We will be hosting author Fiona McIntosh at a Meet the Author event on Wednesday 27th November at 1.30 pm at Seppeltsfield Winery Dining Hall, when she will be talking about her new novel, “The Tailor’s Girl”, a page-turning tale of passion and intrigue after the great War in London.
Cost of attendance is $5 which includes afternoon tea. Bookings are essential, and places are limited so ring the library now on 8563 8440 to reserve your place.
Local author Chris Leckonby will be at Nuriootpa Library on Tuesday 5th November at 10.30 am to talk about her new book “The Real World and Other Stories”. This should be a most entertaining discussion on the creative process. The event is free and includes morning tea, but please book for catering purposes on 8563 8440.
Book lovers! Here is a fabulous chance to stock up your library at a very reasonable price. From Monday 4th November, the Friends of the Barossa Library will be holding a sale of surplus library books at the Mount Pleasant library. From 10 am on Monday and then during library hours for the rest of the week. Some real bargains available – paperbacks 50 cents, hardbacks $1, children’s books 20 cents, magazines 20 to 50 cents, OR, BEST OF ALL, fill up your shopping bag for just $5! Even if you don’t live up Mount Pleasant way, it is a very pretty drive up there and well worth the effort. Best of all, every cent raised goes towards improvements for the library service.
About 75 people gathered at Peter Lehmanns Winery on 20th October to meet author Susan Duncan, and what a great meeting it was! She was witty, charming, completely unaffected and won over the audience completely. She stepped up to the microphone with a sheaf of notes, started speaking, put the notes down and never referred to them again! This was a great value evening, thanks to the generosity of Peter Lehmanns Wines, always great supporters of the library, and an excellent supper organised by the library staff. There was a long queue at the Ravens Parlour table and for Susan to sign her books, so it was a worthwhile experience all round. Another Meet the Author with Fiona McIntosh coming up on November 27th, so make an entry in your diary now.
This is the Kansas City Public Library in the USA. What a fabulously imaginative piece of architecture. Perhaps the Barossa Council may think about a new library in the future ……..???
Susan Duncan is a cancer survivor, author, journalist, ex-magazine editor, and an all-round interesting person. She lives in the Pittwater area in the home built for poet Dorothea Mackellar. She has written a memoir, Salvation Creek, and fiction novel The Briny Cafe, and has now published a sequel novel Gone Fishing, a heart-warming and inspirational story of taking a stand against the odds.
Susan Duncan will be at Peter Lehmann Wines on Sunday 20th October at 6.30 pm to talk about her life and her new book. Cost is just $5 which includes a glass of wine and nibbles. Essential that you book on 8563 8440.
The Barossa Public Library is delighted to be hosting the first of our Spring Author Series, with Nicole Alexander, whose fast-rising career as one of Australia’s bestselling storytellers was set in motion when she swapped the city for the outback. In the mid-1990’s Nicole Alexander embarked on the ultimate tree change; trading in a high-flying corporate job in Singapore to go ‘bush’.
Packing up her busy life in one of the most demanding cities in the world, her calling came from half a world away – in another life as a fourth-generation grazier in rural Australia. Since returning to the land in Northern NSW that was chosen by her ancestors over a century ago, Nicole has fast become one of Australia’s leading fiction authors, her stories resonating with readers across the globe; from the rural outposts where they are based to the metropolises of Australia, and as far afield as Germany.
Often inspired by the lives of ancestors who worked the same ground and the artefacts they left behind, her stories embody an inimitable authenticity that speaks to the harsh realities of outback life, and the deep connection that is borne between the land and its people. Nicole has a Master of Letters in creative writing and her novels, poetry, travel and genealogy articles have been published in Australia, Germany, America and Singapore. She is the author of four novels: The Bark Cutters, A Changing Land, Absolution Creek and Sunset Ridge. Nicole’s latest bestseller Sunset Ridge takes the reader on a journey from rural Queensland to the frontline in Northern France, and is loosely based on the WW1 experiences of her grandfather. Seamlessly interlacing modern Australia with war-torn Europe in the early twentieth century, Sunset Ridge is Nicole’s finest work yet, and is set to cement her status as Australia’s pre-eminent bush storyteller.
Event details :
Literary Event with Nicole Alexander Date: Monday 16 September Time: 11.00am Venue: Nuriootpa Library, Barossa Council Chambers Cost: Gold coin, includes light lunch Bookings are essential – If you would like to attend this event please respond by email, or phone the Barossa Library on 85638440. Hope to see you there!
Speaker at the Friends of the Barossa Library Annual General Meeting held at the Barossa Council Chambers 15th August, 2013 was Andrew Piper, Manager Online Projects at the State Library of South Australia. The topic was “South Australians of World War 1: Their Stories”. The aim of the projects is to provide a fuller picture of the involvement of South Australians in World War 1.
One of the projects being set up to commemorate the Centenary of Gallipoli and including World War 1 concerns some 8000 packets of material handed to the State Library in 1919 from the South Australian Red Cross Information Bureau. The packets relate to requests from concerned family and friends looking for information about loved ones serving overseas from 1914 – 1919 from whom there had been no recent word. The information from these packets is to be entered into a database for internet access and ultimately linked to various other databases Australia and World- wide. In keeping with the volunteer concept of the Red Cross, the State Library will be looking for volunteers, both city and regionally based, available later this year and next year to input the data.
Another project is utilising the “Flickr” website where the general public can upload their stories and images concerning those serving overseas or supporting the war from the home front.
If you would like to know more about the progress of these projects, go to the Sate Library website.
Barossa Library Services Report 2012-13
Joining the One Card Network has been a significant project this year giving library users access to millions of items from public libraries across South Australia. Lead by Tania, Elizabeth and Alison over a six month program of training, mapping and transferring data it involved transferring 53,000 item records, 16,000 membership records and 35,000 loan records. Staff have quickly mastered the Sirsi Dynix system and are to be congratulated for their positive approach and team work to seamlessly put the new system in place. Customers are very positive about the One Card Network with many comments about the large range of items available, how quickly they arrive and the ease of finding new titles on the new look website.
During 2012 -13 although there were interruptions over a 2 month period while we changed systems loans totalled 232,700 a 1% increase on the previous year and visits totalled 130,127 a reduction of 7%, mainly due to the closure days during the One Card installation.
Ebooks were launched in March 2013 and are being well used with over 100 users borrowing close to 800 books to 30 June. Convenient for commuters, travellers and high use on long weekends eBooks are being well used and adding to the range of items that can be accessed.
Julie and the programs team again ran a very successful year of library programs including the popular Summer Reading program, Book Week and holiday activities. Lots of happy young readers enjoy these sessions and develop their love of reading throughout the year. Author visits this year have included a wonderful high tea at Seppetlsfield with Helene Young, and Egyptian mysteries with Iain Campbell.
Our community involvement included the Vintage Festival Carnival giving away over 600 balloons, games and supporting the Friends Story Writing Competition. Regular library events increased to include the Cook Book Club and Mah-jong along with Chess, Beading and Yarn Fanatics.
Local history research has been enhanced this year by equipment provided by the Friends, as many people have used the digital reader and the scanner to trace events from the local papers on microfilm and transfer slides, photographs and family letters to a digital image.
The library greatly appreciated the fundraising the Friends have coordinated through the book sales, author events and the raffle with new sponsor Sea Link. Also supported by the Friends, the new red library bags were very popular when launched in June. $2000 has been provided to run an early literacy program with Zonta and $2000 has purchased e-readers to demonstrate eBooks for the community. These programs will be underway later this year.
A very special thank you to our retiring President Jill Stevens. Jill has provided leadership and direction for the Friends for more than 10 years. Jill’s knowledge of libraries was significant in seeking support for the new Nuriootpa and Tanunda libraries which we appreciate today. Jill has continued to create a welcoming Friends group, energetic fund raising events and created cohesion and enjoyment for the committee and library team. Her recent lobbying has also increased awareness of the need to improve the Lyndoch and Mt Pleasant libraries so that all residents of the Barossa have access to quality services. Thank you Jill, for your dedication and support of the Barossa Libraries.
Tania Paull, Senior Coordinator Library Services
At the Annual General Meeting in August, a new Committee was elected.
Jill Stevens decided not to re-nominate as President, having been a Committee member since 1998, and President since 2000 – 13 years! The Friends presented her with a commemorative clock and plaque to mark the occasion. Jill is staying on a Vice-President.
The new Committee is: President- Bill Biscoe; Vice-President – Jill Stevens; Secretary – Jan Biscoe; Treasurer and Membership Secretary – Paddy Carter; Committee Members – Adelaide Abbott, Jennifer Kerr, Christine Malone, Kevin Platt, James Porter and Margaret Seager.
You will note that most of the Committee has served for some years – our thanks to all the members who keep putting up their hands to help out every year.
By the way, any Friend is entitled to attend any Committee meeting to listen in or express their views. Meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 7 pm at Nuriootpa Library. The next meeting will be on Thursday 17th September.