Ontario public libraries have been dabbling with virtual programming for several years, balancing in-person and online offerings. With physical library spaces closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, library staff are showing their flexibility and adjusting to the new reality with some very creative digital programming – both passive and active! As you read through these […]
We’re pleased to repost an article from Hamilton Public Library about their “Ask Me” translation service, which offers help to customers in more than 180 languages! Demande-moi. Chiedimi. Frag Mich. If Hamilton Public Library staff don’t speak your language, we’ll find someone who can, in a hurry. Collectively, HPL staff fluently speak 21 languages, from […]
We’re starting the year off by sharing an article that originally appeared in Hoopla . Rosie Krul, Palmerston Branch Supervisor at the Wellington County Library, writes about using Mango Languages as an ESL tool, in partnership with Settlement Services. Mango is one of many popular items in our Provincial E-resources licensing collection. Over the past year, there […]
The CODE/BURT awards were handed out on Wednesday November 28th in the Algonquin community of Kitigan Zibi. The awards celebrate Indigenous YA Literature. 2500 copies of each book will be distributed to Indigenous students throughout Canada. Cherie Dimaline won for her book The Marrow Thieves. (Psst – if you are a member of the Ontario OverDrive […]
This week, we’re featuring a guest post by our colleagues Susan Thompson and Patrick Cychner at Burlington Public Library about their amazing aquaponics program, a great addition to any food literacy program. What is aquaponics, you ask? Read on to learn more! Interested in starting a similar program? We have an collective purchasing agreement with Lumago for a significant discount. […]
Read our guest post from Coleen Lipp, CEO of Caledon Public Library, on thinking out of the box (or maybe in the box?) when faced with a branch closure. What does a public library system do with a much-loved community branch when that love doesn’t translate into use? This is a question that the Caledon […]
I was very fortunate to be invited to speak at the recent Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa about a new partnership between the library and Bruce County Economic Development. This partnership came about in response to a call for pilot projects from AMO focused on supporting business development. Background In 2015, […]
In this week’s guest post, Margaret Daley Leanne Good of Lincoln P.L.tellu s how they have introduced Science, Technology, Engineering and Math programming at their library! At the Lincoln Public Library, we have been hearing a lot about STEM this past year. I had a parent ask me, “What is this STEM”? I explained that it […]
Krista Robinson, Systems Librarian, Stratford Public Library – @lilmisslibrary “Maker” fever is spreading across libraries in North America. The theme of making is weaving its way into our programs, our spaces, and even our culture. And the outcomes are fantastic! People are being empowered to learn in new ways and move from consumers of information to also […]
Back in September 2016, St. Thomas Public Library launched its first Library Lending Kiosk at the local mall. I’m here to share with you our experiences throughout this process! So far, we have found it to be a great way to reach out to parts of the community who may not be able to visit […]