2011 Newbery and Caledecott Awards

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (ages 9- 12, Delacorte Press, 368 pp.) is the 2011 Newbery Medal winner. Manifest, Kansas, comes to life as plucky protagonist Abilene Tucker investigates a mysterious WWI correspondence The John Newbery Medal is awarded for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature.

The runners-up were: Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm.
Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus .
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen.
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead (ages 4-8, Roaring Brook Press, 32pp.) is the 2011 Caldecott Medal winner. The unselfish effort that Amos McGee has poured into the care of his zoo friends is lovingly reciprocated by these animals when Amos is feeling under the weather. The Caldecott Medal is awarded to the most distinguished picture book for children.

The runners-up were:
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave, illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill,
Interrupting Chicken, written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein, published by Candlewick Press.

Loughrea Library marks 10 years

Readers have taken home 366, 856 books from the Public Library in Loughrea since the facility opened in 2001. In the same period over 300,000 visitors have come through its doors.
The library usage figures were revealed on Thursday last, January 13th, when the Mayor of the County of Galway, Councillor Jimmy McClearn, visited the Loughrea Library to celebrate 10 years of library service from the refurbished Church building.

The Loughrea Librarian, Ann Callanan, who has led the library project from the beginning and under whose stewardship 366, 856 have been issued and returned since 2001, said the library has thousands of regular users whom she and her colleagues would like to thank for their support.
“But we must always look to the future, she said, and we always encourage new users. I would like all Loughrea residents or those working in the area to visit us and see the wide range of services we offer."

The Mayor, Councillor Jimmy McClearn thanked library staff members Sheila Reilly and Gretal Sullivan for their work and said that through their efforts the library was a cultural space, a place of education, a special place for children and a social space.
At the conclusion of the event, the County librarian thanked former staff members Elizabeth Keane, who now works in the Westside Library and Mary Cullinane, who is now retired.

The photograph details are: Seated is Anne Marie Callanan, Loughrea Librarian with the Mayor of the County of Galway, Councillor Jimmy McClearn. Standing, left to right are: Sheila Reilly, Library staff, Gretal Sullivan, Library staff, Maureen Moran, Senior Executive Librarian, Phil Bean Uí Chuimín, Canon Trevor Sullivan, Pat McMahon, County Librarian, Justin Mitchell and Claire Besnoye.

The Babel Lectures - 'Exploring the Book' - Galway City Library

The Babel Lectures -'Exploring the Book' continue in Galway City Library with Prof Paolo Bartoloni on Tuesday,25th January 2011 at 6.30pm. All are welcome and admission is free.

"Joyce’s Italian Book of Choice: Svevo’s Zeno’s Conscience"

James Joyce arrived in the city of Trieste with his wife Nora in 1904, at a time when Trieste was a vibrant hub of commerce and culture. It was in Trieste that, while teaching English, Joyce completed Dubliners and started jotting Ulysses. He loved Trieste’s multicultural melting pot, and indulged the company of local authors and businesspeople. Amongst them there was an industrialist by the name of Ettore Schmitz, who in his spare time, and under the pseudonym of Italo Svevo, wrote novels that nobody seemed to care about. Joyce admired Svevo’s third novel, La coscienza di Zeno ( Zeno’s Conscience), so much that he took upon himself to promote it. All of a sudden Svevo and his writing became a literary case, and La coscienza the masterpiece of Italian modernism. But why is it that Joyce, a person and a writer so apparently different from Schmitz/Svevo, chose to champion this book? What does a writer who chose self-imposed exile abroad, linguistic experimentation and multilingualism have in common with an author who aspired to the purity of language, and felt that real exile is at home? This talk will discuss these and other issues related to the peculiar history and life of Svevo’s Zeno’s Conscience.

Slovenian Poetry in Ballybane Library

Today, as part of the EC's ‘Communicating Europe Initiative’, Ballybane Public Library presents Slovenian poetry in translation with poet Yvonne Cullen. This is part of the project entitled 'Being Irish, Being European, Being Human' and involves placing works in translation by native writers of EU countries in selected libraries to promote public awareness of the literature and culture of countries within the EU.

Yvonne Cullen will be in Ballybane Library to present some Slovenian poetry in translation. The Slovenian poet Meta Kušar has written:

“I hear a soul crying poignantly outside the door, wanting to come in.” What world is it that the poetry of Meta Kušar and other Slovenian poets communicates? Meta Kušar writes about the self-regenerating power of life.
Yvonne Cullen promises a very interesting 40 minutes of the poetry of Slovenia. Please join us!

Eight years since Over The Edge was born in Galway City Library in January 2003.

Finnish Night in Galway City Library

In September, as part of the EC's ‘Communicating Europe Initiative’ Galway City Library hosted a Finnish literature and music evening. Our project was entitled 'Being Irish, Being European, Being Human' and involved placing works in translation by native writers of EU countries in selected libraries to promote public awareness of the literature and culture of countries within the EU.

As well as featuring poets and poetry from Finland, the Nordic group, Cafe Minor performed some fantastic Finnish folk music.

Wilson Web on Galwaylibrary.ie

Can’t get to the library?

On our website www.galwaylibrary.ie we provide access to WilsonWeb. This is an online database system that provides researchers and students with access to the contents of millions of articles published in a wide variety of periodicals.
If you have a Galway Public Library card, access it here