Sutherland Shire Libraries News

Our creative staff have been busy! Check out our Flickr photos to see the beautiful Book Week displays at our libraries. The theme for Book Week this year is 'One World, Many Stories.'

Many local students have visited our libraries or we have been to their schools. By the end of our celebrations around 8000 local kids will have joined us.

The major focus of Book Week is the announcement of the winners of the Children's Book of the Year Awards - Find out which books won...

'Cold humanity is our concern, people caring about other people.'
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.

Participating Sutherland Shire Libraries would like to invite those interested in joining this annual event, to meet with fellow knitters on Monday June 7 at 9am to 11am.

For those not able to join us on the day, completed squares or wraps can be dropped off until the end of July at any Sutherland Shire Library or Sutherland Community Centre.

Further information on the project and patterns for the squares available on Wrap With Love.

Participating libraries:
Sutherland Library
Cronulla Library
Caringbah Library
Engadine Library
Menai Library
Miranda Library

Monday June 7
9am - 11am

To celebrate seniors' valuable contributions to our community
Caringbah Library would like to invite seniors to a morning tea.
Where: Caringbah Library
When: Wednesday 24th March
Time: 10.30 - 12 noon

You have donated, 56 completed rugs and 660 squares, (enough to make another 23 rugs) for the Wrap with Love project via your Library service and many, many more through the Stapleton Avenue Community Centre.

Please be advised that as of 1st July 2009 the Hold Fee will be $1.00 in accordance with Sutherland Shire Council's Schedule of Fees and Charges for the year ending June 2010.

The fee applied to holds collected from 1st July 2009

Australian Hearing will be conducting free hearing screenings at Caringbah Library for seniors, pensioners and DVA clients on 3 June 2009 from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

Full pension and Veteran Affairs card holders will receive full screening and fully subsidised services. Other residents will receive a free screening with free advice inlcuding hearing level information, which you can take to you G.P. for a referral.

Bookings are essential - for more information see our Events Calendar.

This survey has now finished. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Sutherland Shire Libraries in conjunction with a UTS student project is conducting a survey of Gen Y library customers.

Are you between the ages of 10 and 26?
Fill in a GenY @ the Library survey and help us to better understand your library needs.

Gen Y is a unique generation in that they have developed and grown up in a period of rapid technological changes.

The objective of the GenY @ the Library project is to gain a better understanding of the Gen Y library customers in relation to their attitudes towards the library and expectations regarding the information products and services that the library holds now and in the future.

The survey will be conducted at all branches of Sutherland Shire Libraries between 8th and 28th September 2008.

Sutherland Libraries are moving to a system of tracking materials called Radio Frequency Identification. RFID is a fast, efficient way to track, locate and manage library resources. RFID technology is used in many places such as tracking baggage at airports and postal deliveries.

What will RFID mean to you?

With RFID you can:

• check out multiple items simultaneously.
• avoid queues if you do not require staff attention.
• allow library staff to be redirected to more customer focused services such reference assistance and special events.

Your library will soon be closed for a few days to allow for changes to be made in preparation for the switch to RFID. During the closures there will be some redesign of the circulation desks and entries to the library and new self checkers will be installed.

Closure dates

• Caringbah Library
  Closed Saturday 11th October and re-open Tuesday 21st October
• Engadine Library
  Closed Tuesday 21st October and re-open Monday 27th October
• Sylvania Library
  Closed Tuesday 28th October and re-open Monday 3rd November
• Miranda Library
  Closed Tuesday 4th November and re-open Monday 10th November
• Menai LibraryClosed Tuesday 11th November and re-open Monday 17th November
• Sutherland Library
  Closed Saturday 15th November and re-open Thursday 27th November

We apologise for any inconvenience during closures and hope you understand that these changes are being made in the interest of improving our services to you.

To celebrate Hearing Awareness Week 2008, 24th August – 30th August, Sutherland Shire Library Services is hosting information sessions and FREE hearing checks for Seniors and Veterans.

Come along to Sutherland Library on Thursday 28th August or Caringbah Library on Wednesday 3rd September to have your hearing tested. A representative of Australian Hearing will give a talk about hearing loss commencing at 11am followed by FREE hearing checks!

The key message this year is One in six Australians – it’s more common than you think and we are raising awareness of the dangers of over exposure to loud noise (especially loud music) so that people can enjoy the sound they love for longer.

Hearing loss is a lot more common than most people think. A recent Australian study, Is Australia Listening? (warning - 3.5 Mb pdf), suggests as many as one in five over the age of 55 experience some degree of hearing impairment. As we get older the chances that we will have a hearing loss becomes greater. Take advantage of this chance to find out more and get your hearing screened at your library.

There are a number of activities for kids happening in the libraries as we approach Christmas. We have colouring in, craft, storytimes and films. Find all the details in our Events Calendar.

Last May, as part of our Library Week celebrations, we invited you to unwrap selected new books. Well, now that Spring has arrived, we thought that it would be a good time to do it all again!

Between Monday 17th September and Saturday the 22nd of September our branch libraries will be unwrapping a selection of new books - new authors, new recipes, new adventures!

• Miranda Library
  Monday 17th September @ 10am
• Caringbah Library
  Wednesday 19th September @ 10am
• Cronulla Library
  Thursday 20th September @ 10am
• Menai Library
  Thursday 20th September @ 6pm
• Engadine Library
  Friday 21st September @ 10am
• Sylvania Library
  Saturday 22nd September @ 10:30am

Celebrate the beginning of the warmer weather by coming in and grabbing a brand new book for yourself. Who knows what we will have? We may even have a book by one of your favourite authors! See you there!

Well, it's been a long time between drinks, but we have finally got around to putting together another Caringbah Happenings report. Before I get around to talking about Book Week, what about last weekend's weather? Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make the most of it as I was busy finishing off Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. At over 600 pages, this is one book that you won't be able to read in a day (well not if you want to enjoy it anyway!).

On to Book Week. The announcement of the winners for the 2007 Children's Book of the Year Awards is being made today. The standard of the books in the running for the 2007 Picture Book of the Year is very high, however, I will go out on a limb and tip The Arrival as my favourite for winning the prize this year. The Arrival is a beautiful book (colour is used to great effect) that tells its story without the aid of any words at all.

During book week here at Caringbah we will have plenty of school visits. For each class that comes in we will explain a bit about Book Week and the books that were nominated in each category (Categories include, Book of the year for Younger Readers, Book of the Year for Older Readers, Best information Book and Best picture book) as well as a few fun activities for them to do. The Children's Book Council has more information about Book Week.

Don't worry, our regular storytime & rhymetime sessions will continue during Book Week. And, when you come into the library during book week check out the Ancient Egypt display put up by the Caringbah staff to coincide with the theme this year which is READiscover.

Michael @ Caringbah Library

In order to play our part in celebrating the Sydney Harbour Bridge's 75th Birthday celebrations, we have a great Sydney Harbour Bridge display at the moment along with some of the library's best books on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I walked the bridge last Sunday on the open day. Even though I have walked along it before when I looked straight up after reaching the middle of the bridge I was amazed as to how big it is!

The HSC lending resources collection at Caringbah is proving very popular and we have noticed a high turnover of items. If you're doing the HSC in 2007 ask us about the many print and electronic HSC resources that we have.

Just last week we have had a new staff member join the Caringbah team. Welcome Matt! I am sure that all our customers will appreciate Matt's friendly demeanour and excellent customer service.

Rhymetime has just started at Caringbah library. Rhymetime is a storytime session for babies up to 18 months of age. Rhymetime sessions typically consist of simple and poplular rhymes like twinkle twinkle little star and songs that involve hand actions (like open, shut them) and a couple of simple board book stories. Our Rhymetime sessions always have the same opening and closing songs. Caringbah has rhymetime every Thursday at 11am. Of course our popular storytimes are still on every Tuesday morning at 10:30am.

Still talking about children's activities, the Easter holidays are approaching fast and at Caringbah we are holding our Pirate Fun activities on Tuesday the 10th of April- that's the Tuesday after Easter- at 2pm. Speaking of Easter, don't forget we will be closing on Good Friday 6 April and reopening on Tuesday 10 April, so grab your Easter reading material and avoid the rush!

Finally, did you know that Caringbah also has a DVD collection? Ask us if we have your favourite movie/tv show/documentary on DVD! Here are just a few of our new DVDs in order to whet your appetite: An inconvenient truth, Snakes on a plane, and The devil wears prada.

Have a happy and safe Easter - and don't eat too much chocolate!
Michael.