Please join us at Orange City Library Monday 28 September 2009, from 10.10am for fantastic morning of new things to learn followed by a sausage sizzle to celebrate Adult Learners Week.

First there will be an official welcome & hear about the experience of adult learners ... then Join in with Information sessions including: 10.30 – 11.30am - Making a will and power of attorney and from 11.45am • Making your own worm farm • Learning opportunities for adults • How to use a digital camera • Using online government and banking • Restoring and preserving photographs • Have you thought about becoming a writer? • Making a porcelain doll. These are drop in sessions and run all morning. Stay and enjoy some lunch, tea & coffee. It all finishes around 1pm. The event is free but bookings are essential by telephoning 6393 8132. See you there.

Yes it's the Wrap with Love ABC KNIT IN Cowra Library on Wednesday 29th July 2009. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided by the Friends of the Cowra Library. The KNIT IN is a fantastic community event supporting the organisation Wrap With Love, which creates colourful warm wraps for communities in need around the world. We need you to knit squares (25cm x 25cm or 10 by 10 inch) 8 pusing 8-ply yarn and size 8 (4mm) needles (approximately 50-55 stitches). If you have spare 8 ply yarn, are handy with a pair of knitting needles, a crochet hook or you have always wanted to learn how to knit, please join in our efforts to create a record amount of squares and wraps in 2009. Check out the Wrap With Love website http://www.artsandcraftsnsw.com.au/Wrap.htm. For more information please contact Marion or Carol at Cowra Library on 6340 2180. You can also drop off your knitted squares and wraps to any Central West Libraries branch.

Did you know that alcohol is the most widely used drug in Australia? That alcohol kills more Australians under the age of 35 than any other drug? or, that the annual cost of alcohol-related absenteeism to the Australian economy is 7.5 million working days? This week is national Drug Action Week, we are highlighting our drug info @ your library resources. Drug info @ your library, a partnership between the State Library of NSW and NSW Health, provides access to the latest and most reliable information about alcohol and other drugs through a dedicated website www.druginfo.sl.nsw.gov.au and maintains, throughout NSW Public Libraries, collections of drug and alcohol books, pamphlets and fact sheets, designed to raise awareness of the harm caused by misuse and the enormous cost to the community. In keeping with the Drug Action Week theme - Alcohol is a drug TOO! - the Library's display focuses on safe alcohol consumption and safe drinking practices. Come in and check it out.

And the winners of the World Environment Day Community Arts Competition are Primary – Freya Hawke; Primary – Elizabeth Bilton – Highly Commended; Primary Group – Orange Public School 6J (Penguins - see picture); Primary Group – Orange Public School 3N – Highly Commended; Secondary – Ayla Manwaring; Adult – Stephen Nugent and Adult – Yvette Black – Highly Commended. Entries were judged by Orange Art Gallery Director Alan Sisley and Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry. The competition is an initiative of ECCO (Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange) and Orange City Council. Come and see all the entries on display at Orange City Library for the next week. There are landscapes, poems, stories, a globe, robots, collages, drawings and lots of recycled materials put to artistic use. Freya Hawke was excited to learn she had won for her work called Environmental Helpers. She demonstrated how it works and the environmental tip I received was "to help save petrol walk or ride instead of taking the car". I think I can do that. And a tip from the Library is to splurge $1 on a Library Bag and you'll never have to use a plastic bag again.

The theme is Your Planet Needs You! Why? How? Where? for the inaugural World Environment Day Orange Community Arts Competition - a joint initiative of Ecologically Concerned Citizens of Orange (ECCO) and Orange City Council. A reminder that entries are due in by 5pm Wednesday 3 June at Orange City Library. A wide range of art mediums are invited including painting, photography, poster art, calligraphy, collage or sculpture. It is a chance to use art to engage the community and talk about environmental issues. For more information call Nick King from ECCO on 6362 6827. Entries must address the theme and prizes are sponsored by ECCO and Book City. Good Luck!

Now in its ninth successful year National Simultaneous Story time took place on Wednesday morning at the Cowra Library(and across Australia) with a crowd of 80 enthusiastic pre-schoolers who had made the long trip from two of the local child care centres. As they patiently awaited the guest reader for the day - newly appointed Library Ambassador, Bruce Miller, they were entertained by silly sheep stories like Steve Smallmann's The lamb who came to Dinner and Mem Fox's Where is the green Sheep? Obviously favourites, the crowd wriggled and chattered until finally Bruce emerged at 11am to read Pete the Sheep by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley. Libraries across Australia reverberated with baas and giggles as the story unfolded of Shaun the shearer who doesn't have a sheep dog but he does have Pete- one amazing sheep that does things a little differently....

Many thanks must go to the teachers who bravely read to such a big gathering and to Bruce (pictured) for wearing his farmer's hat and putting on some amazing facial expressions.

The books read out loud on the day and a collection of Jackie French's best reads are all available for loan at the Library. So if you are in need of good laughs for all ages come on in and borrow a great read or two.

All together now - say Baa. Join in with thousands of people at more than 850 locations around Australia at 11am on Wednesday 27 May for a simultaneous read of Pete the Sheep written by Jackie French. It is a wonderful story of Shaun the shearer and his sheep Pete. Come along to Cowra, Manildra, Molong and Orange branches for the reading and craft time. Read more about it in the Central Western Daily: http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/news/local/news/general/flocking-to-read-pete-the-sheep/1522828.aspx

Orange City Library began Australian Library and Information Week with a live broadcast by ABC Central West Radio. Morning Show host Janice McGilchrist set up residence at the Homework Help Desk and interviewed Central West Libraries Manager and ALIA President, Jan Richards on the valuable role libraries play in our communities, Technical Services Librarian Ros Dorsman about Internet and email classes, Reading and Writing Coordinator Jasmine Vidler about how to write a book review, Local Studies Librarian Peter Douglass on the local studies collection and popularity of family history research and Orange City Librarian Elizabeth Barry discussed Storytime. It was a fantastic opportunity to highlight Central West Libraries services and talk about this year's theme: Libraries - your passport to discovery. Patrons visiting the Library were curious to see what went on behind the scenes of an on-air radio program and many received ABC stickers and magazines. It was also a learning experience for the Library team to be radio "stars" for a little while. Pictured is Morning Show host Janice McGilchrist interviewing Jan Richards.

Nothing in the Library world is bigger than Australian Library and Information Week (25 - 31 May) and Orange City Library is celebrating with a live broadcast by ABC's Local Radio team from 10am - 11am. Morning Show host Janice McGilchrist is taking up residence at the homework help desk surrounded by books, magazines, newspapers, dvds, audio books and computers to see what really goes on in a busy regional library and who's who behind the scenes. So come along and check it out or tune your radio dial to 549 AM for all the latest in the world of libraries.

Anna, Julia and Emily (pictured) had fun making cards at Orange City Library. Mums like Monica Sood with her daughter Sanjana (pictured), aunts and sisters, cousins and family friends will be receiving some pretty fancy cards made at the recent card making @ your library holiday activities. Glitter, images, drawings and a lot of artistic talent were on show during the crafty afternoons. Orange Children's Librarian Lisa was thrilled with the attendance as well as their enthusiasm for making cards to give to someone special. Well Done! And here are some more of the fantastic card designs. Just fabulous!