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Children’s storytime starts up again on Monday January 12th. 

The winter schedule brings us themes that include Fun in the Snow, Time, Cookies and lots more.   Enjoy stories, songs and crafts on Monday’s at 10:00 for 2 year olds, or Wednesdays or Thursdays at 10:00 for  3 to 5 year-olds.

And according to Wikipedia, the last week in April is also :

• Forest Week
• National Lingerie Week
• Canada-U.S. Goodwill Week
• Big Brothers/Sisters Appreciation Week
• Consumer Protection Week
• National TV-Free Week
• Jewish Heritage Week
• Keep America Beautiful Week
• National YMCA Week
• Professional Secretaries Week
• Inter-generational Week
• Reading Is Fun Week
• Egg Salad Week
• Teacher Appreciation Week
• TV Turn-Off Week
• Mattress Turnover Week
• Cover the Uninsured Week

So turn off your television, make an egg salad sandwich and read a good book!

*And don’t forget to turn that mattress over!

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.  Author of Slaughterhouse 5, Cats Cradle, Breakfast of Champions as well as many more works of fiction has left us.  His contributions to literature in the 20th Century will continue to have a lasting impact for many years to come.  To commemorate his passing I leave you with this quote from Breakfast of Champions.

“New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on earth.  The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become.” (Kurt Vonnegut, Breakfast of Champions)

Abecedarian : (ey’-bee-see-dair’-ee-un) adj. 1a: of or relating to the alphabet. b: alphabetically arranged. 2: rudimentary. (Wunderland.com)

Some of us may have a new excuse to be late for work this year.  Starting March 2007 Daylight Saving Time will be changed to reflect changes being made in the United States.  The Standard North American period for Daylight Savings Time is changing to the second Sunday in March till the first Sunday of November.
The impact of the change could be felt in the work place, as many computerized devices are pre-programmed with the former Daylight Savings Time schedule.  This could mean that some devices will not automatically reflect the time change.  Most manufacturers of handheld and computer devices are attempting to find a solution to the problem prior to the March deadline.

For more details on Daylight Savings Time visit the National Research Council Canada.

National Heritage Day is a day in which we as Canadians can celebrate the archetectural heritage and our historic places.  Join us at the Library to Celebrate the our local historical places as well as those throughout the country.

 Here is a list of suggested Heritage Day Reading:

• Belleville Birth of a City by Gerald E. Boyce
• Belleville the Good Old Days by Nickand Helma Mika
• Belleville, Friendly City by Nick and Helma Mika
• Belleville City Hall: from 1873-1989 by Gerald E. Boyce

These and other titles are available at the library.

 Today J. K. Rowling announced the release date for the seventh and final installation of the grossly popular Harry Potter Series.  Rabid fans of the series will be happy to hear that on July 21, 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be release in both North America and the United Kingdom.  For more Harry Potter news and information visit J. K. Rowling’s Official Site.

As of January 1, 2007 a transition has been made from a ten digit International Standard Book Number (ISBN) to a thirteen digit ISBN.  The current ten digit system is used in 150 countries or territories and has been in existence since the late 1960’s. 

 The capacity of the current ISBN system was for a billion books.  With the transition to electronic publishing and other factors in the publishing industry, numbering capacity is being consumed more quickly than anticipated.

The new thirteen digit ISBN code will add just slightly less than a billion new numbers to the existing capacity.  This will ensure that the current ISBN system will remain viable for quite some time into the future.

For more information on the changes to the ISBN system visit Collections Canada.