A Summer full of fun

We are so excited by the range of activities we have planned for the Summer holidays. There is something for everyone at all branches.

We are taking part in the national Summer Reading Club, the theme this year is Read on the Wild Side. Keeping in line with the theme the following activites have been organised, some have a $2 charge, otherwise they are free. All activities happen in January.

Jungle Jewellery at Kyabram Library on the 7th at 11am and Echuca Library on the 8th at 10.30am

Free Lion Mask Making at Rochester on the 7th at 2.30pm, Echuca on the 12th at 10.30am, Rushworth ont he 12th at 10.30am, Tongala on the 12th at 6.30pm and Kyabram on the 13th at 2.30pm.

Our special guests the Scientwists will be putting on Bug Safari shows at Kyabram on the 14th at 11am, Rochester on the 14th at 2.30pm and Echuca (Civic Centre) on the 15th at 11am, cost is $2 per child.

Free Anaconda Paper Craft at Echuca on the 19th at 10.30am, Rushworth on the 19th at 10.30am, Tongala on the 19th at 6.30pm and Rochester on the 21st at 2.30pm

Evening Storytime, wear your pjs and listen to jungle stories at Echuca and Kyabram on the 20th at 6.30pm

Another highlight is Leigh's Reptile show that will be appearing at Tongala on the 21st at 10.30pm, Kyabram on the 21st at 2.30pm and Echuca (Civic Centre) on the 22nd at 11am.

Wow, you would have to agree that this all sounds like alot of fun, please contact us on 1300 666 535 if you require any more information.

The Summer Reading Club is free to join and we are hoping that about 500 children will join up across the Shire, so far we have close to 400 which is just fantastic! To take part all you need to do is come into one of the branches, register and pick up your reading log. All you need to do is read 10 books by the 25th January, bring your completed log sheet in and collect a sticker, tattoo and wristband. There are prizes to be won and website activities at http://www.summerreadingclub.org.au/

Regional Library Project

This post is to advise the community that the planned Echuca Community Hub Library will not be proceeding as planned. Last evening, December 15th, Council adopted the recommendation that the IGA supermarket site will be sold and that two new proposals for a stand-alone library will be investigated. The size of the new library will now be 1300m2 which means that the Family History and Toy Library functions will not be part of the new design.
All residents are invited to provide their feedback on the two new proposals by January 29th, 2010. Feedback can be completed online at the address below or in hard copy, forms are available at all the libraries.
The two proposals are :
1. Build adjacent to the current Council offices on the corner of Hare and Heygarth St, Echuca
2. Extend the current Tourist Information Centre on Heygarth St, Echuca and relocate the Tourist Information Centre to the existing library.
All relevant documents such as the Council Report, recommendations, background information and feedback forms are available from www.campaspe.vic.gov.au

Storytimes @ our libraries

We have a number of storytime sessions that are conducted each month at every library. There are a range of ages catered for, we have storytimes for preschoolers, rhyme times for toddlers and baby rhyme time for infants (this is only at Echuca at the moment). Our storytimes run for about 45-50mins and include stories, songs and a craft activity. Parents are encouraged to sit with their children and participate in the activities. Our Rhyme Time sessions run for a shorter time and include stories, games, rhymes and other activities that encourage speech and listening skills. Our Baby Rhyme times are aimed at new parents to provide some ideas about how early reading, rhymes and play activities can be shared with you and your baby.

Storytime sessions in November will be at Tongala on the 5th, Echuca 6th, 10th and 20th, Kyabram 13th and 24th, Rushworth 19th and Rochester 24th. These all commence at 10.30am and are free, no bookings required. Please contact Linda on 54821997 for more information.

Rhyme time sessions will be at Kyabram on the 17th and Echuca on the 24th, also starting at 10.30am. These are free and no bookings required.

For more information about the Baby Rhyme Time sessions please contact Karen Teskera at Echuca Library on 54821997.

Karen and her colleague Anna are attending some very special training in Melbourne this week that will assist them in continuing to a deliver high quality program.

We look forward to seeing you soon, there will be some very special Christmas storytimes in December to look forward, details will be provided soon. And then of course we have our very special reading club for children and the Summer Read promotion for adults in January.

Acoustic Showcase at the Kyabram Library & Community Hub

Hey, if you are not doing anything next Tuesday night, 20th October why not attend a free music event at the Kyabram Library. The Acoustic Showcase starts at 6pm.

If you would like more information about the event and the team that put it together go to http://www.myspace.com/fly_away_streetteam Congrats to the FlyAway team who have provided this opportunity each month. For more information please contact Anna Bonomini at the Kyabram Branch 58523382 or Ellen Kirk on 0448 509 568

Community Events

Today our library has been represented at the Echuca Moama Community Health and Wellbeing Expo at the Uniting Church Hall. We will be there until 6.30pm providing information about our collections and resources that can assist people with failing sight and hearing. We have taken along a lot of large print books and audio books. Also, our information about the Hearing Loop that you can hire for free, our homebased book delivery service called Books on Wheels and our Volunteer Storytelling program called Words on Wheels. An excellent powerpoint presentation has been created to inform the visitors to the stand about all the services and programs that are run through the library. We are amongst good company at the Expo with a wide range of organisations and agencies there to provide information.

On Wednesday 14th October we are being represented at the Nanneella Pamper Day that is being organised by the Rochester Community House. The pamper day is at the Nanneella Memorial Hall from 10-3. We are providing a competition to win a $100 Book City Gift Voucher. The entry forms with be in the goody bags that are give out to attendees, all you have to do is fill it out and pop the form back into the Rochester Library. The competion closes on the 31st October and the winner will be notified by phone. We wish the Rochester Community House well with the pamper day. Go along, take a friend and be pampered!

Free Feng Shui Workshops

Please join us at one of the following venues for a very informative presentation by Sally Fischmann from the House of Feng Shui. Sally is visiting four of our branches as part of Victorian Seniors Festival.

Tongala Library Thursday 8th October at 10.30am, Kyabram Library on Thursday 8th October at 2pm, Echuca Function Room, Friday 9th October at 10.30am and at Rochester Library on Friday 9th October at 2pm.

Sally visited us last year and was very well received. For more information please phone 03 5482 1997

School holiday action

There is alot happening at our branches during the September School holidays. We have already had two very successful Aussie Art workshops with artist Lynne Hume. The children are participating in small workshops to produce art to send over to our Sister City in Shiroi, Japan. We have one workshop at Echuca, it is booked out at this stage but please contact us in case there is a cancellation. Today, tomorrow and next Wednesday we have Pirate Parties, these are for all ages and no bookings required and is free. Come along and join in the games, stories and crafts around the Pirate theme.

Pirate Party Venues and times, if more information required please ring 1300 666 535

Tongala Library today (23rd) at 3pm

Rushworth Library today (23rd) at 3pm

Echuca Library Thursday 24th at 3pm

Kyabram Library Wednesday 30th at 2.30pm

and Rochester Library Wednesday 30th September at 4pm

Another thing that you might like to attend is "Nobody Owns the Moon", a Tony Bones Entertainment production that is on next Monday 28th September at the Echuca Civic Centre, Heygarth Street, Echuca. Bookings are essential and this can be done online at http://www.tonybones.com.au/ or phone 1300 762 545. There is a cost for this @ $12 per child.

So come along and join the fun!

Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2009 and Bookchats

As mentioned in the previous blog the PLA's were on their way. Well now they have been and gone, and what a pleasant awards night it was. Congratulations to all the winning authors, scriptwriters, playwriters and researchers for winning their respective catergories. The Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction was The Slap by Christos Tsiokas. Also congrats to the State Library of Victoria for hosting the event, very well done!

For more information about the winners please go to www.slv.gov.au/pla

The Echuca and Kyabram Branches have commenced monthly bookchats. The first ones were held in August and they both went well. There is no set book or study notes, just bring along a book that you are reading at the moment and would like to share with others. Very casual, over a cuppa or two.

For more information about dates and times please contact Karen Teskera at Echuca on 0354821997 or Anna Bonomini at Kyabram on 0358523382.

It's your bloomin law!

Did you know that the Law Handbook is now online and totally FREE to access?

It is a very easy to use website http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/ that gives you practical legal information for everyday life. The Law Handbook cover more than 70 areas of the law, and includes contact details to many lega and community services. The promotional flyer from the Fitzroy Legal Service states that you will be able to use the website to find information on the following:

• family law issues


• social security payments


• dealing with neighbourhood disputes


• problems with credit and managing your debts


• consumer complaints and protection under the law


• wills and estates


• buying or selling a house or car


• searching for your nearest Victoria Legal Aid office or community legal centre


• helping you to find the right legal, government or community organisation

The Law Handbook Online is for anyone who wants to better understand their legal rights and responsibilities. Our library branches also have a hard copy of the Law Handbook that can be used in the library.

If you are not sure how to access the website please ask one of our staff to assist you.

Children's Book of the Year Winners are announced

If you would like to know the winning books for the Children's Book of the Year the CBCA have just posted the winners on their website http://cbca.org.au/winners2009.htm Congratulations to all winning authors and illustrators. See if your favourite is on the list.

The next important awards to be announced soon are the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, more information coming soon

Children's Book Week - it's all happening

Well the kids, parents and teachers keep pouring in to our libraries, there is great atmosphere and buzz in our branches. Thanks to the many teachers who have been willing to bring their classes along, we all know there is alot of organisation that has to be done and we appreciate being able to provide sessions for your students. The winners of the awards are soon to be chosen which is exciting, I am sure many students have chosen who they think she win. We look forward to seeing who the winning school is at our Echuca Branch competition which is run in conjunction with Book Week, there are certainly lots of books being borrowed by many eager readers. We will do another Book Week post when they winners are announced, until then enjoy the little ad that the Children's Book Council have put together.

It's Children's Book Week all month at Campaspe

Our branches warmly welcome classes from all over the Shire who are visiting to attend special Children's Book Week sessions and storytimes. In Echuca we have over 600 students participating and we are glad to see each and every one of you. The Children's Services Team have put together a great range of activities and selected their favourite nominated titles to read. We will have to wait for a couple of weeks to see who actually wins the coveted awards in the various categories. If you would like more information about the Children's Book Council and the nominated books please go to http://www.cbca.org.au/ you can even join them on Facebook and follow their news all the time. We hope the teachers and students all enjoy visiting their closest library during August. We will post a review at the end of the month to see how we went. Happy Reading!

Ancestry.com @ your library

We are very pleased to announce that all library patrons have free access to ancestry.com. This amazing genealogy database is available to you to use in the library from our internet computers. You will find that the database is the first port of call to collect information to create your family tree and find out more about your ancestors. Library staff are also learning more about this database and will be available to teach you more about it in the coming weeks, all you have to do is ask at the desk if you are not sure what to do. We know that this site is already extremely popular and and are thrilled to be able to offer it to all our valued library patrons. The only way to access this site is through our website and you will need to use it at one of our libraries, unfortunately due to licencing agreements we are not permitted to provide external access. We are also taking names at our branches for people who would interested in learning more about how to trace your family tree on the internet, just let one of the library staff your interest and we will organised small classes soon. Happy Searching!

Also don't forget we have access to newspapers, journals, health information and a wide variety of journals to also access freely online, when you search for a book these items will also be identified as an alternative reference.

Governor of Victoria Visit at Echuca highlights men's health

Today the Library Services Manager had the pleasure of meeting the Governor of Victoria, David De Kretser. He is currently touring the area and visiting the Gannawarra and Campaspe Shires. A very polite, softly spoken person but with presence and a sense of calm authority who spoke to community members and Shire Staff at a reception this evening. He spoke about his ambassador work promoting the need for men's health issues to have a higher profile and mentioned a range of resources available to assist men and women with information and support. One of those he didn't mention is the M5 Project which was launched earlier this year which is a Federal Government initiative. So far there are two parts of the project, one is a magazine that is availabe at doctor's surgeries called While you're waiting and the other part is a website www.m5project.com.au It is definitely worthwhile looking at the website and if you are in the doctors pick up the mag and have a flick through the range of interesting articles. Our libraries have many resources on men's health and we have just renewed our online resource "Health and Wellness" which has a host of journal articles and encyclopedia references on a range of health topics, this is available for free from our website. Please ask your local library staff to assist you locating the information.

Family History Feast at the State Library

If you are interested in family history and would like to know the latest information about researching your family tree we would encourage you to visit the State Library of Victoria for a Family History Feast. The free information day will be held on Monday 3rd August from 10-4, it will be held at the SLV Village Roadshow Theatrette, Entry 3, La Trobe Street. You will need to book a place as numbers are limited on 1800 657 452. The sessions include information about the Geelong Heritage Centre Collection which is Victoria's largest regional archive, VicHeritage at Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages will give an overview on their current projects. Sessions about the PROV, Multicultural Australia, Redmond Barry Collection at the SLV and the Victorian Association of Family History Organisations (VAHFO) 2009 Don Grant Lecture will be other special features of the day. While you at the State Library take the opportunity to visit The Independent Type ; books and writing in Victoria exhibition in the Keith Murdoch Gallery - this is also free and is fascinating, some of our staff have visited it and next year at Campaspe we will be hosting a range of events around the travelling exhibition which will be on display at the Echuca Branch.

Reuse, reduce and recycle

Come along to all our library branches during June and see the displays about the theme "reuse, reduce and recycle" We have joined forces with our Landcare team and have lots of information at each branch about what can be recycled and how to go about it. Thanks to Doug Gray from the Tongala Depot who has put together a "recycle Bin which is see-through"to show what can be put in it.

All our storytimes this month will feature this theme and the children will be making musical instruments out of recycled products.

National Library and Information Week

Did you know that libraries are your free passport to discovery? This years NLIW theme highlights the self-directed discovery element of libraries and celebrates libraries as free place to access, communicate, connect, educate, entertain and inform. We have a range of activities happening during the week including Toddler Rhyme time at Echuca Library on Tuesday 26th at 10.30am, Pete the Sheep storytime sessions at Rochester and Kyabram libraries also on Tuesday at the same time. Rushworth are holding a Australia's Biggest morning tea event also at 10.3o that day. New books will also be display at this one and other morning (afternoon) teas at Kyabram on Wednesday at 2.30pm, Tongala on Thursday 28th at 10am and Rochester also on Thursday at 10.30am. We will also be joining Nanneella Playgroup on Wednesday as part of their open day. To finish the week off the Echuca Friends of the Library are hosting an Australia's Biggest Morning Tea and book display at 10.30am.

So, there will be plenty of tea and cake all throughout the week, as well as an opportunity to come along and mingle with other library members, support an important cause and also see the latest books the library has purchased.

What has been happening in our branches?

We have just had a very successful holiday program and involvment in National Youth Week. Thanks to everyone that came along and supported the Bookmark Tour at Kyabram, Echuca and Rochester Branches. We also hope that the children and their parents enjoyed the Scientwists shows at the same branches. A visit from a Mermaid captivated the children at Kyabram Branch soon after we opened the library at the new site. Above are some of the photos from these special events. Next Monday 4th May we have special guest author Barry Heard who will be presenting a talk at the Echuca Civic Centre from 2pm. Barry will speak about his book and his experiences in Vietnam. Information or bookings 54821997. Soon it will be Library and Information Week which includes celebrating the National Simultaneous Storytime Pete the Sheep and "New Book" morning teas (in conjunction with Australia's Biggest Morning Tea) We are also involved at the Playgroup Playday next Tuesday 5th May at Apex Park Echuca from 10am. The following week we are promoting National Families Week at our storytimes. So there is something for everyone. If you need further information about any of these activities please contact one of our staff today on 1300 666 535 or pop into one of our branches. A reminder that our Kyabram Branch is now located at Lake Rd with the Shire of Campaspe Customer Service Centre, it's new name is Kyabram Library and Community Hub. Come in and enjoy the new comfortable surroundings, we are open from 9-5 Monday and Friday, 9-6 Tuesday and Thursday, 9-7 on Wednesdays and 10-1 on Saturdays.

One year on ....

We have just celebrated our first year being part of the SWIFT consortium. What does that mean to you? - access to nearly 2,800,000 items from the other participating libraries for free. Since we have joined the SWIFT consortium we have borrowed 4625 items from the other member libraries, and we have actually lent out 7807 of our items to the other members. The photo shows the amount of traffic that goes between our branches on a weekly basis. What a great caring, sharing bunch we are! It can be gauged as a tremendous success and we are pleased to announce that other libraries will be joining us soon to widen the choices even more. The SWIFT consortium recently won the LG PRO Award for Excellence for Innovative Management Initiative”. We also have access to another shared system called Library Link Victoria which will be upgraded over the next few months giving us even more choice and selection options to all our valued library customers. There are great advantages of being part of collaborative systems like these because they provide additional benefits to everyone. If you would like more information about our online services, or how to set up your own account so you can order material online or renew your items please contact us today on 1300666535 or email us at libraries@campaspe.vic.gov.au Remember that we have some fantastic resources available from our website including free online tutoring for students from year 4-12 and a range of authorative databases that can be accessed by just using your library card.

Kyabram Library and Community Hub Officially Opened

On Tuesday 24th March Minister Richard Wynne officially opened the new Kyabram Library and Community Hub. The library is now operating successfully in its new home at the Lake Rd site, along with the Customer Service Centre, Toy Library, Historical Society and Family History group. Many community members came along to the opening, as well as the media from WIN TV and Kyabram Free Press and we thank all for their support. Minister Wynne and Councillor Howell both spoke very favourably about the facility and highlighted the 60% increase in space, additional library hours and the improved facilities for the public and the staff. The new shelving and the children's area, as well as the glass frontage and pleasant outlook were all big hits. The library will now be available from 8.30am every day and open till 5pm on Mondays and Fridays, 6pm on Tuesday and Thursdays and 7pm on Wednesdays, also Saturday from 10-1. The library staff will commence at 10am each day except for Wednesdays when it will be 12pm. The public now have nearly the double of hours of opening now that it is the new location. So come along, and enjoy the new surroundings. Thanks to the project team, ably led by Keith Edwards, who have created a wonderful library out of the existing Shire building.

FOLA Eric Flynn Award for library services to older adults

The Campaspe Regional Library are thrilled to receive the Eric Flynn Award for Library Services for Older Adults from the Friends of the Library Australia. We recently held a celebration dinner to recognise and thank the efforts of our Words on Wheels Storytellers. It was a very happy occasion and we thank FOLA President Dr. Alan Bundy AM for attending the evening and presenting the award to Valerie Hansen, WOW Coordinator and Jenny Mustey, Library Services Manager. Dr. Bundy spoke very highly of the program and believes it is a model worthly of emulation by other councils and their library services throughout Australia. We are extremely proud of the way the program is reaching over 380 residents in aged care facilties each month. Valerie has put a huge amount of time in researching the stories, poems and pictures that are developed into storytelling kits on a vaste range of themes. The storytellers are all enthusiastic and bring many talents and ideas to the sessions. We also appreciate the important support from all lifestyle and activity coordinators at the various facilties, without this it would be very difficult to conduct the program. We look forward to the opportunity of speaking of the program at a conference in May which is focussing on library services to older adults.

Our building projects

We are moving along with the Echuca Community Hub Library project and are right in the middle of the detailed design phase. Concept plans are now available for viewing at the current Echuca Library in High Street or a bigger version is available on the windows at the new library site in Anstruther Street. It is an exciting stage to be working out the finer details with the architect and interior design, as well as sorting out all the engineering and infrastucture details. Hopefully in a couple of months this stage will have been completed and we can then move to the constuction stage including the tender process and commencement of building works. The Kyabram Community Hub Library is also on track, with painting, carpeting and a bit more demolition to occur over the next month or so. We have designed quite an innovative reception/library desk and we will be installing state-of-the-art mobile library shelving wherever possible in the building to create as much flexibility as possible. It is going to be a very comfortable and pleasant library and Customer Service Centre and we look forward to moving to the new location by March. If you have any queries please contact the Library Services Manager on 5482 1997.

Awesome holiday fun

It is hard to know where to start, we have been so busy in our branches since we reopened on the 5th and we can't believe the holidays are nearly over. There has been some great things happening for the children since the first week, we have had scrapbooking and collage workshops with Lynne Hume, painting workshops with Paul Gamble, Digital storytelling and podcasting with Daryll Bellingham (all of these stories are on the Austory blog which is linked on our homepage) and last night our special guest Summer Read author Steven Conte spoke at Radcliffes in Echuca. There is still more to come with all branches running game sessions this coming week, as well as a twilight storytime at Kyabram. We have also launched our bookcrossing zones at all our branches, for more information about that go to http://www.bookcrossing.com/ As well as all those activities our new Kyabram branch building works are well underway and we will moving in there in a few weeks time. And the plans for the new Echuca Library are available at the site, as well as the current Echuca Branch and Echuca Council Offices. We are in the detailed design phase which is getting very exciting, so hopefully this time next year we will be getting closer to moving in to the Echuca Community Hub Library.

We look forward to sharing more news about our great library service over the coming months.

But for now can we say a big thankyou to everyone for suppporting our holiday activities.