March 17 - St. Patrick's Day

Are you feeling green today! I know I am (must be the Irish in my blood)!

On this day in history, March 17, 461, St. Patrick died. Over a thousand years later, March 17, 1762, the first St. Patrick's Day Parade took place - not in Ireland, but the United States; Irish soldiers in the English army marched through New York City, the music and parade helping them reconnect with themselves and their Irish roots.

Learn more about St. Patrick (how he was actually born in Roman Britain, and was brought to Ireland as a slave) here: http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

Check out some of our St. Patrick's Day collection here:

 

"Hooray for St. Patrick's Day", by Joan Holub

 



 

"La Saint-Patrick", by Carmen Bredeson

 

 

"St. Patrick's Day", by Joyce K. Kessel

 

Today is also Campfire Girls Day!

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- St. Patrick was carried off to Ireland as a slave in 432. He escaped when he was sixteen, though he returned to bring Christianity to the people of Ireland.
- The first issue of the Kingston Gazette (now the Whig-Standard) was published in 1810, the same day Governor Sir James Craig stopped Le Canadien's presses. Its owners were arrested on charges of treason.
- Henry Jones patented self-raising flour in 1845, the same day Stephen Perry patented the rubber band.
- Italy declared its independence in 1861
- The US ended free trade with Canada in 1866
- The 1600-seat theatre of the Academie de Musique de Quebec was destroyed by a fire in 1900
- Mrs. Luther Halsey Gulick announced the organization "Camp Fire Girls" in 1912
- Tsar Nicolas II of Russia abdicated the throne in 1917
- Maurice Richard's suspension by NHL president Clarence Campbell sparked a riot at the Montreal Forum that spread into the streets in 1955
- The Dalai Lama fled Tibet for India in 1959
- Dorothy Cudahy became the first female Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1989
- John Demjanjuk, a convicted Nazi war criminal, died from natural causes at the age of 91 in 2012

Stay tuned for our next "On This Day in History"! I hope everyone had a memorable St. Patrick's Day!

March 16 - National Quilting Day

Have you ever had the urge to pick up a pair of knitting needles and make yourself a sweater? A scarf? A blanket? If not, today might just be the day to start!

Celebrate National Quilting Day with us!

Looking for some ideas? Check out these books at the library:

 

"Quilt It With Wool: Projects Stitched on Tartans, Tweeds, and Other Toasty Fabrics", by Nathalie Mornu

 



 

"The Patchwork Quilt", by Valerie Flournoy

 

 

"Kids Can Quilt: Fun and Easy Projects for your Small Quilter", by Dorothy Stapleton

 

 

"The Josefina Story Quilt", by Eleanor Coerr

 

 

"The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club", by Wanda E. Brunstetter

 

 

"Creative Quilts: Inspiration, Texture & Stitch", by Sandra Meech

 

Today is also International Sports Car Racing Day, and Lips Appreciation Day!

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" was published in 1850
- Joseph Lister published an article outlining the discovery of an antiseptic surgery in "The Lancet" in 1867
- Hiram R. Revels made the first official speech by an African American in the Senate in 1869
- Leo-Ernest Ouimet, who opened the first permanent cinema in Montreal, was born in 1877
- The Northwest Territories were divided into the Districts of Keewatin, Mackenzie, and Franklin, and brought into the Dominion of Canada in 1918 (effective January 1, 1920)
- Hitler ordered German rearmament, violating the Versailles Treaty in 1935
- The first annual National Book Awards took place in 1950
- The American Cancer Society released a report showing a slight decline in the incidence of cancer in 1998, the first recorded decline since the 1930s
- The largest coordinated worldwide vigil took place in 2003, as a part of global protests against the Iraq War.
- 80 000 students protested for six weeks a $103 million cut to bursary funds by the government in downtown Montreal in 2005. The strike went on for six weeks, including as many as 200 000 college and university students from nearly every region.
- The X Paralympic Winter Games were held in Vancouver (first time for Canada) from March 12 - March 21, 2010. 506 athletes from 44 countries participated, Canada ranking 3rd in overall medal standings.

Stay tuned for our next "On This Day in History".

Greatest Books of All Time

Greatest Books of All Time

Week 8

Votes for the week of March 15, 2013 are in! 
The nominees are:

Title	Author	Publication Date
The Satanic Bible	Anton LaVey	1969
The Stand	Stephen King	1978
Diary of Anne Frank	Anne Frank	1947

 

The final Top 100 will be announced at the end of December.

So far Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is still in the lead.

What is your favourite book of all time? Cast your vote by commenting here at the bottom of this post, posting a note on our facebook page or adding it to our in-house ballot box.

Each Friday we will tabulate the votes and post them on our
Facebook, Twitter and Blog accounts.

One vote per visit please.

The final Top 100 will be announced at the end of December.

So far Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is still in the lead.

March 15 - Freedom of Information Day

On this day in history, Freedom of Information Day was born, in honor of James Madison, who is widely regarded as the "Father of the Constitution". Freedom of Information Day is celebrated on or around the 16th of March, that being James Madison's Birthday.

Come down to the library whenever you get a chance! We are full of information! We even have a copy of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act!

Learn more about Freedom of Information and James Madison here: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/federallegislation/govinfo/opengov/freedomofinfo

Today is also: Absolutely Incredible Kid Day, Buzzards Day, True Confessions Day, and World Consumer Rights Day.

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- Julius Caesar was stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutis, and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March in 44 BC
- Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after his first New World voyage in 1493
- Samuel de Champlain boarded the Bonne-Renommée at Honfleur, France as a private passenger of Gravé Du Pont's expedition in 1603
- Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1778
- David Cronenberg (Dead Ringers, The Fly) was born in Toronto in 1943
- John Lee became the first "black" commissioned officer in the US Navy in 1947
- Donald Jackson (Canadian, woohoo!) became the first to land a triple lutz ice skate jump in 1962
- The first Internet domain name was registered (symbolics.com) in 1985
- The discovery of 90377 Sedna (the farthest natural object in the Solar system so far observed) was announced in 2004

Stay tuned for our next "On This Day in History".

March 14 - Pi Day!

Today is March 14th ... or 3.14! It's Pi Day! How did you celebrate! Shannan the Librarian made a pie for us ladies!

If you're a math lover, check out some of these books:

 

"Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi: a Math Adventure", by Cindy Neuschwander

 



 

"Why Pi? How Math Applies to Everyday Life", by Johnny Ball

 

 

"The Best of Times", by Greg Tang

 

 

"Fractions and Decimals", by Lucille Caron

 

Today is also International Ask a Question Day, Potato Chip Day, and World Kidney Day.

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- The Cotton Gin was patented by Eli Whitney in 1794
- Albert Einstein was born in 1879
- The Calgary City Rugby Football Club formed in 1906
- MGM hosted the world's first online DVD event in 1999

Stay tuned for our next "On This Day in History"!

Pope Francis I

As most have heard the new pope has been chosen- Pope Francis I.  He heralds from Argentina and is the first Jesuit pope.  I thought I would suggest a few books and DVD's to give you an overview of where he is from and his religious order. 

Argentina:
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is located in South America, bordered by Chile to the west and south, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast. Wikipedia

Capital: Buenos Aires Currency: Argentine peso President: Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Official language: Spanish Language Government: Federal republic, Presidential system, Representative democracy, Federation Population: 40,764,561 (2011) World Bank

Argentina by Robert Hamwee

Patagonia by Hubert Stadler

The Secret in their Eyes- DVD
Hidalgo: the desert diaries, 100 days across the Atacama, October 11, 1969 to January 25, 1970

Jesuits
The Society of Jesus was founded in Paris in 1534 by Saint Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish soldier who underwent a profound religious experience while recovering from serious wounds. Loyola called the society "The Company of Jesus" to indicate its military spirit. The order was authorized in September 1540 to ordain its members. The name "Jesuits" (meaning those who too frequently use or appropriate the name of Jesus) was used against the order as a term of reproach but in time was accepted by its members.

The Jesuit Mission
Spurred by the inspirational writings of their founder and unswerving in their obedience to the papacy, the Jesuits quickly became known as the schoolmasters of Europe - teaching not only the tenets of the Catholic faith but also subjects as varied as the Latin classics and dancing.

The Jesuits' mission was to teach people "the way into heaven" and they declared themselves "ready to die for the honour of ...our good Lord and for the salvation of these poor people." In the New World, their goal was to bring lost souls to Christianity and they were willing to endure hardships and to shed their blood to succeed. (Canadian Encyclopedia, March 14, 2013) 

 The Jesuits: the Society of Jesus and the betrayal of the Roman Catholic Church by Malachi Martin

Vatican City and the Conclave

Vatican City, or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. Wikipedia

Population: 832 (2011) Area: 44 ha Currency: Euro National anthem: Inno e Marcia Pontificale Weather: 9°C, Wind NW at 23 km/h, 54% Humidity Government: Absolute monarchy, Theocracy, Elective monarchy  (Google, March 14, 2013)

Of course Dan Brown wrote a book Angels and Demons set in Vatican City at the time of the choosing of a new pope, if you would like to add a little fiction to your list
.

We Have a Pope- DVD- in Italian with french and english subtitles

Secrets of the Vatican collection- DVD

March 13 - Good Samaritan Involvement Day

On this day in history, Catherine (Kitty) Genovese of Queens, New York was stabbed to death in 1964 while 40 of her neighbors and peers watched on and did nothing. On the anniversary of her death, we take the time to celebrate the importance of helping one another.

Here are some items we have on the subject:

 

"Baby Be Kind", by Jane Cowen-Fletcher

 





 

"Building Moral Intelligence: the Seven Essential Virtues that Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing", by Michele Borba

 

 

"Cool to the Kind: Random Acts and How to Commit Them", by Val Litwin, Brad Stokes, Erik Hanson, and Chris Bratseth

 

 

"A Truthful Heart: Buddhist Practices for Connecting With Others", by Jeffrey Hopkins

 

 

"Yoko's World of Kindness", by Rosemary Wells

 

 

"The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander: From Preschool to High School - How Parents and Teachers Can Help Break the Cycle of Violence", by Barbara Coloroso

 

Today is also Donald Duck Day. K-9 Veterans Day, National Open an Umbrella Indoors Day, and Smart & Sexy Day!

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- The 12th and 27th recorded perihelion passages of Hailey's Comet, in 0607 and 1758 respectively
- Cambridge College was renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard in 1639
- William Hershel discovers Uranus (mistaking it for a comet at first) in 1781
- Jefferson Davis signed a bill authorizing the use of slaves as soldiers in 1865
- The British army ceased using the lance as an official weapon in 1927
- Though he discovered Pluto (the planet!) on February 18th, Clyde W. Tombaugh announced its discovery on March 13th of 1930
- Maharajadhiraja Tribhuvana Bir Bikram Yung Bahadur Shum Shere died in 1955 - don't know who he was, but his name makes me smile (I have pronounced it twice today)!
- Major-General Allard became the first Canadian to command a British army division in 1961
- The Canadian Radio & Television Commission rejected the introduction of pay TV in Canada in 1978
- Encyclopedia Britannica discontinued its print edition (after 244 years!) in 2012

Stay tuned for our next "On This Day in History"