Library newsletter June 2013 - Blackburn with Darwen Borough ...

The girl with no name – a talk by Tony FosterLocal historian Tony Foster will tell the intriguing story of ‘The girl with no name’,inspired by the research he undertook to discover the identity of a young girl featuredin a Victorian painting, when he visits Livesey library on Tuesday, 4 June at 2pm.Admission £1. Tickets available from Livesey library or call 209442.National Crime writing monthTo celebrate National Crime Writing Month, we are delighted to welcome two top crimewriters to Blackburn library:Killing time with Bill Kitson – Wednesday, 12 June at 2pm.Bill is the creator of the DI Mike Nash series based in the Yorkshire Dales; he will talkabout his popular detective, where he gets his ideas from and his painstaking researchmethods.Deadline – Barbara Nadel – Wednesday, 19 June at 2pm.Barbara’s Turkish detective series, featuring DI Cetin Ikmen, continues to enthral herfans, but she has also written novels set in London. In her historical crime series,Francis Hancock, an undertaker, solves crimes during the blitz. She has also recentlybegun a contemporary series, set in the East End, in ‘A private business’, featuringprivate investigator, Lee Arnold and his unlikely assistant, Mumtaz Hakim. Barbarawill talk about her approach to writing these three different series and the writers thatinspire her.Admission to each event is £1. Tickets are available from Blackburn library, or call661221.Make a noise in librariesMake a Noise in Libraries (MANIL) fortnight is an annual campaign to bring blind andpartially sighted people together in libraries to improve access to books andinformation. You are warmly invited to join us at a Coffee Morning at BlackburnCentral Library on Thursday, 13 th June in meeting room 2 from 10.30am – 12noon. Come along and hear about our services for people with disabilities. Allwelcome, admission free.Blackburn with Darwen walking festivalBlackburn library is taking part in the Borough’s annual walking festival with a guidedwalk around Corporation Park, followed by coffee in the library on Thursday, 27June. Walkers should meet at the West Park Road entrance to the park at 10am.The walk will end at Blackburn library where tea and coffee will be available and anopportunity to browse our wide selection of walking books.At 2pm, Ron Scholes will give an illustrated talk, ‘Coast to coast on the RavenberWay’. This is a long distance walk of 210 miles from Ravenglass in Cumbria toBerwick on Tweed in Northumberland. Admission £1. Tickets available fromBlackburn library, or call 661221.Pickup Bank’s contribution to the Industrial RevolutionIf you missed Roy’s talk at Blackburn library in April, there is another chance to hear itat Darwen library on Monday, 24 June at 7pm. He explores the history of fourintertwined hamlets near Darwen, tracing their development through the centuries.Fully illustrated and with fascinating statistics, it gives a different perspective on thehistory of the local area. Admission £1. Tickets available from Darwen library or call706021.

Home library serviceDid you know that anyone who is unable to visit their local library because of disabilityor age can ask for the Home library service? We can supply standard print, large print,talking books on CD and, for people who are blind or partially sighted, a selection oftalking magazines on CD. Items will be delivered to your home every two weeks,either by library staff or trained volunteers. Please email library@blackburn.gov.uk orcall 661221 for more details.Darwen library newsThe repair work to the windows is progressing well and is on target for completion bythe end of June. We apologise for any noise and inconvenience caused.Looking ahead to next month, we are delighted to welcome best selling thriller writer,SJ Bolton back to her home town. Her books have been shortlisted for severalinternational awards including the CWA Gold Dagger, Theakston’s Old Peculier CrimeNovel of the Year, International Thriller Writers’ Best First Novel and the Mary HigginsClark Award for best thriller, which she won with ‘Awakening’. Sharon will be visitingDarwen library on Wednesday, 3 July at 7pm, when she will talk about Folklorevs forensics: making sense of the nightmare, explaining the background to hernovels and where she gets her ideas from. Admission is £1. Tickets are available fromDarwen library, or call 706021.ExhibitionsExhibition room1 – 21 June: Darwen Days exhibition of old photographs of the town, many of whichare on show for the first time.22 June – 12 July: Natural history photographs taken by Mr Senior and Mr FoleyDisplay cabinets (these will be moved inside the main body of the library duringbuilding works)1 June – 21 June: Darwen Days display22 June – 12 July: A range of craft work created by Gail BurdettFriends of Darwen library (FODL)FODL have brought together a small collection of original artwork by James Morton,currently on show on our new display boards. There are also just a few copies of theFriends’ recently published book about the artist still available to purchase at £14 percopy.The next FODL meeting will take place on Monday, 10 June at 6pm.Refugee weekRefugees have made a huge cultural, social and economic contribution to life in the UKin the last 450 years. A celebration of History and heritage will be held inBlackburn library on Monday, 17 June at 6pm. It is an opportunity to hear storiesand meet people from the many different cultures that make up our community. Allwelcome. Admission free.Medieval day at Lancashire archivesLancashire archives are looking back at all things medieval on Saturday, 15 June. Ina full programme that includes demonstrations of medieval armoury and warfare,illuminated manuscripts, bookbinding techniques, birds of prey and storytelling, thereis something for everyone. Fancy dress is welcome and there will be a prize for the

est children’s costume. This is a free event that runs from 11am – 3.30pm. Formore information, call 01772 533033 or email record.office@lancashire.gov.ukDead good booksCrime fans may be interested in a new website featuring crime novels and thrillers,hand-picked by a dedicated editorial team, with tailored recommendations to help youchoose what to read next. The site features exclusive interviews and speciallycommissioned articles on everything from the best classic crime to the top ten TVdetectives, with opportunities for live webchats with your favourite writers, plusregular competitions to win books and DVDs. To sign up for a regular emailnewsletter, visit www.deadgoodbooks.co.ukThe dagger in the libraryThe Crime Writers Association’s ‘Dagger in the library’ award is unique in that it is theonly award that is nominated exclusively by library users, readers and librarians.Unusually, it is awarded for a body of work rather than an individual title. Nominatedauthors must be alive, preferably working in Britain and have published at least threebooks. Thirteen writers have been long-listed for the 2013 award from hundreds ofnominations submitted. The writers in contention this year are Belinda Bauer, AlisonBruce, SJ Bolton, Peter May, Gordon Ferris, Tania Carver, Elly Griffiths, ChristopherFowler, Michael Ridpath, Jane Casey, Phil Rickman, Alex Gray and Frances Brody. Thewinner will be revealed at the Daggers Gala Dinner on 15 July. For more informationabout the Dagger awards, visit www.thecwa.co.uk/daggersStaff recommendationsIf you are in a reading rut and would like some ideas for new authors to try, our staffare here to help. Although we use tools such as www.whoelsewriteslike.com andwww.whichbook.net, personal recommendation can also lead to the discovery of newfavourites.Ruth Holden, our stock librarian, enjoys Kate Atkinson’s novels and recommends‘Life after Life’. She says, “‘Life after life’ begins when Ursula Todd is born on asnowy night in 1910. In the first version of events, the doctor and midwife are stuckin the snow and unable to attend the birth – Ursula is born with the umbilical cordwrapped around her neck, and dies. In the second version, the doctor arrives in thenick of time and tragedy is averted – she lives.This pattern is repeated and we see Ursula die at different stages of her life – as achild she drowns, as an adult she perishes in a WWII bombing raid. Sometimesechoes of Ursula’s previous life permeate through into another and she senses afeeling of foreboding.You would think that these often abrupt ends to a particular storyline and re-startingthe story would make it difficult to keep engaged with the book, but for me it did justthe opposite. Yes it was sometimes disappointing, when in the middle of a grippingnarrative Ursula suddenly dies, but within minutes I was absorbed in her new life.I picked this book up because I’ve previously read and enjoyed Atkinson’s series ofbooks featuring private investigator Jackson Brodie, but the style of this is verydifferent. It’s essentially a family saga, which takes us through two World Wars andinto the 1960’s. I’m not surprised this has been shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for

Fiction, 2013 (formerly the Orange Prize), although whether it can beat the seeminglyunstoppable Hilary Mantel with her novel ‘Bring up the Bodies’ remains to be seen.Readers book reviews'The Thread' by Victoria HislopEveryone I had previously spoken to had enjoyed reading Victoria Hislop's books, andindeed I found 'The Island' an easy and enjoyable read, so I thought 'The Thread'would be a good choice. The books I seem to be enjoying most at the moment tendto include some form of historical element and this fitted that brief perfectly.The story centres around Katerina Sarafoglou as the five-year old flees from herconflict torn home in Asia Minor to an unknown country, becoming separated from hermother on the way. She lands in Thessalonika, in the early 1920s, as part of asurrogate and penniless family and the early part of the book features her growing up,with the local children and their families, in the myriad streets leading from her homein the poorer outskirts to the more affluent lower parts of the town and harbour. Shedevelops her sewing skills, becoming an accomplished needlewoman, working for herJewish neighbour and friend in their bespoke clothing factory, eventually becoming a'modiste' measuring and fitting the wealthy clients for their elegant clothes. I lovedher description of the fabric shops with their buttons, ribbons, threads and lace as itevoked memories of my childhood and my fascination of choosing fabrics andaccessories from the the shops and market stalls in Blackburn. As the story developsand the political situation in Greece changes, Katerina and her friends, particularlyDimitri Komninos, become separated by war, fear and persecution. The people becomedivided and undergo occupation by the Germans, which completely changes the townand the make-up and interaction of the people. The book is essentially a love storyand, despite the ending being rather predictable, I found it interesting that the onceracially and religiously mixed society of Thessalonika had, in 1917, had beencompletely changed by wars and disputes. As an aside, as I read the latter part of thebook, with the German army causing destruction and mayhem on a massive scale asthey retreated, I couldn't help feeling that if this happened throughout the whole ofGreece then the financial problems being experienced now are a knock-on effect fromthe reconstruction required, and that perhaps the Germans could be more sympatheticin their handling of the euro crisis.When reviewing the book there were very mixed feelings from the Postal OrderReading Group members. The general feeling was that it was a bit 'twee' and wasoverlong (as most books seem to be these days) and would have benefited from agood edit. They thought that the introductory chapter was unnecessary and addednothing to the story and that, generally, the characterisation was weak. Also thatsome of the historical parts were a bit textbookish. On the other hand Hislop’sdescriptive skill, of the town, its streets and shops, is good and, personally, I enjoyedthe book. Despite the criticism, we all found it an easy read and all enjoyed someelements of the book.Pat (on behalf of the Postal Order Reading Group)Envy by Judy CorbettWe found ' Envy ' to be a struggle to read as the characters were not at all likeable,not people you could care about! It did however make for a good discussion aboutenvy and jealousy and the difference between them.Darwen URC reading group

Reading groupsThis month we have received the following new reading group sets from publishers:The quietness by Alison RattleLondon, 1870. Queenie longs to leave the squalid slums in which she has grown up.Life is a struggle, with seven squeezed into one room. Across London, Ellen has aprivileged existence, but is lonely, stifled by her father and the quiet of the big housein which she lives. Queenie finds an escape, but she is soon to uncover a terriblesecret that will change both of the girls’ lives forever.The flower reader by Elizabeth LoupasWith her dying breath, Mary of Guise entrusts a silver casket containing explosivesecret papers to the young Scottish heiress Rinette Leslie. Rinette must promise tohide the casket and give it only to Mary, Queen of Scots when she ascends the throne,but she makes the terrible mistake of showing it to her husband and becomes thetarget of the Queen’s most ruthless enemies.Calendar of library eventsKey: Adult event, Children’s event, Young children’s event, Family eventSaturday Mouse and keyboard skills course, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburn1 Junelibrary, Tel: 661221Read and rhyme for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Liveseylibrary, Tel: 209442Monday3 JuneTuesday4 JuneWednesday5 JuneThursday6 JuneHomework help, 2pm – 4pm, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Story time for young children, 1.30pm – 2pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Learnmyway (introducing email) course, 2pm – 4.30pm,Darwen library, Tel: 706021Homework help, 5.30pm – 6.30pm, Roman Road library, Tel:682347Tutankhamen: tales from the tomb, 7.30pm, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Carers’ IT group, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburn library, Tel:661221Virtual library café, 10am – 2pm, Darwen Aldridge CommunityAcademy, Tel: 819500Tuesday reading group, 10.15am – 11.45am, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Basic IT drop-in session, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221The girl without a name – a talk by Tony Foster, 2pm – 3pm,Livesey library, Tel: 209442IT skills for jobs drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Rhyme time for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Darwenlibrary, Tel: 706021Books @ the pub reading group, 6pm – 7.30pm, The PostalOrder, Tel: 661221Learnmyway (introducing email) course, 2pm – 4.30pm,Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Work club, 1.30pm – 3.30pm, Darwen library, Tel: 706021

Friday7 JuneSaturday8 JuneMonday10 JuneTuesday11 JuneWednesday12 JuneThursday13 JuneFriday14 JuneSaturday15 JuneMonday17 JuneTuesdayICT drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Darwen library, Tel:706021Story time for young children, 2.15pm – 2.45pm, Roman Roadlibrary, Tel: 682347Read and rhyme for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Liveseylibrary, Tel: 209442Homework help, 2pm – 4pm, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Story time for young children, 1.30pm – 2pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Homework help, 5.30pm – 6.30pm, Roman Road library, Tel:682347FODL meeting, 6pm – 7pm, Darwen library, tel: 706021Carers’ IT group, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburn library, Tel:661221Virtual library café, 10am – 2pm, Darwen Aldridge CommunityAcademy, Tel: 819500Tuesday reading group, 10.15am – 11.45am, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Basic IT drop-in session, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221IT skills for jobs drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Rhyme time for young children, 10.30am – 11am, Liveseylibrary, Tel: 209442Story time for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Darwenlibrary, Tel: 706021Killing time – a talk by Bill Kitson, 2pm – 3pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Make a noise in libraries coffee morning, 10.30am – 12 noon,Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Work club, 1.30pm – 3.30pm, Darwen library, Tel: 706021ICT drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Darwen library, Tel:706021Story time for young children, 2.15pm – 2.45pm, Roman Roadlibrary, Tel: 682347Word 2003 (part 1) course, 10am – 12.30 am, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Chatterbooks book club for children aged 8+, 10.30am –11.30am, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Read and rhyme for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Liveseylibrary, Tel: 209442Homework help, 2pm – 4pm, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Story time for young children, 1.30pm – 2pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Learnmyway (using the internet) course, 2pm – 4.30pm,Darwen library, Tel: 706021Homework help, 5.30pm – 6.30pm, Roman Road library, Tel:682347History and heritage event for Refugee week, 6pm onwards,Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Carers’ IT group, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburn library, Tel:

18 June 661221Mouse and keyboard skills course, 10am – 12.30pm, Mill Hilllibrary, Tel: 266380Virtual library café, 10am – 2pm, Darwen Aldridge CommunityAcademy, Tel: 819500Tuesday reading group, 10.15am – 11.45am, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Basic IT drop-in session, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Wednesday19 JuneRhyme time for young children, 10am – 10.30am, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221IT skills for jobs drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Story time for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Darwenlibrary, Tel: 706021Deadline – a talk by Barbara Nadel, 2pm – 3pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Thursday20 June Work club, 1.30pm – 3.30pm, Darwen library, Tel: 706021Learnmyway (using the internet) course, 2pm – 4.30pm,Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Friday21 JuneSaturday22 JuneICT drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Darwen library, Tel:706021Story time for young children, 2.15pm – 2.45pm, Roman Roadlibrary, Tel: 682347Read and rhyme for young children, 11am – 11.30am, Liveseylibrary, Tel: 209442Chatterbooks book club for children aged 8+, 11am – 12 noon,Darwen library, Tel: 706021Monday24 JuneTuesday25 JuneWednesday26 JuneHomework help, 2pm – 4pm, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Bookstart week story time for young children, 1.30pm – 2pm,Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Mouse and keyboard skills course, 2pm – 4pm, Darwen library,Tel: 706021Homework help, 5.30pm – 6.30pm, Roman Road library, Tel:682347Pickup Bank’s contribution to the industrial revolution – a talkby Roy Parker, 7pm – 8pm, Darwen library, Tel: 706021Carers’ IT group, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburn library, Tel:661221Learnmyway (getting started) course, 10am – 12.30pm, MillHill library, Tel: 266380Virtual library café, 10am – 2pm, Darwen Aldridge CommunityAcademy, Tel: 819500Tuesday reading group, 10.15am – 11.45am, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Basic IT drop-in session, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, Blackburn library,Tel: 661221Chatterbooks book club for children aged 8+, 3.45pm –4.45pm, Mill Hill library, Tel: 266380Bookstart week rhyme time for young children, 10am –10.30am, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221IT skills for jobs drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221

Thursday27 JuneFriday28 JunSaturday29 JuneBookstart week story time for young children, 11am –11.30am, Darwen library, Tel: 706021Chatterbooks book club for children aged 8+, 3.45pm –4.45pm, Livesey library, Tel: 209442Walk around Corporation Park followed by coffee in library,10am – 12 noon, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Bookstart week story time for young children, 11am –11.30am, Mill Hill library, Tel: 266380Coast to coast on the Ravenber Way – a talk by Ron Scholes,2pm – 3pm, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Work club, 1.30pm – 3.30pm, Darwen library, Tel: 706021Mouse and keyboard skills course, 2pm – 4pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221ICT drop-in session, 10am – 12 noon, Darwen library, Tel:706021Learners’ reading club, 1pm – 3pm, Blackburn library, Tel:661221Bookstart week story time for young children, 2.15pm –2.45pm, Roman Road library, Tel: 682347Word 2003 (part 1) course, 10am – 12.30pm, Blackburnlibrary, Tel: 661221Bookstart week read and rhyme for young children, 11am –11.30am, Livesey library, Tel: 209442Homework help, 2pm – 4pm, Blackburn library, Tel: 661221Please note: Any opinions expressed in this newsletter are the contributor’s own andare not necessarily endorsed by Blackburn with Darwen library and informationservice.If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please send an email withthe subject heading ‘Unsubscribe library newsletter’ tolibrary@blackburn.gov.uk and your details will be removed from thedistribution list.We’re on the webTo find out the latest information about what’s happening in Blackburn with Darwen’slibraries, find us on the web at:www.blackburn.gov.uk/librarieswww.twitter.com/BwDlibrarieswww.facebook.com/blackburnwithdarwenlibraries