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They 'tried again' and won it all

Quiz Night earns almost $1,000 for literacy

Where do great things happen? Who knew that the “library after hours” could be the “where.”

Friday, May 6 saw the Agassiz Library Society: Friends of the Library 3rd Annual Quiz Night take place, and happen it did! Who knew fundraising could be so wild and crazy in downtown Agassiz? Filled to capacity, nine teams competed in the library for the title of “Know-It-All”, and this year the Try Again team took home the bragging rights. Yes, they have played before, but this time they pulled off a victory. Amid laughter, contesting of answers and many outstanding prizes, almost $1,000 was raised for The Literacy Project. This project is a plan that Agassiz Library is working on to have both technology, support and a place for those with literacy challenges to make improvements for themselves. What a night, and it is hoped that enough controversy was raised, enough fun was had that it is talked about right into next years event! Bravo, Agassiz for the commitment to your library.

As summer weather will be coming any minute (seemingly skipping spring!), our next plans at your library turn to our Summer Reading Clubs. There is the familiar club for kids from age preschool to teen, with Reader of the Week, contests, entertainment, and endless great reads for the youngsters available, but there is also the new’ish Adult Summer Reading Club. “Read for Luck” this year lets grownups earn some prizes or be an example to the young. Statistics show that children who read over the summer break loose less ground when they head back to school in September. Stats also show that homes in which the parents read show higher educational achievements for their kids. Agassiz Library has a few tricks up our sleeve to motivate and make this easy and fun.

Having said this, please do not wait until summer hits to grab something to read. There is a great collection of bestsellers always available, and there are gems in the stacks just waiting to have their bindings creased! You could make it a BC Books season, as there is a very interesting list of titles that were shortlisted for its seven coveted prizes from fiction, non-fiction, poetry and children’s books. Works from well known authors such as Jack Hodgin’s  and his “Master of Happy Endings” and Jack Whyte writing about “The Forest Laird: A Tale of William Wallace” (Yay, more Braveheart! ) or you could choose something quirky from the short-list such as “Recipes from the Red Planet” by Meredith Quartermain. Never neglect the non-fiction lists, as you can find such diverse titles as, “The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven” or if that seems a little too uppity, there is Grant Lawrence’s, “Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound”. To promote the whole lets-read attitude with your kids, try, “Fraser Bear: A Cubs Life” or “Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom”. Award short lists are a great way to pick a new author or a book with some cred, so ask at your library, we have the paperwork to help you.

And lest you think us stodgy, remember your library also has access to eBooks, free from our website just like audiobooks. If you have only been looking at this new piece of technology in your possession, or thinking of getting one, ask us, we are in the know, and have a workshop planned to help you learn to get reading, e-wise. Now get out there while the sky is blue, and see you soon in the stacks.