Are you wanting to learn more about the world but not wanting to crack a book or 'Google it'? Looking for inspiration, information, and entertainment? Come and have a look at the Lillooet Public Library non-fiction DVD collection. This is where you can find documentaries, true stories, musical performances and various educational productions. Top titles recently include such bird-brained fare as 'My Life as a Turkey' and 'Parrots on Telegraph Hill'. Other recent additions include:
"L'il'wata," a collection of first-person accounts of residential school life, ancestral puberty rites, and traditional economic practices, filmed in the early 1970s,
"Cave of Forgotten Dreams," a breathtaking new documentary from Werner Herzog, which follows an exclusive expedition into the nearly inaccessible Chauvet Cave in France, home to the most ancient visual art known to have been created by man, and
"Optimizing Brain Fitness," which explores how your brain works and changes, how to care for and feed it, how to enhance your memory and much more. Great stuff for those of us past 45, which is when the medical experts claim our brain function begins its long, slow decline.
To make things easier to find, we have divided the DVD display area, giving BBC and HBO TV shows and movies based on books their own sections. You can also use the search computer in the library to look for new additions or search for specific titles or subjects.
Last week I was lucky enough to attend the BC Libraries conference in Richmond. It was inspiring to spend time with so many people who love libraries and see them as the 'living room' for their communities. One session that I attended was called "Not seeing yourself: Exclusion of LGBTQ Protagonists in YA Publishing,” or as I would put it, “Why is there so little queer literature for teens in the collection?”
We were given an interesting look at trends and changes in stories over the past 35 years. In the 1970s and 80s, it was standard for homosexual characters to be killed off or suffer great tragedy before the story ended. Recent stories reflect the reality that homosexual or transgendered youth are living through the same self discovery and growing pains as all young characters do, with the added dimension of how, when and with who to share information about sexual orientation or gender identity. Participating in this session made me determined to make sure our collection better reflected the realities of our youth with good stories we could all enjoy and learn from.
An important theme at the conference was how libraries have always been agents of change and centres for community development. Where else can citizens find all the information and resources they need for self-directed learning, or discover more about business, employment or learning opportunities, health and environment issues, child raising or life planning?
We have resources to help you organize community action, learn to produce and preserve your own food, build a cabin or a relationship. The library is full of stories that can guide and inform us, while they amuse and touch us. All for free. Stretch your mind and your budget, come in and check it out.
