CFLoquence: News From Your Library

Our New Director

            Allow us to introduce our new executive director, Emily Owen! Many will recognize Emily from her time at the Patron Services desk and her presence at county meetings as the North Country Library System consultant. Emily grew up in Pierrepont and has her master’s degree in Library Science from CUNY Queens. We are very pleased to welcome her to the staff. She has some wonderful plans for the CFL and its branches!

Ursula’s Worlds       

            We invite you to explore the many magical worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin as the renowned author celebrates her 84th birthday this week. During her prolific writing career, Le Guin has published twenty-two novels, eleven volumes of short stories, four collections of essays, twelve books for children and six volumes of poetry, and has received many awards including the Hugo, Nebula, and National Book Award. She is best known for her sci-fi and fantasy works, using these genres to creatively look at race, gender and identity.

If you’re a fan of Tolkien, try Le Guin’s Earthsea novels. Travel to a magical realm of islands filled with dragons, Otaks, Harrekki and trolls. In A Wizard of Earthsea, the first novel in the series, Le Guin introduces Ged, a goatherd with a great destiny. Ged discovers his magical ability while protecting his village from Kargish invaders and begins his journey to become the greatest sorcerer. Although Ged performs heroic deeds, he is reckless with his power and unleashes a dark shadow across his world. Find out if Ged is able to right his wrongs in subsequent novels that feature an array of characters such as the orphaned priestess Tenar and the warrior Prince Arren.

For young readers, we have the Catwings series, the adventures of four feline siblings named Thelma, Roger, James and Harriet. The cat siblings know just how hard it is to be different. In addition to having whiskers and tails, they were born with wings, an anomaly that causes their peers to treat them poorly, but also allows them to fly away from the dangerous city slums to the countryside. There they find a new set of challenges as they struggle to make a home for themselves. My niece highly recommends the Catwing tales!

            To sample Le Guin’s science fiction, check out Four Ways to Forgiveness, a collection of four novellas set in the future on twin planets in a distant solar system. The inhabitants of these worlds are divided into two groups: “assets” and “owners” in a complex slave system that is in the process of crumbling. Le Guin examines the meaning of freedom through a variety of characters including a shamed revolutionary, a spoiled “space brat” and a liberated slave.

            If you’re a fan of Le Guin’s work, tell us about your personal favorite of her works. Stop by the Patron Services desk or post your favorite title on our Facebook wall. We love to talk about books and value our patron recommendations!  

Health Care Info

            Want to learn more about your options for Affordable Health Insurance? Meet with Health Initiative Navigators at the CFL. The navigators will be here twice a month to provide information to our patrons. The next meeting is on Thursday, October 31st from 5-8pm. If you are interested in attending, please call 261-4760 ext.222 or email anne@gethealthyslc.org. Learn more at gethealthyslc.org.

Children’s Events

            Join Miss Val for Pre-K Storytime on Wednesdays at 10:30am. We’ll sing songs, read stories and create awesome art and crafts. Storytime is a great opportunity to for early socialization and to cultivate a love of reading.  

            This week’s theme is pumpkins. On the following Wednesday, the 30th, we’re having a costume celebration. Wear your Halloween costumes to storytime!

Spooktacular Saturday

Halloween is just around the corner! We have some paranormal events to get you in the spirit. On Saturday, October 26^th Mentalist Rich Tenace will demonstrate mind reading, ESP, the power of suggestion, and lots of clean comedy from 2:00-4:00pm in the Paige Room. This program is open to the public of all ages.

Next on the agenda is a SLAPS (St. Lawrence Association of Paranormal Science) documentary about their investigation into Eastern State Penitentiary from 5:00-6:00pm. Is the Canton Free Library haunted? Find out after the documentary with the SLAPS crew as they perform a paranormal investigation of the library from 6:00-8:00pm. This program is open to the public ages 11 and up.

For a list of recent additions to our collection and our hours of service, please visit www.cantonfreelibrary.org and “like” us on Facebook. Happy reading!