On Saturday, February 11, the Kettle and Stony Point First Nations Library held a special event to launch First Nations Libraries Week and celebrate a re-opening of the library.

The UWO chapter of LWB started a partnership with the Kettle and Stony Point First Nations Public Library in 2009, after Patty Lawlor, the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) First Nations Consultant, and Beverly Bressette, the CEO of the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Library, participated in a Speaker Series event at UWO. Past projects the UWO chapter of LWB has accomplished in collaboration with the library have included:

Kettle and Stony Point First Nations Public Library, November 2011

• Fund-raising for and purchasing books to build the collection
• Fund-raising for and purchasing a sign for the library building
• Developing and implementing a pilot program called "Facebook for Seniors". 

Members of LWB travelled to the library three times in November and December 2011to assist with cataloguing and speed the transition to a searchable online catalogue that better serves patrons and allows for inter-library loans with other locations within the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS). The library has been open with reduced hours and services over the past months, due to the large amount of work cataloguing new materials and some renovations, including the addition of new furniture and window coverings to make the space more attractive and comfortable. Yet another measure to welcome visitors will be establishing an area to get coffee and read local newspapers or magazines. The re-opening this past Saturday was planned to attract new community members to the library. Due to poor road conditions, LWB members were unable to make the planned trip and bring with them books for the library as well as bookends. They had also planned to participate in book talks, create book displays and catalogue new books that they had brought.

Danielle (Co-chair Winter 2012) in the children's section of the library

LWB members will be rescheduling the trip to the Kettle and Stony Point library, weather permitting, to deliver books and bookends and to help finish cataloguing the collection. Future projects being discussed with Beverly Bressette include programming to reach young adults in the community and programs to help community members learn how to search for information on the Internet.

If you are interested in contributing to this or other projects, please visit the Librarians Without Borders website to make a donation.

That's right, pre-sales for the UWO LWB Calendar will start tomorrow November 7th!

Calendars are only $15 each and will be sold outside of the GRC all November from 12-1:30.

Calendars will be available (pending a massive snowfall or other unforeseeable event) by the week of December 4th 2011.

The calendar will feature some of your favorite UWO classmates, staff and faculty. Don't miss out!

Last week we had a very successful book sale and raffle. Stay tuned for more sales and raffles for the remainder of term!

We are currently focusing our fundraising efforts to raise funds for our partnership with the Austurias Academy in Guatemala and have a lot of fun things coming up from now until the end of term to help us with this project.