BC Book Prize Winners - We've Got Them!

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 BC Book Prizes, awarded this past Saturday, May 4th at a gala event at Government House in Victoria!
The Okanagan Regional Library has all of the winners on our shelves! Check these out:

Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize

Supported by Friesens and Webcom
Judges: Joy Gugeler, Theresa Kishkan, Andreas Schroeder

Winner! The World
by Bill Gaston
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Canada, Penguin Group Canada

A recently divorced, early retiree accidentally burns down his house on the day he pays off the mortgage, only to discover that he’s forgotten to pay his insurance premium. An old friend of his prepares for her suicide to end the pain of esophageal cancer. Her father ends his days in a Toronto facility for Alzheimer’s patients. The three are tied together by their bonds of affection and a book called The World, written by the old man in his youth. The book, possibly biographical, tells the story of a historian who unearths a cache of letters, written in Chinese, in an abandoned leper colony off the coast of Victoria. He and the young Chinese translator fall in love, only to betray each other in the cruellest way possible, each violating what the other reveres most. Bill Gaston is a Canadian novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. He teaches at the University of Victoria.

Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize

Supported by AbeBooks, Victoria Bindery and First Choice Books
Judges: Brian Lynch, Mark Stanton, Sylvia Taylor

Winner! The Art of the Impossible: Dave Barrett and the NDP in Power, 1972-1975
by Geoff Meggs, Rod Mickleburgh
Publisher: Harbour Publishing

From 1972-1975, Premier Dave Barrett and his team passed more legislation in a shorter time than any government before or since. A university or college student graduating today in BC may have been born years after Barrett’s defeat, but could attend a Barrett daycare, live on a farm in Barrett’s Agricultural Land Reserve, be rushed to hospital in a provincial ambulance created by Barrett’s government and attend college in a community institution founded by his government. The continuing polarization of BC politics also dates back to Barrett—the Fraser Institute and the right-wing economic policies it preaches are as much a legacy of the Barrett years as the ALR. Dave Barrett remains a unique and important figure in BC’s history, a symbol of how much can be achieved in government and a reminder of how quickly those achievements can be forgotten. Geoff Meggs is a Vancouver city councillor and a former communications director to Premier Glen Clark and Vancouver mayor Larry Campbell. Rod Mickleburgh is a senior writer for the Globe & Mail, based in Vancouver.

Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize

Supported by the BC Teachers’ Federation
Judges: Larissa Lai, Susan Musgrave, John Pass

Winner! Geographies of a Lover
by Sarah de Leeuw
Publisher: NeWest Press

Drawing inspiration from such works as Pauline Réage’s The Story of O and Marian Engel’s Bear, poet Sarah de Leeuw uses the varied landscape of Canada—from the forests of North Vancouver through the Rocky Mountains, the prairies, and all the way to the Maritimes—to map the highs and lows of an explicit and raw sexual journey, from earliest infatuation to insatiable obsession and beyond. Sarah de Leeuw is a human geographer. She has a PhD in historical-cultural geography, and is currently an Assistant Professor with the Northern Medical Program at UNBC, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize

Supported by Marquis
Judges: Sybil Harrison, Grant Lawrence, Sheryl MacKay

Winner! British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas
by Derek Hayes
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre

Over 900 maps tell the story of the planners, schemers, gold seekers and fur traders who built BC. When gold was discovered in quantity in 1858, leading to the gold rush that created BC, the interior of the province was mostly unknown except for the routes blazed by fur traders. Thirteen years later, BC became a province of Canada, and a transcontinental railway was built to connect the land west of the Rocky Mountains with the rest of the country. The efforts of these explorers, fur traders, gold seekers and railway builders involved the production of maps that showed what they had found and what they proposed to do—the plans and the strategies that created the province we know today. Master map historian Derek Hayes continues his renowned Historical Atlas Series with a richly rewarding treasure trove, bringing to light the dramatic history of BC. Derek Hayes, a geographer by training, has a passion for old maps and what they can reveal about the past. He lives in White Rock, BC.

Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize

Supported by the BC Library Association
Judges: Glen Huser, Sheryl McFarlane, Pam Withers

Winner! Middle of Nowhere
by Caroline Adderson
Publisher: Groundwood Books

When his mother doesn’t return from her all-night job at the local gas bar, Curtis must keep her absence a secret and look after himself and his five-year old brother, Artie. He knows exactly what will happen if any of the teachers find out the truth. He remembers his last foster home all too clearly. But when it all becomes too much for him to handle, Curtis and Artie befriend Mrs. Burt, the cranky, lonely old lady across the street. When the authorities start to investigate, Mrs. Burt and the boys abscond to her remote cabin by the lake. At the lake, the boys’ days are filled with wood-chopping, outhouse-building, fishing, swimming and Mrs. Burt’s wonderful cooking. But then the weather grows colder, and Mrs. Burt seems to be preparing to spend the winter at the cabin. Have they really all just absconded to the lake for a summer holiday? Or have the two boys been kidnapped? Caroline Adderson is the author of several award-winning books for adults and children. She lives in Vancouver, BC.

Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize

Supported by Ampersand Inc. and Kate Walker
Judges: Dianna Bonder, Marguerite Ruurs, Yukiko Tosa

Winner! Maggie’s Chopsticks
by Alan Woo
Illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant
Publisher: Kids Can Press

Poor Maggie struggles to master her chopsticks — it seems nearly everyone around the dinner table has something to say about the “right” way to hold them! But when Father reminds her not to worry about everyone else, Maggie finally gets a grip on an important lesson. Alan Woo was born in England and grew up in Vancouver. His work has been published in RicePaper magazine and Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine. Isabelle Malenfant lives and works in Montréal with her family. She loves the creation of characters and sensitive stories, which are sometimes funny, sometimes dark.

Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award

Supported by the BC Booksellers’ Association
Judged by members of the BC Booksellers' Association

Winner! Making Headlines: 100 Years of The Vancouver Sun
by Shelley Fralic, with research by Kate Bird
Publisher: The Vancouver Sun

This book is a celebration of The Vancouver Sun‘s first 100 years. It tells the story of Vancouver and the world through the eyes of a newspaper. Decade by decade, it provides fascinating stories from the sinking of the Titanic (just two months after its first issue), through wars, riots, parades, Royal visits and the Olympic Games. Filled with stunning images shot by The Sun‘s award winning photographers, it celebrates all that the newspaper has been, all that it is and all that it will continue to be as The Sun continues to offer all of us that first draft of history. Shelley Fralic has worked at The Vancouver Sun since 1979. After stints as the paper’s assistant features editor, projects editor and assistant managing editor, she was appointed executive editor in 1999. In 2003, she decided to return to her first love, writing. Today, she pens a Vancouver Sun column on social issues, pop culture and modern-day life.

Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence

2013 Jury: Brian Brett, author and 2012 recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence; Lynn Copeland, former Dean of Library Services at Simon Fraser University; and, Alma Lee, founder of the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival.

Winner! Lorna Crozier

“Lorna Crozier is a memoirist, professor, Officer of the Order of Canada, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. But first she is one of the finest poets writing today. Her poetry is praised for its ‘felicity of language, depth of feeling and compassionate and compelling vision.’ (Canadian Literature) She ‘glimpses the mystery of light at the heart of being.’ (Books in Canada)” – jury
Lorna Crozier has published 17 books of poetry, most recently The Book of Marvels: A Compendium of Everyday Things, named as one of The Globe’s Top 100 Books of 2012 and nominated for this year’s Pat Lowther Award for the best book of poetry by a Canadian woman. She has won this award twice before and has been the recipient of most of this country’s major literary prizes, including the Governor General’s Award, the Canadian Authors’ Association Award, the National Magazine’s Gold Medal for Poetry, the CBC national writing competition, and the 2009 Hubert Evan’s Award for BC’s best book of nonfiction for her memoir, Small Beneath the Sky. She was also named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 and was recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2009.
Beyond the writing awards, Lorna has been honoured for great distinction in both teaching and scholarly research in the academic community, receiving the University of Victoria’s 2004 Distinguished Professor’s Award. For her contribution to Canadian literature, she has received three honorary doctorates.
Since the beginning of her writing career, Lorna has been known for her inspired teaching and mentoring of other poets. Since 1991 she has been a beloved teacher of writing at the University of Victoria. She’s read for Queen Elizabeth and has performed her poems on every continent except Antarctica. In addition to selections of her work appearing in such languages as Chinese, Serbian, Italian and Portugese, a book of her poems in Spanish was published by a press in Mexico City. Another of her books was translated into French and published by Vermillon Press in Ottawa.
Her reputation as a generous and inspiring artist extends from her passion for the craft of poetry to her teaching and through to her involvement in various social causes. In addition to leading poetry workshops across the globe, Lorna has given benefit readings for numerous organizations such as the SPCA, the BC Land Conservancy, the Victoria READ Society, and PEERS, a group committed to helping prostitutes get off the street. A regular contributor to CBC radio, in 2011 she hosted a special edition on poverty for the show, “The Current.”
Margaret Laurence called her “a poet to be grateful for.” Books in Canada claimed “she is one of the most original poets writing in English today.” The Ottawa Citizen described her as “One of Canada’s most read and most honoured poets….[Crozier’s poems] become part of the reader’s permanent memory.” Of her selected poems, Ursula Le Guin wrote in The New York Times Book Review, “What a joy to have a volume of selected poems by this marvellous Canadian poet, storyteller, truth-teller, visionary.” Of her memoir, Sharon Butala wrote. “I found it deeply touching,” and the reviewer of her most recent collection, The Book of Marvels, in The Globe and Mail said that after reading this book, “From here on in, it will be impossible to be bored or take anything for granted ever again. And for that, we can ever be grateful to Lorna Crozier.”
More information about Lorna Crozier can be found on her website.

Winner! Sarah Ellis

“Sarah Ellis is one of the most illustrious and admired writers for children in Canada today. Her stories and novels are loved by young adults for their wit, intelligence, compassion, and generosity of spirit – characteristics she brings to interpersonal relationships whether in small groups or in her frequent public addresses. … (a) tireless contributor to the advocacy of the importance of children’s literature in Canada and internationally.” – jury
Born in Vancouver in 1952, Sarah Ellis is one of the most illustrious and admired writers for children in Canada today. As a child, she attended school in Vancouver and went on to study English and Library Studies at UBC, earning her Master’s Degree there. She continued her studies at Simmons College in Boston where she studied at the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature. She became a librarian at the Toronto Public Library, then the Vancouver Public Library and the North Vancouver District Library. During her many years as a librarian she developed her storytelling skills and puppetry. She now writes reviews and is a sought-after lecturer nationally and internationally on writing and on Canadian Children’s books.

Among her many awards, she received the first Sheila A. Egoff Award in 1987 for her first book, The Baby Project. She also won the Sheila A. Egoff Award in 1997 and again in 2007. She won the 1991 Governor General’s Award for children’s Literature for her novel, Pick-up Sticks. Out of the Blue won the IODE Violet Downey Book Award and the Mr. Christie Book Award. In 1995, she was awarded the Vicky Metcalf Award for a Body of Work and in 1999, she was asked to be the first Writer-in-Residence children’s author at Massey College at the University of Toronto. She was also a finalist for the Norma Fleck Award for her non-fiction book, The Young Writer’s Companion. In 2007, Sarah won the $20,000 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award for her novel, Odd Man Out. In 2012, she was the writer-in-residence at the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books in Toronto. This year she was one of two Canadian nominees for the international book prize, The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
Sarah has served on numerous boards and juries, internationally and locally, which include serving on the board of the Canadian Children’s Book Centre and Children’s Literature New England (current), as well as serving on juries for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Burt Award for Young Adult Literature, and various provincial book awards. Sarah also writes a book review column for Quill and Quire magazine and is a regular reviewer for The Hornbook.

Currently, Sarah travels widely, giving lectures on writing and children’s literature. She also teaches writing in a distance-education Master’s Degree program with Vermont College of Fine Arts while continuing to pursue her own writing in her home in Vancouver.
More information about Sarah Ellis can be found on her website.

Source: http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/winners/2013

The ORL and Oslo - a Genealogical Connection

Most of us know where we are and many have a vision for where they are going, but it is a wise person who knows where they are from. Perhaps this is why the study of genealogy, or the researching of one’s family tree, has become the most popular hobby worldwide.

Recently the ORL was able to cross boundaries of time and space to help Martin Langaas of Oslo, Norway, learn about his great-grandfather Karl Petterson who had settled in Enderby. Our local branch in Enderby, along with investigative work by the Vernon Branch Reference staff and Enderby Museum, were able to find out that Karl worked locally as a pole maker, and unearthed a copy of his obituary from 1965. We emailed this information to Martin so he could share with Karl’s 25+ direct descendants living in Norway.

The growth of information on the Internet and the ease of communication it brings have helped make genealogical research more efficient than ever before. Still it is not an easy task; many people might follow false leads or come up against a brick wall in their search. The Kelowna and District Genealogical Society (KDGS) is a group of volunteer genealogists that has entered into a partnership with the Kelowna Branch of the ORL to help newbies and experts alike with their quest for information. The partnership involves the KDGS collection of genealogical research materials being housed at the Kelowna Branch on Ellis Street, along with KDGS members providing one-on-one assistance for 8 hours/week and monthly educational seminars free to the public.   

The KDGS collection includes how-to guides, census records, local cemetery records and rare books to augment the ORL’s extensive collection of local records, genealogical research resources, free access to Ancestry.com, and a $25,000 microfilm reader/scanner/printer purchased with funds from the Kelowna Friends of the Library. By partnering, this creates a “one-stop-shop” for people wanting to learn about their family tree. For more information, check the Kelowna Branch page at www.orl.bc.ca/branches/kelowna for information on the “Genealogist in Residence” program or www.kdgs.ca for information about KDGS.

You never know what you'll discover....

Sometimes a library is more than a place where you pick up a good book or find a new resource. Sometimes it can teach you about life and connect you with people you never thought you’d ever meet.

Such was the case when 7-year-old Emma of Oliver won a book at her local library branch called “My Horse, My Passion” by Kenra Willis. Emma is a horse lover, so wining this title was a perfect fit for her. But Emma and her family discovered the story within those pages had much deeper meaning.

“My Horse, My Passion” was compiled by Kenra’s mother after Kenra died of cancer in 2003. Her mother, Val Willis, found the manuscript among Kenra’s things and discovered it was written when Kenra was only 11 years old. The book features tips about caring for and riding horses along with personal photographs and illustrations done by Kenra. It also highlights the deeply personal story of the bond between Kenra and her horse Ragtime.

Emma, an aspiring equestrian, was moved by the book and wanted to reach out to Kenra’s mother. Though many years and miles separated Kenra and Emma, a library book brought them together through their shared passion for horses. Emma’s mother wrote Val an email about their love of Kenra’s story, with this excerpt:

“It is really such a lovely story that touched our hearts….thank you so much for the book. What a lovely gift you have given. If anything I hope you receive this email and know that you have touched our lives with this book. Much appreciated.”

“My Horse, My Passion” is part of the ORL collection.

It's all about the people...

Our branches always have interesting stories to share about the people who visit the library, and why...

From Enderby:

"A customer who had been out collecting bottles with high school students came into the library and said "I need a quiet place! It's so noisy at the bottle depot where the kids are sorting glass. I just need a place to get away for a few minutes." He sat in our comfy chair with his head back for 10 minutes, and then said he felt much better. Another way to use the library!"

In Peachland:

"One of our customers visited the library every day while studying an online course to be a security guard. Then we were able to proctor the exam in the branch, and now he has a full-time with a security company! Add employment centre to our uses."

In Revelstoke:

"Our oldest customer is 102 years old, and she still comes into the library every week to pick up her taped books (as she is print disabled). She still lives in her own apartment - what an example for us all!"

And in Vernon, where they were able to help honour a former customer:

"One of our informal branch mascots - our three paper mache penguins - was borrowed by a customer to use in a memorial service as the deceased loved penguins. We are a lending library after all!"

Do you have any stories about the special people at the library?

The story of a new book at the ORL

Have you ever wondered how the regional library system operates? Where do all the books and materials come from, how are they shipped between all the branches, and who deals with the hundreds of thousands of materials added to the collection each year?

The ORL Administration Centre on KLO Road in Kelowna acts as the central hub for the library system. This is where the Acquisitions team works to order new items and unpacks them as they arrive. Every item goes through Cataloguing and Processing to be added to the online catalogue, barcoded, stamped and labelled, and perhaps wrapped for protection. The Allocations team then distributes, and redistributes, and continues to redistribute items to the branches as requests are placed. Vans pick up boxes of books, movies and more nine times per week to deliver them to a branch near you.

The Adminstration Centre also has offices for financial accounting, human resources, and computer services, as well as the servers which run the online catalogue and manage Internet at hundreds of staff and public use computers throughout the ORL region. For a peek into these inner workings of the ORL’s hub, check out this Administration Centre virtual tour.

Dewey or Don't We?

Any avid library user is familiar with Melvil Dewey’s legacy – the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) he created in 1876. If you’ve searched for non-fiction at the ORL, chances are you have used mini pencils to write down a string of seemingly irrelevant numbers onto a little piece of paper in order to find exactly what you were looking for.

What you may not be aware of is that the system has undergone 23 major revisions over the past century and a half, with the latest version just released this month. The ORL Cataloguing Department will begin using this updated version to catalogue newly received library materials starting in July. Re-coding all affected materials currently on the shelves is not financially feasible, so you will still find the 1987 “A Weaver’s Garden” under 746.1.

In honour of the new DDC, our Technical Services Coordinator has compiled a Q & A about Dewey and the system. Here is all (and maybe more) than you ever wanted to know about the DDC:

What is the Dewey Decimal  Classification system (DDC)?

It is a system for organizing knowledge.  Dewey numbers are expressed in Arabic numerals, and are organized under ten main fields of study (also known as ‘disciplines’).

How is the Dewey Decimal Classification system organized?

There are ten main areas:

000         Computer science, information and general knowledge

100         Philosophy and psychology

200         Religion

300         Social and political sciences, and economics

400         Language and languages

500         Science and mathematics

600         Technology and applied sciences

700         Arts, sports and recreation

800         Literature

900         Geography, history and travel

Why can a topic appear in more than one Dewey area?

The cataloguing of an item depends on which area of knowledge is considered most important.  For example, one book on “clothing” could emphasize clothing customs (391); another book could be about learning to sew clothing at home (646.2), while a third book might focus on fashion design (746.92). Each book is catalogued according to the class of knowledge that best describes the book.

Why do Dewey numbers change?

Dewey numbers change in order to keep pace with advances in knowledge, and to include new fields of study.  Major changes are made every few years when a new edition of the Dewey Decimal System is released.  Smaller changes are integrated into regular updates made to the online version of Dewey.  For example, the new edition of Dewey has new numbers for “smart phones”, “West Nile fever” and “bullying”, all areas of knowledge where new developments have emerged in recent years.

Why can’t the ORL keep using old numbers so we don’t have books on the same topic in two different places on our shelves?

The Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) is used in over 138 countries to create cataloguing records for all types of materials in all subject areas.  Our library uses the most up-to-date cataloguing information possible in order to keep our library collection current.  We also add cataloguing records from other sources which also use the latest information.  We do not, unfortunately, have the staff resources to call in older books every time a Dewey number is changed.     If we did this, we would not have enough staff time to catalogue all the new materials that arrive at HQ each day.

TOPICS WITH NEW OR EXPANDED DEWEY NUMBERS

·         Hand-held computing devices, cloud computing, and multimedia software

·         Self-help groups, homeless persons, elder abuse, and bullying

·         Qi gong, taekwondo, ringette, and water polo

·         Mathematics, portable buildings, and solar energy in architecture  

 TOPICS WITH EXTENSIVE UPDATES OR CHANGES

·         Developmental psychology, Orthodox churches, Islam

·         Criminal offenses, political ideologies and parties, European Union

·         Education, secret societies, medicine

·         Landscape architecture, graphic arts, and cinematography

The Joys of "Holds"

Thanks to a customer for sending this short story:

It was the Friday morning before the long weekend, and I got an email from the ORL informing me that I had holds to pick up: one feature film, five music CDs, and a novel. My entertainment for the weekend was set, all at one stop and all for free!

Using the holds system is truly one of the joys of the library. I can browse the catalogue looking up titles, authors, and musicians that I like, and with a mouse-click I can request these items be brought to a branch near me. Amazing! Some items don't have waitlists and some require a little (or a lot!) of patience, but eventually they all find their way to me. And when I get that email that my holds are in, it's always like discovering a little treasure.

If I'm going away, or concerned about too many things coming to me at once, I use the "suspend" option. By clicking "Suspend my holds until..." and entering a future date, I hold my place in the queue for that item until I'm ready for it. Brilliant!

Thank you, ORL!