Bookmarks and biscuits.

As we continue our preparations for the move to our lovely new building, we've been reflecting on our favourite memories of Stromness Library, and we would love to hear yours. 

Perhaps you remember coming to the library as a child and have memories of previous librarians, or you visited us while you were in Stromness on holiday. We would love to hear your stories, memories, favourite books and encounters with the library cats. 

Do please get in touch, either through the comments below or by dropping us an email. We are gathering all these stories from and about the library for our New Chapter exhibition which will celebrate the history of the library in Stromness when we move to the new building. We want to capture as many stories as we can from the most important part of any library - you, the people who visit it. 

Over the years we have worked here there have been many memorable moments, some funny, some sad, and some unrepeatable! 

Today we were recalling the many items we have found inside returned books. Along with the more predictable discoveries of bookmarks, letters, bills and the like, we can reveal that we once opened a book to discover a custard cream biscuit between the pages. Whether this had been inserted as makeshift book mark, or left behind by accident during a particularly exciting reading-while-biscuit-eating-session, we will never know. 

When we mentioned our find to a colleague in Kirkwall library, he claimed to have once come across a rasher of streaky bacon being used as a book mark. While we were unable to verify this claim, we would strongly discourage our readers from reading while eating a fried breakfast  - just in case.

If you are in need of a bookmark we have lots here to choose from, including our very own Orkney library bookmarks -  save the custard creams to go with your cup of tea!

Knitty Knit - for now!

Monday saw the last Yap and Yarn session of the season in Stromness Library -  the final session in Kirkwall library will take place next Monday (25th March). We marked the event with home baked biscuits, and we finally remembered to to take some photos of some of the projects members of the group have been working on over the weeks.

Yap and Yarn will start again in October, but in the meantime there is no need for woolly withdrawal symptoms, as you can still join our Facebook Group and pop in for a virtual yap and yarn (biscuits unfortunately will be virtual too - think of them as diet versions).

We would love to see your photos and hear how your projects are progressing, there will always be someone who can offer advice, tips or encouragement; who will understand your dilemmas over yarn or pattern choices;  and who will share your sense of triumph when you finally master that tricky new technique or complete that seemingly-never-ending project.

And for all the non-yarn-obsessed, you can enjoy a break from wool related posts - at least until the autumn ;-)

Readers and Books

We were delighted to welcome Orkney Library's Scottish Book Trust Reader in Residence, Alison Miller, to Stromness Library for a visit this week. Over coffee and biscuits we talked about the different kinds of reading experiences library users are looking for, and have hatched plans for possible new reading promotions -  so watch this space!

Alison Miller

Alison has started her own blog about her residency, and we would highly recommend adding it to your reading list, to keep up with all her news and insights into reading, books, and the authors who write them.

You can also keep up with Alison through her Twitter and Facebook accounts  - she is very keen to hear folk's thoughts on Libraries, books and reading, so do drop by and say hello.

While we are on the subject of Libraries and social media we will be in trouble if we don't remind you that the (in)famous OrkneyLibrary twitterer has been nominated in a number of  categories of the  GoldenTwit awards.

You have until 28th November to vote for OrkneyLibrary in the Information Service, Humour, Public Service and Customer Service categories; the shortlists will then be announced on 3rd December, when voting will commence in earnest with the winners being announced on 14th December. Needless to say we have everything crossed in anticipation, and celebratory/commiseratory biscuits at the ready.

Orkney Digital Library

We may be the oldest library in Scotland, but Orkney Library and Archive has never been afraid to embrace modern ideas, and use technology to overcome the challenges of delivering a first rate library services to all its members accross the islands.

So it was only a matter of time before we found a way to offer our readers the latest way of accessing books via digital downloads of ebooks and audiobooks. Now you  browse our online digital catalogue from the comfort of your armchair and use your library card to download your choice of ebook or audiobook onto your computer -  from which you can transfer it to a variety of mobile devices, including iPods, iPads and e-readers.

Now that really is a Home Library Service when you can choose your books wearing your pyjamas with a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit in hand!

Happy New Year!

Well that's us back. The last of the tinsel is packed away in the attic and GMB has had to give up his santa hat. The Christmas books are back in reserve and we are all set for another year of books, blogging and maybe the odd biscuit.

For those of you who, like us, may have indulged in rather too many biscuits and other festive fayre over the holidays we have set up a New Year, New You! display. With lots of books on diet, exercise and relaxation, there will be no excuse for breaking those New Year's Resolutions. Judging by the weather at the moment we may shortly be able to get our exercise by swimming to work.

Quick pass the biscuits!

Reading Group

Once a month, on the very last Wednesday to be precise, a group of intrepid readers meet to discuss a different literary delight which they have all read - and sometimes even enjoyed! We are a small and friendly group who enjoy a wide and varied diet of fiction, both contemporary and classical, non-fiction and even the odd helping of poetry - all washed down with steaming mugs of tea or coffee (sometimes there are even biscuits on special occasions). This month we will be discussing Love on the Dole by Walter Greenwood, and will meet tomorrow night, Wednesday 24th November at 7pm. We are always delighted to have new members so do come along and join us - we are currently compiling our list of titles for next year so if there's a book you've always wanted to share your love for, or find an excuse to get around to reading, then now is your chance.

Published in 1933  Love on the Dole is a classic novel of working class poverty in northern England in the nineteen thirties, drawn from the author's own experiences, as the introduction to the Vintage Classics edition tells us that Greenwood himself never earned 'more than thirty-five shillings a week' and 'was on the "dole" at least three times'. In keeping with the theme of the novel and the current state of the nation we can confirm that there will definitely be no biscuits at this meeting - we would kindly request that those who borrowed the library copies of the book refrain from pawning them, as we would really like them back please (though you may be forgiven if you buy biscuits with the proceeds, but only if you share!).