“Creatures from Sky to Sea” Fills Art Wall

Librarian Alanna Carswell stands in front of a section of the Shellbrook Art Council sponsored Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils’ touring exhibition featuring the fabric sculptures by artists Joseph Anderson and Lissa Robinson.

The Shellbrook Public Library invites you to come see the art on display and join us for an exciting encore Travel Night to the African country of Namibia in the middle of September.

The Library is home for a little while to Joseph Anderson and Lissa Robinson exhibition “Creatures from Sky to Sea,” brought in by the Shellbrook Art Council who “have created a lineage of fabric sculptures that allude to fantastical beings from sky to sea. These mixed-media textile sculptures vacillate between playful, childlike objects and ominous beings.” Anderson and Robinson’s exhibition is touring through the Organization of Saskatchewan’s Arts Councils’ (OSAC) “Arts on the Move” program. The aim of OSAC is to provide quality exhibitions to communities that will enhance awareness and appreciation of Saskatchewan and Canadian artists.

We are looking forward to a repeat Travel Night exploring Namibia, a young African country with an ancient desert, on Wednesday, September 17th at 7:00 pm. Journey with Nancy Carswell as she provides an “armchair” tour of the beautiful Namib Desert, believed to be the oldest on Earth, and the exciting Etosha National Park, possibly the best place in Africa to view wildlife. Carswell will also share her experience of a traditional wedding in northern Namibia close to the Angola border. Tastes of Africa will be included in the refreshments.

The Library Visits Namibia Africa

Nancy Carswell watches the sunset near the Namib Desert from Marble Mountain. Carswell will share photos of her Namib travels at the Shellbrook Public Library on Tuesday, August 26th at 7 pm.

The Shellbrook Public Library invites you for an exciting Travel Night to the African country of Namibia in the last week of August.

The Library is looking forward to a remarkable opportunity to expand its knowledge about Namibia, a young African country with an ancient desert, on Tuesday, August 26th at 7:00 pm. Journey with Nancy Carswell as she provides an "armchair" tour of the beautiful Namib Desert, believed to be the oldest on Earth, and the exciting Etosha National Park, possibly the best place in Africa to view wildlife.

Carswell will also share her experience of a traditional wedding in northern Namibia close to the Angola border. Tastes of Africa will be included in the refreshments. (Carswell's presentation will be repeated on Thursday, September 18th at 7:00 pm.)

Travel Night to Namibia

Author dee Hobsbawn-Smith to Visit the Library

Award winning freelance food writer, chef, food educator, advocate, and
Master of Fine Arts in Writing student dee Hobsbawn-Smith.

The Shellbrook Public Library welcomes poet and author dee Hobsbawn-Smith for a visit in the second week of June and has started its Annual Summer Book Sale.

On Thursday, June 12th at 6:30 pm the Library will be hosting dee Hobsbawn-Smith for the launch of her first collection of poetry, “Wildness Rushing In.” Reviews proclaim that “In this amazing first collection of poetry, Habsbawn-Smith displays a skill and passion for capturing and creating experience through language. Here is a new, and original voice that sparks with intelligence in its full-tilt explorations of nature, solitude, joy, loss and love. At once sensory, contemplative, compassionate and packed full of startling insights, “Wildness Rushing In” is an exciting and accomplished poetic debut.”

Hobsbawn-Smith is an award winning freelance food writer, chef, food educator, and advocate. Between 2001 and 2008 she wrote a weekly column, “The Curious Cook” in the Calgary Herald and has authored six books. Her fifth book, “Foodshed: An Edible Alberta Alphabet” won the culinary award at the 2013 High Plains Book Festival and gold in the Best Food Literature Book (Canadian English-language) category of the 2013 Gourmand World Cookbooks Awards. She lives on a farm just outside Saskatoon and is currently earning her Master of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Saskatchewan.

The Library has begun its Annual Summer Book Sale and it will wrap up on July 4th. There are some great summer reads to discover amongst the variety of gently used adult fiction and non-fiction, young adult, juvenile and children’s books. The price is totally reasonable—a good will donation to the Library. The Library is also accepting donations for the sale.

The Library Goes on a European River Cruise

Deb Mervold stands in Keukenhof, or “Kitchen Garden,” in the small town of Lisse about forty-five minutes southwest of Amsterdam. “The gardens were amazing. It was mainly tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and a few others,” Mervold said. “The smell was gorgeous."

The Shellbrook Public Library invites you for an exciting Travel Night on a European River Cruise in the last week of May. As we celebrate the warming weather, escape with the little ones down to the Library’s Story Time on Friday for a morning of stories and crafts.

At the Travel Night on Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 pm, come cruise with Deb Mervold who sailed from Amsterdam to Zurich on a European River Cruise. Come for a scenic tour down the Rhine and Moselle rivers through the countries of the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland.

Children’s Story Time is held on Fridays at 10:30 am. We welcome all comers, old and new and are sure you will have fun listening to good stories and making fun crafts. This year’s theme is Serendipity so come and discover what surprises are springing from the craft box. If you are interested in volunteering your time to read or do crafts, please contact Alanna at 306-747-3419.

Free computer and Internet access is offered by the Library to the public along with a wide ranging collection of online databases. The newest addition to the collection accessible for free is Ancestry Library Editions. Discover the records and clues your ancestors have left to be discovered in census, vital records, directories, photos, and other databases. Librarian Alanna has experience in Ancestry and loves family history challenges so do not hesitate to ask for suggestions. Note, Ancestry is one of the databases that can only be accessed from a library, unlike Consumer Reports.

Travel Night on a European River Cruise

Spring at the Shellbrook Public Library

 To celebrate the arrival of spring, the Shellbrook Public Library is having an Easter egg hunt during the month of April for its young readers. The Library is ecstatic to be hosting the Ecuador Travel Night again on April 16th and would like to remind parents that Story Time is on and is open to all comers.

Easter is coming and with it comes the much loved hunt for Easter eggs. The Library is running a special program during the month of April that is open to all young readers. The game is to find pictures of eggs or the word “egg” in books. The word egg can be either as a title or in a story, for example, when a character eats eggs for breakfast. Enter the title of the book and your name at the Library where it will be entered into a draw for the chance to win one of two egg-cellent prize baskets on April 25th.

At the Travel Night on Wednesday, April 16th at 7:00 pm, we welcome back Joan Sommerfeld to tour us through the exciting country of Ecuador. She has travelled there multiple times and will share the stories of her experiences, amazing photographs, travel tips, and why she considers warm and sunny Ecuador a great retirement location. Culturally appropriate refreshments will be served.

Children’s Story Time is held on Fridays at 10:30 am. We welcome all comers, old and new and are sure you will have fun listening to good stories and making fun crafts. This year’s theme is Serendipity so come and discover what surprises are springing from the craft box. If you are interested in volunteering your time to read or do crafts, please contact Alanna at 306-747-3419.

Free computer and Internet access is offered by the Library to the public even with the cancellation of the Community Access Program (CAP) in March 2012. Also available are the many databases like world newspapers with Library PressDisplay (such as the P. A. Daily Herald and Saskatoon StarPhoenix), Consumer Reports online, and Ancestry Library Edition for getting started on discovering your family’s history. All you need to access the material is your library card and a PIN password which can be easily set up during your next library visit.

The Library Escapes to Ecuador

The Shellbrook Public Library invites you to the library in March for an exciting Travel Club Night escape to Ecuador. The Library would like to remind parents that Friday morning Story Time is on and is open to all comers.

At the Travel Club Night on Tuesday, March 4th at 7:00 pm, you can escape to Ecuador through Joan Sommerfeld who has travelled there multiple times. She will share her amazing photos, interesting information, and travel tips. Culturally appropriate refreshments will be served.

Children’s Story Time is held on Fridays at 10:30 am. We welcome all comers, old and new and are sure you will have fun listening to good stories and making fun crafts. This year’s theme is Serendipity so come and discover what surprises are springing from the craft box. If you are interested in volunteering your time to read or do crafts, please contact Alanna at 306-747-3419.

Free computer and Internet access is offered by the Library to the public along with a wide ranging collection of online databases. The newest addition to the collection accessible for free is Ancestry Library Editions. Discover the records and clues your ancestors have left to be discovered in census, vital records, directories, photos, and other databases. Librarian Alanna has experience in Ancestry and loves family history challenges so do not hesitate to ask for suggestions. Note, Ancestry is one of the databases that can only be accessed from a library, unlike Consumer Reports.

Increased Hours at Shellbrook Public Library

The Shellbrook Public Library is excited to announce that it is ringing in the New Year with new hours.

Public libraries in the province are allocated certain hours of operation based on the number of items being borrowed, programs the library offers, questions asked of the librarian, using the computers, and groups that use the library for their events. Around the province and in Shellbrook the usage is up as libraries innovatively support the Information Age.

The Library would like to say thank you to the people and groups that have used the Library this past year and encourage you to continue. Your patronage has given the Library an additional hour in the week. The additional hour has been split between Monday and Tuesday for new hours in 2014 of:

Monday – 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm
 Tuesday – 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
 Wednesday – 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Thursday – 2:00 pm to 6:30 pm
 Friday – 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Children’s Story Time program is breaking for the cold month of January as no one likes being in their own rendition of “Thomas’ Snowsuit.” Story Time will resume on February 7th. If you are interested in volunteering your time to read or do crafts, please contact Alanna at 306-747-3419.

Free computer and Internet access is offered by the Library to the public even with the cancellation of the Community Access Program (CAP) in March 2012. Also available are the many databases like world newspapers with Library PressDisplay (such as the P. A. Daily Herald and Saskatoon StarPhoenix), Consumer Reports online, and Ancestry Library Edition for getting started on discovering your family’s history. All you need to access the material is your library card and a PIN password which can be easily set up during your next library visit.