Library Bingo

Get your stamps at the ready, Library Bingo has arrived at Arthur Holt Library! This is a great way for students to extend their borrowing across our huge range of genres and take up the challenge of reading beyond their comfort zone.

While we won’t stop anyone from choosing books from their favourite genres, why stop there? What about listening to an Audiobook through the Bolinda app, reading a book with a female protagonist, or even tackling a whopping 300+ page read? Not only will your brain thank you for broadening its horizons, but you’ll increase your vocabulary and improve your writing skills. And as if that wasn’t incentive enough, recording five books on your Bingo card entitles you to a Library Departmental Award.

So how do you get involved? It couldn’t be easier:

• Grab a bingo card from a librarian and check out the book categories,
• Borrow, read and finish a total of 5 books, each from a different category,
•  Get a Departmental Award! 

Library Bingo will run until the end of the semester, so there is plenty of time to rack up those points and collect awards. Not sure where to start? Check out the posters on the windows in the Lounge for some suggestions. Reading has just become even more satisfying - is that even possible?

Ms Yates and Mrs Paterson

We Got These Hats!

Along with the Junior and Preparatory School Libraries, the Arthur Holt Library participated in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday. NSS aims to promote the value of reading and literacy amongst young Australians in a unique way - every year a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in schools, libraries, bookshops and other locations across the country.


The book for this year was I Got This Hat by Kate and Jol Temple with illustrations by Jon Foye. The illustrations appeared on the big screen as our School Captain John Bechara read the story to a crowd camped out on cushions including a Year 3 class, the AHL Monitors, teachers and librarians. Everyone was encouraged to wear a hat and there was no shortage of interesting headwear to look at. Thanks to everyone who participated in this feel-good event to highlight the importance of books and reading!

TED Week - The WeekThat Was!

The Library hosted this fantastic event this week. Its mission was to promote curiosity, provide entertainment and inspire each of us to “think outside the box”. There was a different theme every day.

Monday was all about positive inspiration with Talks for When You’re Just Done with Earth;

Tuesday provided motivation (and cupcakes!) with Talks to Watch during Breakfast;

Wednesday passed on amazing facts and discoveries with Talks to Inspire Smart Conversation;

Thursday provided (weird) food for thought with The Apocalypse Survival Guide;

Friday promoted a sense of wonder and curiosity with Where Do Ideas Come From?

The guessing competition saw boys developing complex mathematical theorems and asking philosophical questions about just how many snakes can fit into a jar! The TED photo booth was a hit and we had some live TED-talks too. Mr Barnes passed on the secrets of ten-minute meditation, leading students in some effective de-stressing techniques. Ms Anagnostopoulos shared her extensive knowledge of manga, a hugely popular yet often misunderstood art-form. Mr Dixon encouraged students to think outside the box. His selection of weird and wonderful items from some of his many collections were held up for analysis and boys were asked “What on earth is this?”

Overall TED week was a great success, enjoyed by teachers and students alike.  Many thanks to Ms. Mileto who organised the week.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today it is all about the unique worldview of the man who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel as the Library celebrates the birthday of beloved children’s author and illustrator Dr Seuss. I am yet to meet someone that doesn't like at least one of his stories, many of which have become the most popular children's books ever. Is your childhood favourite here?


The Cat in the Hat

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

Green Eggs and Ham

The Lorax
Yertle the Turtle
Horton Hears a Who
Oh, the places you'll go!

Fox in Socks
The Sneetches
The 500 Hats of Bartholemew Cubbins

I bet you can't choose just one, right?

The great thing about Dr Seuss books is that they are so much fun to read aloud. Try it today - read one to your younger brother or sister. Or yourself. Or a much-loved pet, like The Fish  - the voice of reason from The Cat in the Hat.

Let’s remember this wonderful quote that sums up what reading is all about!

Have you met Alice?

Alice is a stapler. Alice enjoys her job - stapling.  It's a simple life, but that's ok. Because that's what Alice was made to do.

Alice is the latest in a long line of staplers that have worked in the Arthur Holt Library. Over the years these walls have bore witness to countless multitudes arriving one after another - standard models from Officeworks, heavy-duty workers from Bunnings, lime-green toys from Smiggle. Nameless, mechanical helpers who gallantly gave their all to keep your stuff in order. Some couldn't handle the pressure, their springs giving up on the due day of that huge Year 10 Commerce assessment. Some were constantly jamming and had to endure multiple and often painful staple extractions. Some just quietly and without fanfare disappeared.

But now there is Alice. Things will be a little different. Alice will help us tally how many staplers we go through in a year. Like tropical cyclones, Alice's name denotes she is our first stapler for the year 2016. Successive staplers, should they be called upon, will alphabetically follow in her footsteps, so to speak.

We really, really hope to have Alice stick around all year. Please make her feel welcome (insert a round of applause here). 

February 14 is Library Lovers Day!

Love is in the air! The Arthur Holt Library is celebrating Library Lovers Day by offering staff and students a blind date with a book! Visit us this week to choose something from our pile of specially wrapped books.

Go on, take a chance! Imagine not needing to worry about outward appearances - no famous authors, no catchy titles, no intriguing blurbs, no attention-grabbing cover designs. It's just you and the story, and the thrill that this really could be the one...

National Recycling Week November 9-15

Recycling. It's something that is close to our hearts here in the Library. I mean why wouldn't it be? All those books full of paper!

But aside from all the useful, inside-of-books paper in the Library, the print zone is located here. Printing demands mean we can sometimes chomp through at least 5 reams of paper a day! But not all of this paper gets stapled or bound and submitted as assessments or other work. Some of it gets...

DISCARDED.

That's right, left behind. And it is this paper that we conveniently forget about in our quest for printed perfection which accounts for about a quarter of paper use in the Print Zone per day. 

What usually happens to it:

This: it gets left behind on any flat(ish) surface.

Or, um, this: it gets crumpled up and hidden behind books or on top of shelves or on the floor or under a beanbag.

What we would like to happen to it:

This: if it can be re-used as note paper - that is, it is B&W when you wanted colour or you've printed more copies than you needed - put it in the tray at the far end of the zone.

Or this: if it can't be re-used - that is, it is double-sided or hacked to bits by a printer malfunction  - then put it in the big blue recycling bin!

Being responsible with our unwanted paper is only the beginning though. Take it back a few steps: all this paper waste could be lessened with a bit of forethought. Try taking a few seconds to think before you print.

Does this need to be printed?

Could I save it to the Cloud instead? 

 Could it be printed double-sided to save on paper? 

What do I have to do to get my printing right the first time? 

Movember has hit the Library!

The world of literature has given us some truly great moustaches.  Observe the wondrous examples of hirsuteness sported by Orwell, Shakespeare, Kipling, Hemingway, Conan Doyle, and Twain. 

Why am I looking at these authors, you ask? Because Movember has hit the Library this week and the library team is celebrating! For 30 days we'll get hairy, get active and get talking to help men live happier, healthier and longer lives. 

There are a few surprises around the library, with moustachioed librarian Mo Sistas (and one MoBro) and book covers adorned with facial hair. Come to the library and help us support those members of staff who are growing a moustache to raise awareness and funds for men’s health. Cast your vote for the best moustache!

How to get involved? 

Gentlemen (Mo Bros)

• growing a mo? Reply or visit the Library so that we may snap your before, in-progress, and after pics

• think you are a moustache aficionado? A reminder there are rules! 

• join our team! Need help setting up a fundraising page? Reply or visit the Library and we will help you become a walking, talking billboard for men’s health

• no mo-tivation to grow a mo? Take the MOVE challenge instead! OR visit the Library to have your pic taken with one of our mock moustaches!

Ladies (Mo Sistas, do it for a Bro you know!) 

• take the MOVE challenge – do any kind of physical activity every day in November to show your support for men’s health

• join our team! Need help setting up a fundraising page? Reply or visit the Library and we will help you get mo-ving!

• jealous of our Mo Bros? Visit the Library to have your pic taken with one of our mock moustaches!

• care about men’s health? Start a conversation and inspire a male colleague to take an active role in their health.

As per last year – photos, best-mo prizes & lots of fun guaranteed!!!

The fun continues in the Library for the month of November! 

Throwback Thursday

Playing with a giant Jenga-style tower just may be the closest you can get to a workout whilst in the Library. True, it may not be a run around the oval but we guarantee it will raise your heart rate and get your blood pumping. That is if today was anything to go by. If you don't believe me, take a look at this:

This oversized game of gravity has become an instant favourite with students. It was insteresting to watch the techniques used - methods ranged from intense stack-studying and careful block extraction to reckless abandon and noisy bravado. 

On Throwback Thursdays one corner of our Library becomes a device free zone, so when the stacking action got too much for some, chess, checkers, dominoes and the classic Connect 4 were ready to go. 

It's kind of refreshing not staring down at a screen and actually having some "old-school" fun with your friends. Over on Instagram there may even be some evidence of our Class of '15 taking some time out from studying for their H.S.C. exams. Although someone may have to remind them how to set up a Connect 4 grid!

So why not visit us on a Throwback Thursday and get your "daily exercise" in the Library?

Long Live the Bookface!

If you are familiar with the Library’s Instagram account, you have probably noticed a weekly phenomenon – the Bookface. Every Friday a photo appears of one or two Trinity students, their faces fully or partially obscured, strategically lined up alongside a book cover featuring the matching part of the face. That is really all there is to it!

Except that, as is the way when it comes to social media, it is by no means all there is to it. The photos have become more complex; torsos, arms, legs and even whole bodies are now included. The aim is to make it all merge seamlessly and create an instant piece of art. The worldwide trend to add #bookfacefriday to these photos is allowing libraries everywhere to show their fun side online, and it has become insanely popular.

Our #bookfacefriday posts are our most popular on Instagram, sharing the stage with many other Bookface images from libraries and readers around the world. The weekly planning and execution of the Bookface photo has been embraced by our students. They seem to capture the imagination and reflect the sense of curiosity that we hope all boys experience here in the Library. So if you do not follow us on Instagram, please do and tap into the wonderful world of the Bookface!

tgslibrary on Instagram

Six Word Stories

The author Ernest Hemingway was challenged to write a short story in six words – with a beginning, middle and an end – and he produced “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” It may not be fact, but it sure is a great anecdote!

True or not, the challenge of brevity lives on in Say It In Six, a hugely popular online project started by Smith Magazine as a way to celebrate the joy of storytelling and personal narrative.

The Library staff liked the idea of this mission so much that we tried it on our windows way back this time last year. And it's that time again, we are asking you  for “A novel in six words”. Go to the comments below and try it!