We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Thought you might like a look at our Christmas tree - not quite as impressive as the one at the Pierhead, but it does add a cheery seasonal glow to the issue desk.

We close at 3pm today, Christmas Eve, for our festive break and open again at 2pm on Wednesday 5th January 2011 - by which time we expect to have eaten many a mince pie, worn the odd paper hat and hopefully found time to curl up by the fire with a good book, or two!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year from the staff at Stromness Library.

Good news...and not so good news...

The good news first ... we finally made it in through the snow and ice (no huskies required) so you, dear readers, will find us ready and waiting to supply you with all the books you might need for the holidays.

This would be a good opportunity to remind you of our festive opening arrangements:- on Christmas Eve we will be opening at the earlier time of 12 noon until 3pm, we will then be closed until Wednesday 5th January 2011 when we will open at our usual time of 2pm-7pm.

Now the not so good news ... due to the weather conditions the Reading Group's Christmas meeting, which should have gone ahead tomorrow evening (Wednesday 22nd December),  has been cancelled. But do not worry, you will still get a chance to discuss The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler at our next meeting on Wednesday 26th January and we promise to save some mince pies and mulled wine too.

Snow sorry

We are sorry to say that the Stromness Library will be closed today (Friday 17th) and tomorrow (Saturday 18th) as we are all stuck in the snow and can't make it in to work.

Many apologies for this disruption to our usual service, we will endeavour to dig our way to the library as soon as possible - maybe we need a library sled and husky team!

Remembering Bubbles

As some of you may know we recently lost one of our regular visitors in tragic circumstances, when Bubbles the cat was hit by a car as she crossed the road from her home to the library.

Bubbles was waiting at the door most days at opening time and was never happier than when she found a welcoming lap to curl up in for a bit of a stroke and a quick nap. In the absence of a suitable human cushion she would make herself at home on top of the library bag display on the counter or take up her vantage point on top of the printer.

Needless to say we were heartbroken to lose our faithful companion and still miss her cheerful meow, her happy purring, and even the cat fur on the chairs. We would like to share these photos of our friend as we will remember her, in some of her favourite spots in the library.

Oops!

We could claim it was a deliberate mistake, intended to see if you check the due date of your library books when they are issued, but the sad truth is we forgot to change the year on the date stamp so all of those books we issued this week are stamped 5 Jan 2010 - sorry!

We are now concerned that conscientious borrowers, worried about returning their books on time and avoiding a reminder letter, will spend their holidays experimenting with DIY time travel, which as we all know can have unpredictable and undesirable results...






Those determined readers already looking out their tool boxes  might find  Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe  an enlightening (and entertaining) read.



Stromness Christmas Tree 2010

As promised, the lovely Stromness tree all bonny and lit up! No sign of Santa though, must have popped home for a mince pie and a drop of something warming.

Seasonal Sights

Just in case you hadn't noticed, the countdown to the festive celebrations has now officially begun, and tonight in Stromness the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is taking place.  The early December snow is certainly setting the scene, though we hope all those carol singers, and Santa, have remembered to wear their long johns. As a treat we will endeavour to get a photo of the Stromness tree in all its festive glory for you, so watch this space.

At the library we like to build up to the big day rather more slowly and so will be holding off with our own decorations and illuminations for a wee while yet. In the meantime you will find all the inspiration you could possibly need for your own celebrations in our selection of Christmas recipe and craft books - get your scissors, glue and glitter at the ready!