The Gaelic Festival of Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. Samhain begins at sundown on October 31 and goes until sundown on November 1.
source: wikimedia commons
The roots of Samhain stretch back deep into the prehistoric development of Celtic pagan beliefs. With the arrival of Christianity in what we now know as Ireland and Scotland, the practices of Samhain and All-Saints Day merged over time. Halloween traces many of its roots back to both Samhain and “All-Hallows Eve,” — the night before All Saints Day.
There has been a modern revival in celebrations of Samhain, in part due to the practices of Wiccans and other neo-pagans, as well other people who see it as a as a way to incorporate Celtic rituals into their belief systems. Many others see it as a way to celebrate Irish culture and history. Samhain is often celebrated with feasting and giant bonfires.
Thanks to 1000 Libraries for sharing this article that combines two of our favourite things: scary tales, and stories about libraries!
“Most ghosts, in the stories, make a nuisance of themselves. They slam doors, move furniture and walk the corridors at the hour they died. Library ghosts are different. Almost every one on record is described doing what the living do in the same room: sitting in a favourite chair with a newspaper, taking a volume down from a shelf, turning pages at a table after the lights are out. The building seems to decide what kind of haunting it gets.
What follows are seven of those stories, from Dublin to Melbourne, chosen because each has a name, a date and a witness attached. Whether you believe them is your own affair. The librarians who tell them mostly do not, and tell them anyway….”
Why do so many people take delight in getting spooked? Why are Horror books and movies so popular? Here are some articles that attempt to explain why there may be some good reasons for scaring yourself with Horror fiction.
October is Canadian Library Month and International School Library Month. As we celebrate CLM and ISLM each year, we highlight notable librarians who have made significant contributions to libraries and librarianship. We also celebrate librarians who have raised the profile of libraries and librarianship with their fame in other fields. Here are the 2026 inductees into our Library Hall of Fame. Please note that all of them worked closely with many other people, some whose names we will never hear:
Abdel Kader Haidara (b.1964) In 2012, Abdel Kader Haidara and his team helped save hundreds of thousands of historic manuscripts from destruction in Mali. Fundamentalist Jihadist forces, aligned with Al-Queda, had seized power in Mali. They target Books and any other media which presented a more moderate expression of Islam for destruction. Haidera, who had inherited responsibility for a substantial private library of historic manuscripts, took great personal risks in masterminding a smuggling operation to protect the precious pieces of Timbuktu’s glorious history. His story is told in The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
Amanda Jones is one of the heroic librarians featured in the 2025 documentary feature “The Librarians.” Jones is an award winning teacher librarian from Louisiana who is a prominent anti-censorship advocate. Her story is told in “The Librarians,” recounting the attacks she faced for speaking out against book banning, and her resolve to stand up and fight back.
Dick Ellis and Toni Samek were the co-recipients of the 2025 CFLA-FCAB Intellectual Freedom Award. Both were honoured for lifetime achievements in advocacy for Intellectual Freedom in Canada. Dick Ellis (1942-2025) had a distinguished career as a librarian and educator, including decades at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
Toni Samek has also been one of Canada’s most prominent advocates for Intellectual Freedom. She is a University of Alberta Professor, and has spoken out about the current issues facing Alberta school and public libraries. Samek is a strong voice both in Canada and internationally. Among her current roles is Scholar in Residence for the Centre for Free Expression.
