Things to do in January: Read a good book, get a library card – Charmaine J. Forde
As we enter the New Year, we would like to take a moment to thank our library patrons.
To thank you for your continued support over the years, through the borrowing of materials, the attendance of programs, or even just the greetings when you come into the library. Over the past year, we have had an increase in library card holders as well as an increase in people attending our programs. We continue to grow and adapt as a library and staff and will continue to grow our programming to reflect what our community needs.
When it comes to our programming, we have some new and exciting activities that we will be starting in January. Join us for Sensory Play at the Bruce Johnston Branch on Tuesdays at 10:15am, starting January 9th. With a fun and stimulating activity, Sensory Play focuses on exploration with four of our five senses: sight, touch, smell, and hearing. At the Millbrook Branch on Fridays at 11:15am (starting January 12th) we will be introducing Sensory Storytime, which is a more interactive approach to Storytime. While Sensory Storytime is available for preschoolers, it also supports children with autism or sensory processing challenges.
Check out our newsletter and social media to see what other fun and exciting programs we have going on. While we continue to have Junior Mathematicians on Wednesdays (Millbrook Branch) and Junior Scientists on Thursdays (Bruce Johnston Branch), we also have two Adult Storytimes. Our Bruce Johnston Storytime is an established group that meets on Tuesdays at 10:45am – but new members are always welcome! We’ve also recently started an Adult Storytime at Centennial Place on Wednesdays at 10:00am. Any of our library patrons are welcome to join, although we ask that you let library staff know before your planned visit.
As part of our Seniors Community Grant, we will be continuing to offer Collecting our Stories on Wednesdays from 1:00-3:00pm at the Millbrook Branch as well as Tech Time from 3:00-4:00pm on Thursdays at the Bruce Johnston Branch and Fridays at the Millbrook Branch. Each of these programs will start back up again the second week of January. On January 31st, we will be hosting another Memoir Writing Workshop at the Millbrook Branch from 1:00-3:00pm. Join Jan Stirling Twist as she discusses the process of memoir writing through storytelling and her own personal experience in drama and therapeutic clowning.
As we move into the New Year, the CMLibraries are re-branding! To help us re-brand, we are looking for volunteers to create a bank of photos to support our social media content, newsletters, and other communications. We need volunteers willing to be photographed for our upcoming photoshoot, which will only take an hour of your time. If you’re interested, please register at your local branch or online. We will reach out to you once you’ve registered to share more information and to answer any of your questions. Photoshoot date is January 23rd (snow date of January 25th).
With the New Year comes additional changes. Due to new provincial waste guidelines, we will be making some changes to our book donation policy. As of January 1st, 2024, we will no longer be able to accept donations of books that are older than 3-5 years. We have limited space in both of our branches for “new” material and we will no longer be able to recycle books that we cannot use. Books that have the potential for mold or mildew will need to be put in the garbage, and we have a limited amount of garbage that we can throw out each week. Thank you for your understanding as we navigate the new provincial guidelines.
By Courtney Spence
