October 2022 – Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School Library

Happy Halloween

Come down to your School Library and check out some of these Playaways and other audiobooks. Listen to a scary story on this spooky day!

New Horror Fiction

Halloween is less than a week away. Are you scared? Here are some Halloween related titles that are new to us at the School Library. If you aren’t scared now, you will be if you read one of them.

Drop Everything and Read on Canadian School Library Day

The BC Teacher Librarians’ Association, in conjunction with the BCTF, challenge you to join people all over our province as they “Drop Everything and Read” for at least 15 minutes today.

Put away the phone, turn off the TV, pause the video game or whatever else you are doing. If you are at school put away the textbooks and the homework. Even if you are at work, we challenge your employers to give you 15 minutes to enjoy some silent reading.

People who read for pleasure benefit in so many ways. Obviously, the primary benefit of reading for pleasure, is, wait for it… pleasure. However, there are so many more reasons how reading for pleasure if beneficial for you as an individual, and even for all of us as a society.

Why should schools give you time for reading? Students who read for pleasure do better in school. Why should your work care if you read? People who read for pleasure bring a multitude of skills and abilities to the workplace, including greater capacity for concentration and focus, along with more obvious benefits such as improved reading, writing and other forms of communication. Why should society care if you read? Readers are better prepared for responsible citizenship. Readers of non-fiction are better informed to effectively participate in our democracy, while readers of fiction develop understanding and empathy and a greater sense of our common needs as fellow citizens of our communities, our nations and our world.

These are just some of the reasons why reading for pleasure is good for you and good for all of us. Enjoy some reading today, and every day.

Happy Bandi Chhor Divas

Happy Bandi Chhor Divas and Happy Diwali

_{Source: UrbanUrban CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons}

On Bandi Chhor Diva, Sikhs celebrate Guru Hargobind, the 6th Guru, who was released from prison, along with many other prisoners, in 1619. The name Bandi Chhor Divas means “Liberation of Prisoners Day.” Sikhs in Canada, India and around the world will celebrate this holy day, which coincides with the Indian holiday known as Diwali.

From the BBC:

According to tradition, Guru Hargobind was released from prison in Gwalior and reached Amritsar on Divali. He would only agree to leave prison if 52 Hindu princes who were in prison with him could also go free. The Emperor Jahangir, said that those who clung to the Guru’s coat would be able to go free. This was meant to limit the number of prisoners who could be released. However, Guru Hargobind had a coat made with 52 tassels attached to it so that all of the princes could leave prison with him.

The story reminds Sikhs of freedom and human rights and this is what they celebrate on Bandi Chhor Divas.
Source: BBC

Find out more:

Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali and Bandi Chor Divas

‘Tuhanu Diwali diyan boht both vadhaiyan’

_{Arnav, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons}

Diwali is celebrated by millions of people in India, Canada and around the world. Hundreds of millions of Hindus celebrate “the Festival of Lights.” People of other faiths, including Sikhism, also celebrate.

For Sikhs the festival has added significance as it generally coincides with a Sikh celebration known as Bandi Chhor Divas. In 2022 this takes place on October 24.

Many people will celebrate a five day festival from October 22 to 26 in 2022, with the main celebration of Diwali on October 24. However, it may be celebrated at different times, and in different ways, by various groups in India, South Asia, and in the Indian diaspora.

Diwali may also be rendered as Deepavali or Divali.

For more information on Diwali, check out:

Canadian Library Workers Day

A big thank you goes out to all the workers in Canada’s libraries! We especially thank all those students, volunteers and staff here at LTSS who are the heartbeat of the School Library. Happy Canadian Library Workers Day!

Coming Soon: Drop Everything and Read

Monday, October 24 is Canadian School Library Day, BC School Library Day, and the day for the BCTLA/BCTF Annual “Drop Everything and Read” Challenge. All students and staff at LTSS are challenged to use the Tutorial Block on Monday to read for pleasure.

Put away the homework and the text books. Shut down your phone and the computer. Ignore the marking and the lesson planning. Pick up a book and read for recreation. Read for pleasure. Read to learn something you are interested in (outside of school!). Read to escape. Read for fun.

Be sure to have some good reading material ready for Monday. Come down to the School Library where that is our number one job, helping you to get good reading material into your hands.

The DEAR Challenge is extended to all the citizens of our province! So pass on the word to your family and friends. Challenge them to take some time on October 24 to “Drop Everything and Read!”

These Hollow Vows

Come down to your School Library to check out Lexi Ryan’s These Hollow Vows, one of this year’s ten nominated titles from Surrey Teens Read

Library Hall of Fame

October is Canadian Library Month and International School Library Month. Today we are highlighting a few noteworthy librarians who are the first inductees into our “Library Hall of Fame.”

Zoia Horn

_{source: Peter Brantley from El Cerrito, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons}

Zoia Horn (1918-2014) was a librarian who went to jail rather than abandon her professional integrity and steadfast commitment to intellectual freedom. Horn was pressured by authorities to testify against anti-war activists charged with conspiracy during the Vietnam War. Horn refused, and was jailed for three weeks for contempt, the first time that has happened to a librarian in the United States. The California Library Association presents an annual Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award in honour of her legacy.

Brian Deer

Brian Deer (1945–2019), a Mohawk from the First Nations Territory of Kahnawake in Quebec, was one of the first Indigenous librarians in Canada. Deer developed an original library classification system that expresses Indigenous knowledge structures. The Brian Deer Classification System has been adapted for use in libraries across Canada, including the indigenous library at UBC, the Xwi7xwa Library.

Nancy Pearl

_{source: Seattle City Council from Seattle, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons}

Probably the most famous living librarian in the world. Nancy Pearl rose to fame in Seattle while working for the Seattle Public Library. Her fame grew rapidly with the success of her books. Today is she is well known around the continent, and even the world, for her presence on public radio, podcasts, public appearances and more. She has won numerous awards, including Library Journal‘s Librarian of the Year Award in 2011. Her crowning achievement, however, may be the phenomenal success of the Nancy Pearl Librarian Action Figure.