The Scotiabank Giller Prize Short List

The Scotiabank Giller Prize has announced their shortlist. It looks like a fantastic line up. With the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend approaching, this would be a great opportunity to pick up some serious autumn reading.

A few years ago I was thrilled when Elizabeth Hay's Late Nights On Air won the 2007 Gillar. It is a beautiful novel about a team of radio broadcasters in the Canadian North. I got to see Hay do a reading at Toronto's Word on the Street that year.

October and Pomegranates

It's the first day of October! It's always around this time of year that I see more and more pomegranates in the produce section. (They are a favourite of Alex and mine.)

My sister Carla painted a beautiful series of the fruit.

A Happy Friday: Men of the Stacks

I love it when people defy librarian stereotypes. This 2012 calendar Men of the Stacks does just that. In a profession that is female dominated, the project features twelve (cough) dashing gentlemen librarians. The proceeds from the calendar go to Dan Savage's heroic It Gets Better project.

Fall Trend Spotting: Librarian Chic

I have been so thrilled about the fall fashion trends this season. Librarian chic is everywhere. The stunning cardigans and wool a-line skirts are stunning throw backs to the stacks of yesteryear. Just check out some of J. Crew’s line up, as an example, and how they compare to the cast of Desk Set (1957).



In honour of “Throwback Thursdays”- a tradition in my library where we dress up to the nines every, naturally, Thursday - I have to do a plug for my favorite throw back movie. If you haven’t seen the classic Desk Set yet, I highly recommend it! A group of amazing reference librarians proves just how irreplaceable they are. (You can borrow it through your public library, but it’s also available to rent for a very cheap price on iTunes.)

Vintage Card Catalogues

Like a monolithic dresser with a hundred tiny drawers, these library registers were once the go to source to discover the contents of a library. Each drawer held up to hundreds of index cards, each with meticulously catalogued information. They populated libraries beginning in the late nineteenth century. They were gradually weeded out in the late twentieth century with the digital installment of Online Public Access Catalogues.

My high school library had one, although I believe it was being gradually phased out with an OPAC. Since then I only saw the odd one occur them in smaller specialized collections. (Like the pictures below I snapped from a Music Library I worked in.)

Now, just like typewriters and vinyl long playing records, many are finding a sort of nostalgia in owning one. Rescued from garage sales and vintage stores, you may find one in the home of your favorite nerd. Do you own a card catalogue? What do you keep in it?

For the Love of Libraries

A recent post of mine, about the importance of libraries and librarians, was picked up by a few notable professionals. Thank you to the Desert Librarian and to Stephen's Lighthouse.

Welcome Autumn

Autumn officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere at 5:05am. (Were you up?) As much as I love the carefree nostalgia that accompanies summer, I still welcome the coolness in the air this time of year. I can't wait to bring out my sweaters and boots, rake beautiful red and yellow leaves, and cook stews. Lets find out more about fall.



Here's an old family photo of my little sister Carla and I enjoying the season in the woods behind our childhood home.  (How very different my back yard was back then. Le sigh.)