Remembering

The way my intellectual curiosity is satisfied as an adult is the same as it was when I was a kid: I stumble upon a topic, leap head-on into it, find out all I can about it, and then move on to something else. Often enough though, subjects come back, even years later. For me, one of those is genocide.

I first grasped the concept in Hebrew school in grade 6, when we had a course on the Holocaust. It hadn’t touched my immediate family, who came here at the turn of the last century, so I discovered it through learning. Our teacher was a survivor herself, and she was brutally honest with us, not shielding us at all from the horror. That was the first time I understood that not everyone was good.

It came back again in my second year of university, when every course I took and every paper I wrote about concerned mass death, terror, and the very worst of humanity. Again I focused on the Holocaust, voraciously reading memoirs and histories. What struck me this time was the industrialization, the planning, the pseudo-scientific justifications, and worst of all, the actions of those who stood by but who knew what was going on.

In the last couple of years, I have turned to Rwanda. Dark as it is, I can’t stop reading about the massacre of Tutsis, how neighbour was able to kill neighbour face to face, how the entire world turned away and let it happen. It is that last question that has stuck on my mind. Hitler watched what happened to the Armenians in 1915 and took notes. It always seems to be “Never again. Again and again, and again.” I wonder why we never learn, and more importantly, what we can do as individuals to try to prevent it from happening yet another time.

Let us begin with education, and at the very least, remembering. The fact that this subject moves me intensely is one thing; we are also fortunate enough to be hosting Barbara Coloroso, who will discuss her new book Extraordinary Evil: A Brief History of Genocide. This author is famous for her books on bullying, and this one is just an extension of that. She argues that the extreme version of bullying is genocide, and the roles everyone plays in that act perfectly match schoolyard behaviour. You have your perpetrators, victims, cheering squad, bystanders and a tiny few who try to stop it.

It is important for this library to be a resource on this global topic, not just because we can count many in our membership who were touched personally by genocide. This is everyone’s concern, everyone’s problem, everyone’s tragedy.

Barbara Coloroso speaks at the Library at 7:30 p.m. on May 29th. Tickets are $3.00.

Wi-Not?

I recently joined the ranks and am now the proud owner of my very own laptop computer. Owning a laptop nowadays certainly has its advantages with recent technological advents such as wireless internet. And I am happy that our library is hip enough to offer this handy modern service -free of charge.

So last week I took my laptop on its very first “field trip” to the library for its first public wi-fi (popular acronym for wireless fidelity) experience. I logged on quite easily to the Eye-in (the library’s wireless sponsor) network and logged out just as easily when I was done. It was very easy and so utterly convenient! I see many patrons these days relaxing in armchairs or sitting at our study tables taking advantage of this free service and I encourage you to as well. My laptop and I were quite pleased.

Lire par contagion

Ma passion pour la lecture que j’ai développée il y a une vingtaine d’années a commencé à prendre une allure différente le jour où je me suis trouvée "de l’autre côté du comptoir" de prêt, lorsque je suis devenue "membre du personnel" en novembre dernier et non seulement résidante du quartier, fréquentant régulièrement la bibliothèque pour emprunter des films ou des livres.

Lire devient pour moi, non seulement les romans classiques de langue française, mais aussi et surtout les livres recommandés soit par mes collègues lecteurs, soit par nos chers clients qui arrivent parfois ravis, impressionnés de ce qu’ils ont lu. Lire est devenu pour moi une contagion, positive bien sûr, une puissante volonté d’aller goûter les plaisirs déjà éprouvés par autrui. Je me suis lancée à lire les précieuses suggestions de mes collègues et clients. Parmi la panoplie des propositions, pour la plupart de langue anglaise, allant de la fiction à la non-fiction, à l’autobiographie, de nouvelles tendances aux plus classiques, j’ai découvert en moi une nouvelle passion pour les livres de non-fiction de langue anglaise, récemment acquis par la bibliothèque dont j’ai lu Blink (2005) et Think (2006). Bref, soyez attentif aux impressions du personnel, de vos pairs et surtout soyez prêt pour une bonne contagion !

Five days away from Baroque bliss

On Tuesday, May 8 at 11am, Passion for Music takes place; it will be
the bee's knees and the cat's pajamas all rolled into one tasty morsel
of goodness. I am rather riveted by Baroque and positively over the
moon about this event. Music aficionados who fancy fine music from
this period will be pleased as punch with this lecture before lunch.
Those who are not familiar with this splendid section of musical
history are more than welcome to venture forth for an hour of
discovery.

Farah, our music librarian par excellence, carefully minds
the music collection, enhancing it with choice titles and is your
grand guide through the world of wondrous tunes in a time when
Shakespeare's plays were quite fresh and new, Elizabeth I was not long
gone and music was rich and resonant.

Pieces from England, France, Germany and Italy are on the menu,
covering a range of forms, styles and genres found in vocal and
instrumental music. This music offers a wonderful, magical and
exciting world. It has the power to make you weep with joy or bring
you to another place in time. At the very least it manages to stir
some emotion, possibly delight and maybe even inspire. This is your
chance to partake in the very first edition of this aural excitement.
We are looking forward to your company on Tuesday morning for the
sweet treat.