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Connect-the-dots at the Nelson library

It’s unusual for me to get ahead of the game — me, who always feels like I’m catching up. But hey, I work for the library.

It’s unusual for me to get ahead of the game — me, who always feels like I’m catching up. But hey, I work for the library, where we strive to not only respond to our members, but also be a leader in providing opportunities; to be ahead of the game. So here we are, not quite October and I’m writing about Canadian Library Month.

Each October the Canadian Library Association highlights a theme to celebrate Library Month. This year the theme is “connect”. Did I say we were leaders here at the Nelson Public Library? We adopted “connect,” along with “imagine” and “discover” as the triumvirate message contained in our three-part logo.

I’d like to think the association took one look at us and decided we were ahead of the game, but the truth is that Libraries have been connecting things for a long time, so imagine-discover-connect was not really such a reach.

Think of your library as the author of that connect-the-dots activity page in your colouring book. We connect people with information, education, entertainment, and each other: engaging readers, strengthening community, and stimulating knowledge (that’s our other triumvirate; aren’t threesomes great?) What you get is connected, and when you colour it in — well, you get the secret picture.

This October the Nelson Public Library trots out Discovery, Connectivity, and Imagination, all to celebrate Libraries and our community.

Discover great Library materials in special displays, each relating to the themes of discover, imagine, and connect. Let our kids’ programs spark imaginations through storytimes for toddlers and preschoolers and special programs such as Hallo-Tween on October 24 at 3:30 p.m. for 9 to 11-year-olds and Halloween Howls on October 29 at 3:30 p.m. for the 6 to 8 crowd. Connect with other teens at Wild and Wacky Wednesdays on October 2 (Retro games day) and 30 (Zombie Fest!) at 3:30 p.m.

Discover what diaries tell us about the world that was with a special presentation by social historians and authors Bob and Patricia Malcolmson on October 22 at 7:30 p.m.

And discover great finds at the Friends of the Nelson Library’s annual book sale on Friday, October 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Old Church Hall, corner of Kootenay and Victoria Streets.

We let our imaginations run wild with our fall fundraiser. Because you loved our Library Edition chocolate and coffee last year, we’ve brought them back for a second act.

Look for Oso Negro’s 2013 Library Blend: Page-Turner! Percolating Plots and Passionate Pursuits set in Java, Uganda, and Central America (a smooth, dark roast).

Nelson’s Chocofellar has created a special chocolate bar just for us: dark chocolate with coconut and pecans we’ve called Still Life with Coconut, a nod to the Tom Robbins novel. This joins literary-inspired titles for milk and dark bars including Best Laid Pecans (apologies to Terry Fallis), Midnight in the Garden of Raisins and Almonds (John Berendt), The Cure for Death by Chocolate (Gail Anderson-Dargatz), and Extremely Dark and Incredibly Good (Jonathan Safran Foer).

There’s our artist bookmarks featuring work by Lainey Benson, Rick Foulger, Yvonne Vanens-Munro and Keira Zaslove, and we’re putting our gorgeous literary cookbook on sale. Seasonings: A Year of Local Flavour in Words and Recipes — a project of the library and Kootenay Country Co-op — will be 30 per cent off at the library and Co-op only.

These imaginative projects (we won a BC Libraries Association Merit Award last year!) are also about connectivity: we’ve forged partnerships and strengthened friendships, and we continue to connect people as a social hub and a resource for discovery: a connector-of-dots, whether ahead of the game or simply on our game.

So what’s the secret picture revealed? It’s Community, of course.

Anne DeGrace is the adult services coordinator at the Nelson Public Library. She writes every two weeks.