inestimable importance in laying the foundation for learning to read. A parent is a child’s first tutor in unravelling the fascinating puzzle of written language. A parent is a child’s one enduring source of faith that somehow, sooner or later, he or she will become a good reader." Richard C. Anderson

I think reading aloud to my kids was one of the best things that I did for them, and it is now one of my happiest memories- one of the truly good and joyful parts of being a parent. It helped them, and it helped me. In a sometimes difficult day of parenting, our "book time" was an oasis of cuddles, shared enjoyment and imagination.

Happy reading, whether it is the latest James Patterson, or reading aloud to your little ones!

Politician defends reading fiction

It isn’t very often that politicians talk about the novels they love or that the subject of reading novels versus non-fiction hits the national press. This week, the Sydney Morning Herald had a wonderful article by Chris Bowen, federal Assistant Treasurer and Member for Prospect (SMH March 11, 2009).

Chris Bowen was responding to a recent boast by a federal politician that he hadn't read a fiction book since he left school. Chris Bowen said:

“This revelation from a parliamentary colleague got me thinking. Where would we be if we all lost the lessons of some of the great works of fiction? Where would we be if young people listened to this politician and stopped reading anything but textbooks? Is it a good thing that a leading politician would boast about cutting himself off from the world of novels? Why should we encourage young people to keep reading novels when there are so many other forms of modern entertainment?

People read for all sorts of reasons. Some novels are just rollicking good stories and others hold deeper lessons. A novel can be an enjoyable read and also expand the mind.

Fiction gives us an understanding of the motivations of people that is unmatched by any other art form. And that, of course is the beauty of fiction: it exposes every situation imaginable. Fiction provides a window into the human heart and human mind.

We all live one life, but readers can live thousands of lives. Novels can open the mind. Researchers have argued that people who read novels and who have to think about the connection between a character's thoughts and their actions are better at social interaction. Children who read novels are developing their imagination, and therefore their ability to "think outside the square" and solve problems.”

Lots of people in Gilgandra love to read fiction, so I think that many of us will agree with Chris Bowen’s comments. He went on to list his favourite novels. What are your favourite novels? Drop in to the Library to tell us what they are, or post them as a comment here. We could then publish a list of favourites, and use it to guide the Library towards future purchases. We hope you are enjoying whatever you are reading this week, whether fiction or nonfiction!

Gilgandra corrals a fresh mob of Westerns!

Our library is part of a co-operative called North Western Library, which includes Warren, Coonamble and Bogan Shire libraries. One of the best features of being part of this co-op is that we are able to share resources. For example, the books which are bought by the co-op are split between the four libraries, kept at each library for 6 months, then sent on to another library. This means that we are regularly receiving fresh books, on top of those we have recently purchased.

Gilgandra Library recently changed over most of our Western fiction. We received about 300 fresh westerns, including a large number of large print westerns. All of the favourite authors are represented: Max Brand, Louis L’Amour, Lauren Paine, Larry McMurtry, Corba Sunman, John Dyson and Zane Grey. We have noticed that these books are growing in popularity in Gilgandra. If you’ve never read a Western, one place to start might be “Lonesome Dove” by Larry McMurtry. This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986. The story focuses on the relationship of several retired Texas Rangers and their adventures driving a cattle herd from Texas to Montana. McMurtry originally developed the story for a feature film entitled The Streets of Laredo, but plans fell through. McMurtry later resurrected the screenplay as a full-length novel, which became a bestseller. It was then made into a four-part TV miniseries, which won many awards.

As Nancy Pearl says, the magnificence of the landscape, the vast distances and the wide scope of historical events that occurred in the American West lend a great setting to Western fiction. If you like reading books where setting is a major drawcard, such as fantasy or historical novels, you may find that Western fiction works for you, too. Happy reading!

Is it a crime to have fun?

This week the Library received two “Elizabeth I” mysteries by Karen Harper. They are “The Fyre mirror” and “The Fatal Fashione”. In these novels, Queen Elizabeth I and her courtiers play detective. It sounds like an odd notion, but this series has been commended on the jacket by Anne Perry: “A walk side by side with one of history’s most dynamic characters”. The Library Journal said of “The Fyre Mirror”: “A truly vibrant protagonist, thoroughly satisfying characterisation, attention to detail, and credible plotting mark this as an outstanding historical.” If you would like to have a preview of either of these novels, you can currently read the first section of them on Google books .

We have also received “Agatha Raisin and the haunted house” by M.C. Beaton. If you like a “cosy” detective story, with interesting characterisation, you are likely to enjoy Agatha Raisin. Agatha has a private detective agency and lives in the village of Carsely in the Cotswolds. She is a fairly cantankerous middle aged lady, whose indomitable spirit carries her through many faltering steps to reach a satisfactory conclusion to her investigations. Agatha even has her own website. These books are a lot of fun; and the crimes are unlikely to keep you awake at night!

We hope you are enjoying what ever you are reading this week. If you would like to share the name of a good author with other readers, why not call in to the Library and tell us about it, or post it as a comment here. Happy reading!

The Associate and Underbelly: a tale of two cities

This week, we received John Grisham’s latest novel, “The Associate”. Fantastic Fiction describes the plot as follows: “Kyle McAvoy grew up in his father's small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal, and his future has limitless potential. But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget. The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job he doesn't want - even though it's a job most law students can only dream about.

Three months after leaving Yale, Kyle becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world, where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed. With an unforgettable cast of characters and villains - from Baxter Tate, a drug-addled trust fund kid and possible rapist, to Dale, a pretty but seemingly quiet former math teacher who shares Kyle's 'cubicle' at the law firm, to two of the most powerful and fiercely competitive defense contractors in the country - and featuring all the twists and turns that have made John Grisham the most popular storyteller in the world, “The Associate” is vintage Grisham.” It will be interesting to hear whether Gilgandra readers enjoy this new book, which Paramount will be adapting as a film, with Shia LaBoeuf already signed to play Kyle McAvoy.

Another new book this week is “Underbelly: a tale of two cities”. Written by John Silvester and Andrew Rule, this is the book of the current TV series, showing on the Nine network. The Age reported on 11 February that the first episode of Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities notched a national audience of 2.58 million, with most of that audience — 2.42 million people — staying tuned for the second instalment. There has been criticism that there are scenes in the series involving the Griffith mafia which are misleading and incorrect. The book is likely to be equally controversial.

Great new mystery series recommended by a teen reader

Gilgandra Library is fortunate to have some great teenage customers, and some of these keen readers have been helping us out by writing some terrific book reviews for us. Here is our latest review, prepared by Catherine, in which she reviews a book she has particularly enjoyed.

Private ~ Kate Brian

Private, written by the ever capable Kate Brian, tells the story of fifteen year old girl Reed Brennan who finds herself in one of the most prestigious schools in the country, after winning a scholarship away from her dreary life in Pennsylvania. But the instant she steps on campus, she is choked with realization that she is way out of her depth. Everyone here is prominent with intelligence, sophistication not to mention rolling in money like a casino.

And when she thinks she has no chance of fitting in, she meets the Billings Girls.

They are beyond the most gorgeous, modernized and intellectual women Reed has ever laid eyes on and she is determined to become one of them. Their superiority radiates around campus like an atomic bomb, and everyone treats them like goddesses instead of students.

And then there’s Thomas. The handsome taunting unfathomable Thomas Pearson has Reed wrapped around his finger, and she knows it. Can she manage to become a Billings girl, at the same time juggle every aspect of her life without losing herself?

The Private series has been written with flair and the unexpected twists as well as inexplicable personalities leave you in the dark wanting more action. My recommendation to anyone who loves a good high school drama/mystery is read Private. Because you will never believe what happens next…

Read more on the Private Series website.

Library Lovers and e-democracy

The Library celebrated Library Lover’s Day on 13th - 14th February. This is when we celebrate the great resources provided by all kinds of libraries around Australia. In Gilgandra, the library offered borrowers the opportunity to take a “blind date with a book”. “Blind date with a book” means that a selection of books are wrapped in plain brown paper, with a personal advertisement attached to the front, giving prospective borrowers a hint of what the book is about.
For example: “Warrior-turned monk seeks history buff interested in the daily life of a 12-century monastery – which can be far from peaceful, full of mayhem and murder! May lead to further dates, as there are sequels!” Can you guess which novel this is? If so, post your guess as a comment below or call in to the library to see if you are right!

There is an interesting new program on Radio National called Future Tense, presented by Antony Funnell. Recently, he mentioned some useful websites. Open Australia is a search tool by which you can find what any Federal politicians have been saying lately on a particular issue, or what a particular politician has been saying recently. This information is already available on the web, but is not always so easily found. You can even request an update email whenever your chosen politician has spoken in parliament, or whenever a particular issue has been mentioned in parliament.
Another interesting website discussed on Future Tense was Democracy for sale . This site takes information about political donations and then categorises it so that you can very easily see which industries and organisations are donating to which political parties. This information is already publicly available from sites such as the Australian Electoral Commission, but Democracy for sale presents it in a more accessible manner.
To see the transcript of this edition of “Future Tense” or listen to the program, visit the website and click on the program “e-Australia”.

Two special "Days" this week!

Tuesday 10th February is Safer Internet Day, a day when the whole world looks at the issue of making the internet safer for children and young people. In 2008 over 120 organisations in 56 countries took part in Safer Internet Day celebrations, organising local, national and international events ranging from safety sessions in schools and competitions for young people to public meetings and conferences.

In 2009, the event will concentrate on two themes: social networking and cyberbullying. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has organised a number of events, including the NSW launch of Cybersmart Detectives. Cybersmart Detectives is an innovative online game that teaches children key internet safety messages in a safe environment. It is run as a school activity for upper primary students, and schools can register to participate at http://cybersmart.engagelive.net/default.aspx#register.
The Cybersmart site has a downloadable pdf of cyber rules, which give some very practical guidelines for kids on what to do (and what not to do!) online to be safe: http://www.cybersmartkids.com.au/docs/cyberrules.pdf. Or call in to the Library any day this week to pick up a free laminated copy of these rules. Stick it on the wall next to your computer, and use it to start a conversation with your kids about how to be safe online. The Library also has some copies of booklet called “Cybersmart guide for families” to give away, or you can download it at http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_311009.

And finally, this week the Library will be celebrating Library Lover’s Day. On Friday 13th February we will have our urn on all day, so we invite you to come on in, escape the heat, have a cuppa, and find something good to read!

Summer Reading Club winds up/ some new books

Over the school holidays, 70 Gilgandra children and teenagers took up the Summer Reading Club challenge. Each person had a goal of either five or ten books to read before 31st January, knowing that when they reached their target, they could collect a small surprise gift from the Library. So far, 33 young people have collected their gift; a library bag containing a few small treats. The Library would like to congratulate everyone and we hope they enjoyed their reading.

The Library recently received “The Autism sourcebook: everything you need to know about diagnosis, treatment, coping and healing” by Karen Siff Exkorn. In this book, the author provides a moving account of her own experiences as a mother of a child with autism. In the foreword to the book Fred R. Volkmar from the Yale University Child Study Center states that this book is an invaluable resource for parents who want basic, comprehensive information about what treatments are available.

Another recent arrival is “Look me in the eye: my life with Asperger’s” by John Elder Robison. Robison is the brother of Augusten Burroughs, author of “Running with scissors”, and like Burroughs, he had a very difficult home life. On top of that, he grew up with Asperger’s syndrome at a time when the diagnosis didn’t even exist. Robison has written a moving and blackly funny story, which gives us insight into the experience of living with Asperger’s syndrome.