Man Booker Prize Longlist, 2012



The Man Booker prize long list was announced on Tuesday, 26th July. The “Manbooker dozen” includes one previous winner of this award, Alan Hollinghurst, along with two authors who have been previously shortlisted for this award; Sebastian Barry and Julian Barnes. There are also four new authors, Stephen Kelman, A.D. Miller, Yvvette Edwards and Patrick McGuinness.





The Man Booker Prize Longlist, 2012:
Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending
Sebastian Barry - On Canaan's Side
Carol Birch - Jamrach's Menagerie
Patrick deWitt - The Sisters Brothers
Esi Edugyan - Half Blood Blues
Yvette Edwards - A Cupboard Full of Coats
Alan Hollinghurst - The Stranger's Child
Stephen Kelman - Pigeon English
Patrick McGuinness - The Last Hundred Days
A.D. Miller - Snowdrops
Alison Pick - Far to Go
Jane Rogers - The Testament of Jessie Lamb
D.J. Taylor - Derby Day



Do you think the judges got it right so far? The shortlist will be announced Tuesday 6th September, followed by the announcement of the winning book on 18th October, 2011.

Wrap With Love Knit In

Wrap with Love began in 1992 with an idea to encourage knitters & crocheters to create squares and wraps that can be sent to some of the millions of people in the world affected by cold weather.

Shire libraries would like to invite those interested in joining this annual event for 2011, to meet with fellow knitters at either Sutherland Library or Cronulla Library On Friday, August 5th from 8am to 12pm.

For those not able to join us on the day, your skills are still needed! Completed squares or wraps can be dropped off until the end of August, 2011 at Sutherland Library and Cronulla Library.

Further information on the project and patterns for the squares is available at Wrap With Love.
Please bring along your own yarn and needles.


Hot chocolate, tea, coffee and baked goods will be provided for knitters on the day.

For more information, call Sutherland Library on 9710 0351.

It's Wet Wet Wet!

No not the band, just this weather!

On rainy days it can be easy to get cabin fever. Stuck inside, nothing on TV, nothing to do... or so you think...

At the library we have literally hundreds of craft and DIY books that could keep you busy for a month of rainy days!

Some suggestions on books you could borrow to get started:

'From cupcakes and cordials to crocheted coat hangers and clever greeting cards.'

Very stylish - not kitsch!

Simple sewing and craft projects for the home.

Over 90 step-by-step craft projects

A funny and whimsical (but still serious) book of craft projects on a budget

Over 50 creative and fun crafts for every occasion

75 Earth-Friendly Art Activities

You can borrow up to 30 books as a library member - more than enough to get crafty, you may even start looking forward to rainy days.

A World of Wonder at Your Doorstep...

Living in the Sutherland Shire gives us the best of both worlds. Close to the city if you feel like a day (or night) out, but equally close to the glorious Royal National Park, full of recreational activities including bushwalking, kayaking, cycling and much more.

How much more? If you would like to find out, head to Cronulla Library on Monday, August 1st at 6.00pm for an interesting and worthwhile evening of information on the Royal National Park and the wonderful (not to mention well-priced) activities you can do there.

Featuring guest speakers Michael Treanor - Manager for Royal National Park, NSW NPWS, and Ian Wells - Royal National Park specialist and founder of eco adventure company Royal Coast Walks.

This is a free session for anyone who enjoys the outdoors, loves nature or just feels like escaping for a couple of hours.

Did we mention that 2011 is the National Year of the Forest? Why not celebrate with us!

When: Monday, August 1st 6.00pm - 7.30pm
Where: Cronulla Library
Cost: Free!
Bookings are essential, please book online or call Cronulla Library on 9523 4980.

Refreshments will be provided on the night.

Busy! Busy! Busy!




The libraries have been busy during the school holidays with lots of kids joining us for our many activities. Our Toyriffic activity has been a huge hit and some very creative children have made some great puppets, enjoyed our games and even watched the amazing string story. Trevor's Drawing Workshop was fully booked out again this school holidays and the kids had a ball! Check out some of the fun on Flickr.

Facebook Display at Sutherland Library




The creative staff at Sutherland Library have been busy again, putting up a fantastic new display in the foyer dedicated to the library's Facebook page! If you like your library, be sure to 'like' us on Facebook and receive regular updates on news, events, pics and interesting tidbits from the literary world.




See more of what the library staff have been up to on the library Flickr page.

Prime Ministers Literary Awards, 2011.

The winners of this year's Prime Minister's Literary Awards were announced on friday, 8th July, 2011. The prizes were awarded by Prime Minister Julia Gillard in Canberra. Each winner received a cash prize of $80,000, with the short listed titles in each category receiving $5000.

Congratulations to the following winners:

The fiction prize was awarded to Traitor by Stephen Daisley.
The non fiction prize winner is The Hard Light of Day by Rod Moss.
The young adult fiction prize was presented to Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.
The children' s fiction prize was received by Shake a Leg by Boori Monty Pryor and Jan Ormerod.

Building Bonanza



The first week of the school holidays has been full of action at Sutherland Shire Libraries. At Sutherland, Miranda and Engadine Libraries some very creative kids came to our Building Bonanza sessions. The kids were given an hour to build what they like with the building blocks. Some great creations were built including a beach, a garage, cars, buildings and swimming pools. All finished designs were displayed for all to admire. It was an enjoyable activity and for the adults it was great to see how their kids could be so creative. Check out more photos on Flickr.

Kids get knitting at Engadine

  To help keep the cold weather at bay Engadine Library hosted a Junior Knitting Workshop. 15 eager children were taught the basic knit stitch  by 13 generous volunteers from the Engadine Knitting Group, local expert knitters and library staff. A great time was had by all with lots of chatter and clicking of needles.  Many thanks to the volunteers who are keeping this wonderful craft alive with the younger generation.

Coffee and books...

Sometimes you just know when things go together…like Romeo and Juliet, Edward and Bella and of course, coffee and books. These are all partnerships made in heaven. What better way to relax on your coffee break that catching up on some reading? Take a shot at this selection of coffee themed fiction books, because as you may know, if you’re feeling ground down, reading is a great way to perk you up!

 Coffee excellence
The various flavours of Coffee” by Anthony Capella
One coffee with” by Margaret Maron
Coffee  life
Cats in the coffee” by Joyce Fussey
"Coffee in the cereal: the first year with multiple sclerosis" by Lorna Moorhead
"Jenny's coffee house: after Yenni" by Eugenia Jenny Williams

Café Coffee
Little coffee shop of Kabul” by Debra Rodriguez
"Glazed murder” by Jessica Beck

Decaffinated
"Decaffeinated Corpse" by Cleo Coyle

Espresso
"The espressologist” by Kristina Springer
Black Coffee” by Agatha Christie

Latte
Latte trouble” by Cleo Coyle

Short coffee breaks
The rip” by Robert Drewe (short stories including ‘The life alignment of the coffee grower).
Drinking coffee elsewhere” by Zz Packer

Triple shot
 Grounds for murder”by Sandra Balzo
 Bean there, done that” by Sandra Balzo
"Brewed, crude and tattooed” by Sandra Balzo
  
Find us at the Sutherland Coffee Festival- Coffee@peace, Sunday 10th July at Peace park. Grab a coffee and come and say hello to Bookatoo. Not a member of the library yet? Get a specially marked application form from the Coffee festival, join the library at any of the eight branches in the Shire and receive a voucher to buy one coffee, get one free from Hazelhurst Gallery (conditions apply).



Artwork by Jennifer Gowen on display at Sutherland Library


 Sutherland Library is hosting a display of artworks by Jennifer Gowen.

The four paintings on display are inspired by a fascinating group of ancient wind-worn pillars and boulders of pink granite called Murphy's Haystack.  They stand in a farmers field on the Eyre Peninsular in South Australia.  Known as 'inselbergs' these impressive rock formations stand as silent sentinels on the windswept peninsular. This formation are estimated to be more than 1,500 million years old.

See the paintings in the lounge area of the library during July and August.


Britannica Online and Britannica Image Quest


The Library has subscribed to the very popular Encyclopedia Britannica Online Edition and the new Britannica Image Quest. Both these online databases can be used by all Library Members from young to old.

Britannica Online
This is the online version of the traditional Encyclopedia Britannica. Like the print version, Britannica Online has a wealth of information for all levels of learning. However, the online version has a range of additional features. Users can choose to search the entire encyclopedia, or narrow their search to Britannica Junior (6-10 years), Britannica Student (10-14 years), or the advanced level Encyclopedia Britannica. Similarly, results are divided by these encyclopedias, so you can choose your level of learning. As well as Encyclopedia entries, the online version contains additional content including journal and magazine articles, recommended websites plus a range of multimedia including photos, illustrations, video and audio. Each article includes additional content such as facts and figures, maps, tables, multimedia and related articles. Users can print, email, cite and save articles to their own personal workspace. Plus, there are a whole lot of other great, additional features such as country profiles, a dictionary and atlas.

Britannica Image Quest
Britannica Image Quest is a new database. It contains over two million quality images. These images have been rights cleared for non-commercial, educational use. This means they can be used in assignments, activities and school projects. Users can browse the image collection by subject or search the entire database. Results include thumbnail images and users can click on the image to find out more. Users are then able to print, download, email or save the full-sized image to their personal Lightbox. This is highly recommended. Try it today and tell us what you think.

Both these databases can be accessed from any Sutherland Shire Library or from home using the full barcode on the back of your Sutherland Shire Libraries membership card.