Sutherland Shire Libraries News

Do you remember the rest of this rhyme? Do you remember any other rhymes from your childhood? Do you take care of a baby or toddler?


Rhymes are an easy and portable way to entertain your child – they can be sung in the car on a long trip, in a waiting room or they can become part of a morning or evening ritual – basically, anywhere, anytime! Best of all, you are doing something good for your child – the repetition and rhythm of childhood rhymes help lay the foundation for childhood literacy.

At Menai Library we have just the program for you. Rhymetime is a drop-in activity held every Wednesday afternoon at 2pm (except during school holidays). It is conducted by a trained staff member and is absolutely FREE.

Each week we have great fun with rhymes, songs, puppets and simple board books. So, if you have a little one that keeps you company drop into Menai Library, make some friends and make books and libraries part of your child’s life – they’ll love you for it!

Rhymetime is held throughout the Shire – You can find all the details on our Rhymetime page.

Deborah @ Menai Library

Were you born between 1955 – 1990? Would you like to read the Sydney Morning Herald edition of the day of your birth?

We have recently purchased a subscription to the Sydney Morning Herald Archives online. The archive currently covers the period from 1955-1990. This database is available to search, free, within any of the Sutherland Shire libraries. So next time you are visiting us ask a librarian to show you how.

Maybe you need to check out a newspaper story that happened recently. Well you can do this from home! We have 2 products that provide full-text newspaper articles to library members online. All you need to do is type in your membership number (from the barcode on your library card) and away you go. To access the newspapers online go to our JournalSearch site and look up Newspaper Articles in the subject search. The two choices for remote use (outside the library) are Australian & New Zealand Resource Centre (ANZRC) and Proquest Australia & New Zealand Newstand.

A search for equine flu in ANZRC today shows 177 articles, 164 of which were written since August 20 2007! All the major Sydney newspapers are represented, along with the majors from around Australia and the AAP Newswire Service.

Do you like to keep up with the major news in all the Sydney papers but can’t justify the waste of trees? Missed a day and want to catch up? These databases could be your solution. You can look up the newspaper or magazine you want to read and and get a list of all the articles that were included from a particular issue. The Australian from August 27 2007 has 218 entries - all the news without the ads! Horse & Rider for August 2007 has 32 entries, you could save on that expensive subscription and the articles are in PDF so you don’t miss those beautiful horse pictures.

We have plenty of other database options that allow you to view newspapers, magazines, academic journals, reference books and more online and many are available to library members wherever they are. Check out our Journalsearch site and get exploring - Have fun!

Not a member? Don't miss out, just pop into any branch library and join up (bring your driver’s license or a household bill as proof of your name and address).

The long wait is finally over – the winners of the Children's Book of the Year Awards for 2007 have been announced! Read on for the winners and how you can get involved at your local library during Book Week.

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

Keep the evening of Tuesday 4th September free for what should be a very interesting talk by local author Markus Zusak, as he discusses his multiple award winning novels The Messenger and The Book Thief.

Markus grew up in the Sutherland Shire. He occasionally works as a high school English Teacher, and plays in a football team that never wins. His work is widely acclaimed and is published in the USA , UK and throughout Europe. His children's books include the award-winning trilogy The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe and When Dogs Cry.

The Messenger, published in 2002, is the story of the hapless Ed Kennedy, a man who is chosen to care. He makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains: Who’s behind Ed’s mission? His latest book, The Book Thief, is set in Nazi Germany during World War II. On the surface it is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich, but teh message is about the ability of books to feed the soul. Ultimately, Markus' writing explores the humanity, which should make for an interesting evening.

The talk will be held at Sutherland Library and starts at 7pm. There is no charge and bookings are not required - just show up! Take a look at our Events Calendar for all the details.

See you there!