Free Christmas movie night

The Muppet
Christmas Carol
Kermit, Miss Piggy and the rest of the Muppet cast do their take on the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Of course, it's a lot funnier that the book.

When: Thursday, 10 December at 6:30 pm
Where: Frankston Library Long Room
Bookings: 9784 1020

harps

Where's the Fast Fiction?

Frankston's
Fast Fiction
selection is now residing in front of the Non-Fiction collection.

With Fast Fiction, you can find a selection of adult fiction books grouped by genre; things like romance, fantasy and horror.

harps

Crossing live to Japan

Sister city video chat
Frankston's sister city is Susono in Japan, and this Sunday we'll cross live to an Australian Fair in Susono via a video link in the Frankston Library's Community Room 2 (aka, The Long Room, on the ground floor).

You'll be able to observe the activities in Japan and communicate with the locals. In turn, the folk from Susono can find out a bit about Frankston.

When: 1 to 3:00 pm, 1 November
Where: Frankston Library Long Room

harps

A challenging title

The longest title?
While wandering through the web I happened to come across the longest and possibly most ridiculous book title I have ever seen:

History of the Great Rebellion. From its commencement to its close, giving an account of its origin, The Secession of the Southern States, and the Formation of the Confederate Government, the concentration of the Military and Financial resources of the federal government, the development of its vast power, the raising, organizing, and equipping of the contending armies and navies; lucid, vivid, and accurate descriptions of battles and bombardments, sieges and surrender of forts, captured batteries, etc., etc.; the immense financial resources and comprehensive measures of the government, the enthusiasm and patriotic contributions of the people, together with sketches of the lives of all the eminent statesmen and military and naval commanders, with a full and complete index. From Official Sources.
By Thomas P. Kettell

If you're having trouble believing that someone could actually do that, here it is on Google Books.
I wish to issue a challenge to all comers to outdo me and find a more long-winded title (or subtitle, as the case may be). Please leave your contenders in the comments section, preferably with a link to the source.

The prize?

Er...

Well, bragging rights are good, right?

Scott

Libraries closed Melbourne Cup Day

In celebration of equine immortality
Frankston and
Carrum Downs Libraries
will be closed on
Melbourne Cup Day
Tuesday, 3 November

The returns chutes at Frankston will close at
9pm on Monday, 2 November
and re-open at 9am on Wednesday, 4 November.
.
Returns at Carrum Downs will cease on
Monday, 2 November when the library closes at 6pm
and will resume at 11am, Wednesday, 4 November.

harps

Mamma Mia! screening

Great songs
ordinary singing
in the Long Room
Be a dancing queen at a special screening of the sing-a-long favourite, Mama Mia! (Rated PG). Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan let rip with karaoke precision in this feel good comedy musical that's peppered with hits from '70s mega group, ABBA.

.

Entry: free
Fresh popcorn: $2
Where: Frankston Library's Long Room
When: Thursday, 22 October 2009 at 6:00pm
.

harps

Back to the future

Celebrating Mechanics Institutes
It's History Week 2009 and we've just launched the Frankston residency of a travelling display on the history of the Mechanics Institutes of Victoria. The display features pictures and stories from around the state, with a special emphasis on Frankston's own Mechanics Institute.


Mechanics Institutes were (and still are in some places) the local home of what we would now call lifelong learning. Many became public libraries and Frankston's first free library was established in 1880 with 300 books at the Mechanics Institute on Nepean Highway. They were also places for classes, meetings and debate, which is the kind of thing public libraries are now catching up on.

The display is in and near the Long Room at Frankston Library until the end of the first week of November.

harps

yourtutor afternoon tea

Margaret and Glenn invite you
In the frame is our yourtutor top 15 national e-learner leader award. In the box is afternoon tea.

To help us celebrate the former, we invite you to share with us the latter.

yourtutor is our online homework help service, connecting students up to year 12 with tutors between the hours of 4 and 8:00pm, Monday to Friday.

When: Friday, 23 October, 4 - 4:30 pm
Where: Frankston Library Long Room
.
harps

It's the end of the world as we know it?

There is the theory...
The story goes that the Maya Long Count calendar ends on or about 12 December, 2012 (fortunately, after the London Olympics). Some people see great doom, gloom and planet ending dread in this. Others, a little more optimistically, see it as the dawn of the New Age. Skeptics reckon on it being a non-event, like the time that Adelaide sneakily survived an earthquake and tsunami prediction back in the 1976.

Anyway, in the tradition of Irwin Allen, comes the 2012 disaster movie, out soon (the producers obviously want to make their money on it well before the due date). It makes for a cool trailer.

We have numerous books on the whole 2012 thing; some are fiction and others, well, we'll see.

harps

September 09 customer feedback

I'm excited!
It's my favourite blogging time of the month. It's when we get to read what really cheeses our library customers off, what turns them on and how our Library management team respond to the hot button issues. Sometimes it's feisty, but there's also plenty of nice stuff: we are good!

.

So, if you dare, here's the September 2009 customer feedback for Frankston and Carrum Downs for your reading pleasure.

harps

Playback feedback

On Friday night,

something special happened
in the library.

Regina said:
It was wonderful to have Playback Theatre in my community...
it touched me deeply;
cheering for a woman on morphine patches (surprise!),
belly laughing, wonder, joy, comedy,
who we really are.
Thank you.

Jess said:
I had a disappointing day
and it put a smile on my face :)

.

We hope to play guest to the
Melbourne Playback Theatre
again.

.
Libraries change lives.

.

harps

Library TV special report: We have great coffee!

harps

The 2009 Noble Prize for Literature

Goes to Herta Müller
A German speaking Romania whose father was mixed up with some dubious stuff back when (and whose mother spent 5 years in a labour camp with the winners), Herta understandably has been awarded for her writing about "the landscape of the dispossessed" and having done so with "the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose". Maybe concentration is a poorly chosen word.

Herta's work has been translated into English and we currently have one, The Land of Green Plums, currently circulating.

On a lighter note, you might have a bit of fun with the official Noble Prize in Literature games page!

harps

Printing upgrade this week

No PCs, printing or copying
this Wednesday and Thursday
at Frankston and Carrum Downs
Due to upgrade work on the Library's printing and photocopying system, there will be no public computer access, no printing and no photocopying available at the Frankston and Carrum Downs Libraries Wednesday, 14 and Thursday, 15 October.

Wifi access at Frankston will still be available, as will PC access, printing and copying at the Seaford and Langwarrin customer service centres.

The new system will be more convenient, enabling access to print jobs from a touch screen/card swipe unit located at each copier.

harps

What Frankston's new desk is about

.

harps

Suspended by blue balloons at your library

In recognition of Anxiety and Depression Awareness month.

.

harps

October's live music

Live in the Library Lounge
at Frankston
Sunday, 11 October, 1:30-3:00pm
One of Frankston's favourite buskers, Eric Parker, returns for an encore performance!

Sunday, 25 October, 1:30-3:00pm
Members of the Mornington CEF Players sing hits from the fifties and sixties featured in the jukebox musical Return to the Forbidden Planet, inspired by the classic sci-fi flick Forbidden Planet, itself based on Shakespeare's play The Tempest! Super.

harps

Planned website and catalogue outage

Offline for service
As the Council's Information Services team do some systems maintenance, the Library's website and catalogue will be unavailable Friday 9th October from 6:00pm for about 2 hours.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

harps

You've read The Secret

Now here's the how to!

Yvonne Teoh Bource has written The Secret of Life as an easy to use, practical guide to living life at its best. The Secret of Life is filled with suggestions and exercises which are aimed at taking control of your thoughts, directing you towards a more fulfilling, healthy and joyful life.

.

You can hear Yvonne share her special knowledge in the Library Lounge at Frankston as part of our free speakers program.

.

When: Thursday, 29 October at 6:30pm
Bookings: phone 9784 1020

.

harps

He's charming, handsome, can sing...

.

has some something to say
(and our Sam loves him).

.

Of course, we have some of his stuff.

.

harps

Man Booker Prize winner 2009

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The winner of this year's prestigious Man Booker Prize for fine fiction is Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. No wonder Library Thing's reviewers have given it a collective 4.5 stars out of five!

Set in 16th century Tudor England, the novel delves into the turbulent world of high stakes political and theological intrigue surrounding King Henry VIII, although the central character is the wily reformer, Thomas Cromwell. It's been highly prize for its tight writing (over 653 pages) and vivid characters.

harps

Libraries closed Tuesday 6 October

The Frankston and Carrum Downs libraries will be closed
all day, Tuesday 6 October
for team training.

.

The returns chutes will be locked
from close of business on Monday, 5 October
and will re-open when as we re-open on Wednesday, 7 October.

.

Library express will also be closed.

.

Returns, computer and photocopy services will still be available at the
Langwarrin and Seaford Council customer service outlets
between 9am and 5pm.

.

harps

You are invited to join

Frankston Blogs
An initiative of the White Street Project and social media artist Alex Gibson, Frankston Blogs aims to create a temporary online community of diverse people who live or work in Frankston. The project is about sharing experiences, as residents of a local community, though the medium of blogging; public space, web space and visions for Frankston.

Alex is looking for up to 7 participants for this exciting 6 week project. If this sounds fun and interesting and you've got a bit of a handle on blogging, please feel free to apply to become a Frankston Blogger.

harps

Digital Fringe here

Art on the big screen
Digital Fringe puts short art films on plasmas and LCDs across the world and is currently playing on the big screen at the Frankston Library.

Simply stand in awe for a few minutes or take a seat, look up, get a crick in your neck and be mesmerised. It's a visual happening.

harps