Blog

March Break @ MPL

We’re so excited to see you again! The library is open from 9:30am-6pm on Monday and Friday, 9:30am-8pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and 9:30am-4pm on Saturday. Time and capacity limits are in place. Adults and children 2 years or older are required to wear a face mask if they’d like to browse or use computers in person. We’re also ready and waiting to provide curbside service, and happy to select books for you based on your reading preferences – there’s a form on our website or you can call 705-526-4216.

We’ve got something for everyone this March Break!

Join us for a virtual visit with Tasha Spillett-Summers, one of our favourite authors (I Sang You Down From the Stars, Surviving the City). She’ll talk with families with elementary school-age kids about her books and how her Cree and Trinidadian heritage informs her work on March 15 at 5pm. Email Kelsi, [email protected] to register.

Kids ages 4-8 can also register with Kelsi for a spring take & make kit available March 15 to make their own flowerpot creation, expressing their creativity and developing their fine motor skills! Or for a Science and Engineering Challenge kit with three exciting projects to try, released on Monday, March 14.

Maker kids ages 8-12 can try our Hacky Sack Take & Make kit available March 16, providing everything needed to create their own fun toy, and encouraging outside play. Email Melanie, [email protected], to register and to find out more about the MPL MakerPlace!

Try our fun painting project with Make a Mess studio, for kids ages 6-12 on Friday, March 18, at 2pm. Email Beverley, [email protected] to register for your kit and the virtual meetup!

Teens looking to explore their future options are invited to online meetups about telling stories through acting (Tuesday March 15 @ 2pm) or video games (Wednesday March 16 @ 5pm). Email [email protected] to register!

All of our March Break programs are absolutely free! Check www.midlandlibrary.com/events for dates, times, and details, including how to register for our take & makes and online meet ups.

Learn Something New at MPL!

Do you want to learn something new? MPL can help!

We have great online resources, including LinkedIn Learning. With thousands of courses taught by industry professionals in everything from design, business, photography, to learning to play musical instruments, these videos, learning paths, and certifications can help you meet your personal and professional goals.

You’re probably joining in on our online programs, but if you missed one, you can find lots of our recorded programs at www.midlandlibrary.com/free-online-activities, as well as curated resources from around the web and helpful tips for virtual learning. Our early literacy and family storytime recordings are there, as well as the videos and supply lists you need for some of our great DIY programs, author visits, and much more!

If you want to connect with your community and learn something new, join in on one of our great online group sessions for adults. Our French Conversation Group with La Clé meets weekly on Fridays at 11 am. Good for everyone from beginner to bilingual, email [email protected] for all the details.

We have a dedicated group learning more about Indigenous history and current issues by working through the University of Alberta / Coursera’s Indigenous Canada course, made popular by Dan Levy. We go over the course content and meet online every other Thursday evening for discussion. Contact [email protected] to join in.

If you’ve got a creative bent, consider joining in on our January Introduction to Cricut sessions – there are 4 dates and times to choose from! If you want to level up your DIY projects, we’ll show you how to use Cricut Design Space and cut vinyl, paper, and more on our Cricut Makers. Email [email protected] for more details. We also have a follow-up photo-editing workshop with Kevin Cascagnette in February – stay tuned!

Family Literacy Day is January 28. This year’s theme is Learning in the Great Outdoors! We’ll have lots of take home kits, fun surprises, and virtual programs. Email [email protected] to register or to find out more!

The Place for Making!

by Melanie Nichol

If you’re a DIY-er of any kind, Midland Public Library really is THE place!

With a background in theatrical production and a strong desire to create, I am thrilled to join the MPL staff as the new MakerPlace Coordinator.  Whether painting, baking, building, or digitizing, I am always excited to get involved and learn something new.  And trust me, there is nowhere better than the library’s MakerPlace for learning new things.

The MakerLab has a wide variety of tools and equipment to help you discover a new hobby or take it to the next level.  Our 3D printers and laser cutter are currently only available to those who were trained prior to COVID-19, but we have so much more to explore that can be used by anyone with a valid library card or Maker card!  Cricut Makers, sewing and embroidery machines, leather working tools, a button maker, and more are all available for you to enjoy.

The other half of our space is the MediaLab, dedicated to all your digital needs.  Want to record a song? We’ve got microphones, a piano, a drumbox and more.  Photo editing? For sure!  And if you’ve got any old media you want to preserve to enjoy in the digital age, we have the ability to digitize cassettes, VHS, vinyl, 8mm, film negatives and slides. Email [email protected] or call 705-526-4216 ext. 3321 to learn more about our spaces or book some making time.

Let’s not forget the equipment you can take home, either.  Ukuleles, Makey Makey, Ozobots, stop motion animation, and virtual reality are all things you can borrow from the library to explore and enjoy at home!

My vision for the MakerPlace is a community hub where people of all ages and backgrounds can come together to share their hobbies with one another and try new things with no fear of failure.  The MakerPlace is a space for experimenting, for “what if” and “I wonder.”  My goal is to take you from “I never thought of doing that at the library” to “Let’s do that again!”

Melanie Nichol is the MakerPlace Coordinator at the Midland Public Library.

Get to Know Your MPL Team!

If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the Library, we’d like to help you get to know all of us!

Trish is our new CEO and Chief Librarian. She’s an experienced leader who’s worked with public libraries for 30 years. We’re excited to have a new CEO who’s so passionate about experiencing and contributing to everything Midland has to offer.

Our circulation coordinator, Amy, has been with MPL for 22 years! She makes sure everything runs smoothly when you make a visit to check items in and out, focuses on great customer service, and takes care of our circulation team, including Kim, Linda, Michelle, Sandy, and Sarah – all the happy faces you see at the main desk.

Angie and Nicole are our technical services experts – they get all the new materials ready to be checked out, take care of interlibrary loans, and keep our catalogue and account services running!

I’m your community engagement coordinator, Faith. I oversee our programs and outreach, and do lots of my own, including business services, Indigenous culture programs, volunteer tax clinics, and more.

Kelsi joined us as our children’s services coordinator this spring! She takes care of all of the kids and families who come into the children’s department, and offers great programs.

Jenn is our adult and teen services coordinator – you probably know her from a book club for tweens, teens, or adults, or our French conversation group with La Clé, or seniors’ programs.

Melanie is the newest member of our team! She just joined us as MakerPlace coordinator, and she’s excited to dive in with all the exciting technology in our Maker and Media labs, and to book your self-serve appointments in the space.

Beverley’s our program assistant, who’s doing our great virtual Ways to Wellness and Try This At Home programs!

You may also be interested in some of our exciting new lending programs and collections, including Express Reads for adult fiction, a new dyslexia-friendly collection in our children’s department, and our outdoor equipment loans, thanks to the Culture Alliance in the Heart of Georgian Bay!

Summer Fun @ MPL

Our summer reading programs run June 25-September 6, and we have lots of options for all ages. You can read, report and repeat, all online! Download the free Beanstack app or head to our programs page for a link to our summer reading challenges. It’s easy to set up one summer reading account and do a whole family’s reporting!

Kids and teens can record their reading online and do fun activities with their families to earn badges and win prizes, including a super reader lawn sign, free pizza from Papa’s Pizza Mama’s Chicken, or gift cards, including a $100 grand prize, from fun local businesses! For teens, there’s also a $100 Amazon gift card grand prize!

Adults don’t have to let kids have all the fun – if they log their reading on Beanstack, people who complete our adult summer reading challenge will get a cool MPL camping mug, and can put in their ballots for a grand prize draw that’s pretty ‘cool’!

MPL is also joining in on Simcoe Reads – 7 libraries, 7 books, 1 winner! Our competitors are Barrie, Essa, Innisfil, New Tecumseth, Ramara, and Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Libraries, but we know we’ll come out ahead! The champions and books will be announced July 2 – watch for updates and join in on book discussions and author visits to show you’re #mplproud.

You can find great free on-demand activities and details on our online programs for all ages under the Programs tab. We hope to connect with you for an exciting summer!

There’s More @ Your Library!

If you haven’t taken a look at our website in a while, you might find something new and exciting!

First, if you’re missing the reading recommendations MPL staff give in person, we can help! Whether you know exactly what you want, or if you want us to surprise you with some choices, you can fill out a short form at www.midlandlibrary.com/personal-reading-recommendations and we’ll get back to you with recommendations just for you! You can also call 705-526-4216 for staff help.

Along with all our traditional collections, we’ve started loaning some new and exciting things, including park passes, wifi hotspots, light therapy lamps, Maker @ Home and Adventure kits, and much more! Find all the details at www.midlandlibrary.com/cool-things-to-borrow.

You’re probably joining in on our online programs, but if you missed one, you can find lots of our recorded programs at www.midlandlibrary.com/free-online-activities, as well as curated resources from around the web and helpful tips for virtual learning. Our early literacy and family storytime recordings are there, as well as the videos and supply lists you need for some of our great DIY programs, author visits, and much more!

Our e-databases page can help with all your learning and research! Press Reader is new – access  more than 7,000 of the world’s top newspapers and magazines as soon as they’re available on shelves. There are no limits on downloads. Use Press Reader via their free app or on the web by selecting “Sign In,” choosing their “Library or Group Sign In” option, and selecting the Simcoe County Library Cooperative.

LinkedIn Learning is an amazing resource! With thousands of courses taught by industry professionals in everything from design, business, photography, to learning to play musical instruments, these videos, learning paths, and certifications can help you meet your personal and professional goals.

Those are just two highlights – we have online resources to help you work on your car, find teen health information, research your family tree, pass your driving test, and much more!

You can get to our e-book and e-database collections here.

Celebrate Black History Month at your Library!

Join us for a free online film screening and discussion on February 23 at 6:30pm. We’ll be watching True North: The Rise of Toronto Basketball. After the Toronto Raptors’ historic NBA championship and a record-setting number of Canadian draft picks, director Ryan Sidhoo follows 12-year-old Elijah Fisher, 15-year-old Keone Davis, and 18-year-old Cordell Veira as they navigate Toronto’s youth basketball scene in pursuit of their own NBA dreams. Email Faith at [email protected] or call 705-526-4216 ext. 3305 to register and receive the online meeting information.

If you can’t make the film screening, you can place a hold on some amazing items in the Library’s collection.

Bryan Prince’s My Brother’s Keeper tells the story of African Canadians who fled slavery but then returned to the United States to enlist in the Union forces during the Civil War. Entire Black communities were profoundly changed by these decisions.

Earlier in Black Canadian history, on the night of April 10, 1734, Montréal burned. Marie-Joseph Angélique, a twenty-nine-year-old slave, was arrested, tried, and found guilty of arson. Afua Cooper’s The Hanging of Angélique : the Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal is the result of 15 years of extensive research, uncovering the trial records that serve as a part of what may be the oldest slave narrative in North America, and complicating the idea that Canada was the haven at the end of the Underground Railroad.

You may want to pick up the memoir by Willie O’Ree, Willie: the Game-changing Story of the NHL’s First Black Player. In 1958 O’Ree was signed to the Boston Bruins but playing in the minors. When he played his first NHL game against the Montreal Canadiens and looked at the newspaper the next day, he discovered that he’d broken the league’s colour barrier.

These books, and many more memoirs, histories, and titles focused on anti-racism, are all available at your Library. Call us or use our online form to get personalized reading recommendations!

Top Picks of 2020!

People in Midland definitely kept reading in 2020, whether they came into the Library, used our curbside pickup service, or read e-books! These were the most frequently borrowed books and movies for adults, teens, and kids.

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens, was the most borrowed item across all categories. This meditative and mysterious coming of age novel was a highlight of many people’s 2020 reading lists. Everyone loves mysteries and thrillers: Louise Penny, John Grisham, John Sandford, Linwood Barclay, Ruth Ware, and Janet Evanovich were also in our top 10.

For non-fiction, memoirs by Jesse Thistle and Michelle Obama were our most borrowed items. Many people took road trips closer to home, making Ron Brown’s Backroads of Ontario a hit.

Teen readers were split between the dystopian worlds of Eric Walters and Suzanne Collins, and the diverse realism of Angie Thomas’ On the Come Up, Ibi Aanu Zoboi’s Pride (a contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice), and Julie Murphy’s body positive Dumplin’.

Big Nate was the big hit for the younger crowd. Lincoln Peirce’s hilarious illustrated series took seven of the top 10 spots in novels for children. Kids were looking for hands on things to do – top non-fiction picks included How to Draw books by Angela Nguyen, Minecraft and LEGO books, and 20 Recipes Kids Should Know by Esme Washburn.

Many of our top 10 borrowed movies were blockbusters or award winners, including Judy, Joker, Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, the Downton Abbey movie, and Avengers: Endgame. Toy Story 4, the live action Aladdin, and Maleficent, Mistress of Evil brought some family fare to the top picks. There were also some gritty movies that made a big impression with our patrons while being somewhat overlooked elsewhere: Edward Norton’s mystery of mid-century New York, Motherless Brooklyn; the action thriller with an amazing cast, 21 Bridges; and the suspenseful Ian McKellen / Helen Mirren tour de force, The Good Liar.

Call, manage your account online, or use the free Simcoe County Libraries app to place a hold on any of these items, and make a visit or use our curbside service to pick them up!

Fall Into Reading!

As the weather cools off, you may be looking for your next great read. We can help, and we have a special fall reading challenge for every age!

Every bookworm needs their brain food! In our Bookworms Fall Reading Challenge, kids ages 0-12 can track their reading via the free Beanstack app to earn badges and have more chances at great prizes! Each week until December 21 one reader will win a $10 gift certificate to Georgian Bay Books!

Teens and adults don’t miss out, either! Our 10 to Try Fall Reading Challenge is open to everyone ages 12 and up, and asks you to broaden your reading experience by reading a book in each of ten categories (a book by an Indigenous author, a book in translation, a book adapted for film). There are book suggestions listed in the challenge if you don’t have books in mind already. Track via the free Beanstack app – everyone who finishes the challenge by December 21 will win an MPL camping mug (while supplies last).

If you’re having trouble finding a new book, we have lots of ways to help. We have access to a great resource called NoveList. If you click on a favourite print title in our online catalogue, it will display a dropdown section called NoveList Content, which includes information on the series, readalike titles, and other authors you might enjoy. You can also go straight to NoveList for an in-depth search, from our eDatabases page.

Library staff are experts at providing recommendations if you come to the Library during our open hours. We also have an online personalized reading recommendations page – give us a little bit of information about what you like to read, and we’ll send along a few choices. You can find it here. We’re offering sneak peeks at new books in our collections with quick weekly videos for adults, teens, and children – find them on our Facebook and YouTube pages, thanks to the Government of Canada and the United Way of Simcoe Muskoka.

Celebrate With Us!

Midland Public Library is excited to celebrate Ontario Public Library Week, October 19-23, with special online events, projects to take home and enjoy with family, and our Food For Fines forgiveness program.

Between October 19-23, bring in a non-perishable food item to receive $1 in fine forgiveness (up to $10). Throughout the week, while supplies last, families can register for a free cookie decorating box for an MPL Bake Off (decorate your cookies as your favourite book & share photos with us!) and pick up Mo Willems Take & Make crafts and activities, to correspond with new videos from MPL.

On Monday October 19 at 2 pm, we’ll be hosting a free online screening and discussion of two short documentaries from the National Film Board: Ladies and Gentlemen, Leonard Cohen and Still Waters: The Poetry of P.K. Page. Call Faith at 705-526-4216 ext. 3305 or email [email protected] to get the online meeting link.

On Tuesday October 20 at 7pm teens can watch the book-to-film adaptation of All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven on NetFlix and live tweet about it from home! Hosted by Adult & Teen Services Coordinator, Jenn. Tweet along: @Midland_Library

The Library is thrilled to host international bestselling historical fiction author, Jennifer Robson for a virtual author visit on Wednesday, October 21 at 7pm. Jennifer is author of six novels set during and after the two world wars, including her most recent Canadian bestseller The Gown, a novel of the Royal Wedding of Queen Elizabeth II. Jennifer will be doing a brief reading from The Gown, followed by an interview with MPL Adult & Teen Services Coordinator, Jennifer Paquette. Patrons can register to receive the online meeting information by emailing Jennifer Paquette at [email protected]. This presentation is made possible with financial assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts through the Writers’ Union of Canada.

On Thursday, October 22 at 6:30pm the Midland Makers are having a special virtual How-To in 10 event. Follow along with experienced Makers as they show us fun maker projects that you can do at home in 10 minutes or less. Also, stop in to MPL starting Monday Oct. 19 and grab your very own LED Throwies Take and Make Kit. Then tune in to the Maker meeting for a live LED Throwies tutorial! Email [email protected] for the online meeting details.

MPL is proud to celebrate the work of public libraries and library staff across the province, and pleased to share these exciting events with our community. Thanks for loving your library!