Free DVDs

DVDs are free to borrow from Hurstville City Library. New titles come in regularly so keep checking here to see if there is something you would like to watch.
Here are a few new titles that will be on our stands within the next few days:
The Cup
Love Never Dies
Salvation Boulevard
Mozart's Sister
Win Win
Warrior
The Three Musketeers
What movies would you like to see in our DVD collection? Post the titles here.

Unravelling your family's past...Find my Past free at Hurstville Library

Mark Twain once said, "Why waste your time and money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and your opponents will do it for you!" For many of us though, researching our family tree is a labour of love.

If you are keen to start researching your own family heritage, Hurstville City Library has a free research database that can help you trace your family tree. Find my Past is a genealogy research tool that provides access to a wide range of resources such as: birth/death/marriage indexes; parish records; military records; migration records; occupation records and electoral rolls. This database can only be accessed within Hurstville City Library, with a valid library card.

Good luck with your research and let us hope you uncover many interesting family skeletons! Rayyan.

Caring For Your Sporting Memorabilia

The Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield. Photo: Dragi Markovic, National Museum of Australia

Visitors to our recent exhibition League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia will be interested in this article by the National Museum of Australia's conservation team. It gives you some tips on how to care for all types of sporting memorabilia, including trophies, medallions, textiles, photographs and paper.

You can also read more about rugby league treasures in The Trophy Cabinet, an article by Curator Guy Hansen from the League of Legends catalogue . The League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia catalogue is available for loan at Hurstville City Library and Penshurst Branch Library.

Best on Ground

In memory of Jim Stynes, 1966-2012.

In what is truly Australia's national game (yes, I know there's a National Rugby League. But I don't know how you can call it a national competition when it's only played in the eastern states!), supporters on both sides of the Barrassi Line will passionately defend their love for their team. In Best of Ground sixteen authors (Gold Coast and GSW weren't offically in the competition at the time of publication), including such luminaries as David Williamson (Collingwood), Peter Corris (Essendon), Malcolm Knox (Richmond) and Don Watson (Carlton), write with great eloquence on their love for their respective teams.

Just the thing for the start of the 2012 AFL season this Saturday.

Duran Duran 2012 Australian Tour

It has been 3 years since Duran Duran last toured Australia and word has it that they are better than ever. With the original line up they have already played Brisbane and Melbourne to rave reviews and are playing the Sydney Entertainment Centre early next week.
If you like the band or are just feeling nostalgic for the 80's listen to one of these albums.
All you Need is Now; (their latest album)
Duran Duran Greates Hits

Author Talk: Frieda Belakhova

Hurstville City Library

cnr Queens Rd & Dora St, Hurstville

Tuesday 27th March @ 7pm

Free event

Bookings 9330 6142 or in person at the library

Copies of Frieda's book will be available for sale and signing.

Join Frieda Belakhova as she recounts and reflects on the harsh realities of her life, being poor and Jewish in the Soviet Union after the Second World War. Frieda's book My Past Life: the Soviet Experience is a personal testimony told in the form of a letter to her son about life in Soviet society with its harsh conditions and communal living following the Second World War through to the mid- nineteen seventies . An eyewitness to many historical events such as Stalin’s death we discover through her story the particular predicament of Jews in the USSR, where being Jewish meant being discriminated against.

Frieda’s life story will be of interest to those who remember when Russia was the USSR, to younger generations unfamiliar with dictatorial regimes and to all interested in a firsthand account of a life lived in a turbulent era.

"What surprises me even now was this sheep-like readiness to accept our situation, as well as the pride which did not allow us to complain to others or even feel sorry for ourselves."  Frieda Belakhova

Immerse yourself in all things Russian with one of the following books, some serious others more lighthearted or quirky:

• Apricot Jam and other stories / Alexander Solzhenitzen
• Dostoevsky: a writer in his time / Joseph Frank
• Molotov's magic lantern: uncovering Russia's secret history / Rachel Polonsky
• My Russian grandmother and her  American vacuum cleaner: a memoir / Evan Shalev
• Odsseya: an epic journey from Russia to Australia / Alexander Vassilieff
• The possessed: adventures with Russian books and the people who read them / Elif Batuman
• Twilight of love: travels with Turgenev / Robert Dessaix
• Voices from the Gulag / edited by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
• When Miss Emmie was in Russia: English governesses before, during and after the October Revolution / Harvey Pitcher
• White fever: a journey to the frozen heart of Siberia / Jacek Hugo-Bader

The possessed: adventures with Russian books and the people who read them

The Seeds of Doom

"I suppose you could call it a galactic weed, though it's deadlier than any weed you know. On most planets the animals eat the vegetation. On planets where the Krynoid gets established, the vegetation eats the animals."

The Seeds of Doom has an impressive reputation. Tom Baker and the late, great Elisabeth Sladen, as the Doctor and Sarah Jane respectively, were in their stride by this stage. They were always good in any story of this era, but if you combine a really good script and good direction with actors of their talents you're in for a cracker. Production standards are high (especially the visual effects. It's not surprising that the effects design on this story - Richard Conway - later went on the win an Oscar) and the guest cast are all impressive with Tony Beckley, John Challis and Sylvia Colderidge as the stand outs. 

The Seeds of Doom is an excellent example of classic Doctor Who at its best.

Books for boys 7-11 years

When there are no more copies of Geronimo Stilton or Diary of a Wimpy Kid on our junior book shelves at the library and you're not sure what you can read, there are many popular boys’ series to try. Here are some suggestions;

Beast Quest by Adam Blade

Boy vs Beast by Mac Park

Boyz Rule by Felice Arena & Phil Kettle Sport theme

Cairo Jim by Geoffrey McSkimming Mystery & adventure

Dragon Blood Pirates by Dan Jerris

Gladiator Boy by David Grimstone

Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan - Older readers

Specky Magee by Felice Arena - Sport theme

Western Wildcats by John Larkin Sport theme

Zac Powers by H.I. Larry

Junior Graphic novels are very popular and there are many titles to choose from. Great for reluctant or more visual young readers. There are titles that have action figures, mysteries, historical events and biographies of famous people. There are also DVD titles of the books.

Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka

Asterix and Obelix by Rene Goscinny

Boffin Boy by David Orme

Digimon by Yuen Wong Yu

Come in and speak to the Children's Library staff for more title and theme suggestions.

Books books books!

The LMG has just received a massive amount of books for the community languages. The shipment of books includes Greek, Italian and Arabic titles. All of these books are waiting to be borrowed by you! Come quickly to the LMG to get some while they are still on the display shelf as they will be out the door before you can say 'where are those books?' Here are just three of many books waiting for you.

If you are not a member of the library yet, that is not a problem, you can come in a sign up today, for free. No charge. Nothing. Absolutely free! Once you are a member, you can borrow up to 40 books for free, that's right free. Nothing to lose, and everything to read. So come in today.

Celebrating 125 years

Saturday 25 February was the official opening of our Hurstville Celebrates:125 years exhibition. Clr Steve McMahon, Mayor of Hurstville City Council gave a fantastic opening speech at it was a fun day for all involved.
To celebrate the official 125th anniversary of the proclamation of the Council, Hurstville City Museum & Gallery will be hosting special activities on Sunday 25 March suited for all ages.
Activities will include rare historical footage, free children's craft activities and highlight tours around our exhibitions. Visitors to the Museum & Gallery are encouraged to donate photographs of the local area to our local studies photograph collection.

Womadelaide

Womadelaide is a music, arts and dance festival held all over the world with a fantastic diversity of styles. It has become the biggest world music festival in Australia and is held in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. This year it is on from the 9th March to 12th March.
There is a great line up of performers from Australia and overseas. Some of the Aussie's performing are: Gurrumul; Dirty Three; Blue King Brown; Pajama Club. Overseas artists include: Baaba Maal (Senegal); First Aide Kit (Sweden); Eddie Reader (Ireland); Dobet Gnahore (Ivory Coast);Groundation (Jamaica/USA): Anda Union (China).
There are so many more artists on the list of this years festival but if you would like to listen to past Womadelaide music try these: Sounds of the Planet Womadelaide 2009; Womadelaide: Sounds of the Planet 2010; Womadelaide - Sounds of the Planet 2011

The Brotherhood

This was different to what I was expecting, but good.

Based around one single event, The Brotherhood tells the tale of when Tasmania's super-cop gets killed in the line of duty. We see the aftermath through the eyes of a number of people; from the commissioner down to the suspect himself.

Y.A. Erskine is herself a former Tasmania Police officer. So she writes with an insiders perspective (I only hope Tasmania's finest are really as corrupt and backward as depicted here). It was a great read and I look forward to more from this author.

Steve Jobs

When Steve Jobs' asked Walter Isaacson to write his life story his reason for doing so was (a) Isaacson wasn't an Apple insider and (b) no one could accuse it of being an inside job. For someone who was a infamous control freak it was a surprising move, but I think the book comes off better for it. It's an honest portrayal of Jobs who, at times, does not come across as a very nice person (to put it politely). But I think he may have approved (sadly Jobs died weeks before this was published and, as far as I know, never saw the final text).

While Jobs may not have been a nice person, he was responsible for some of the greatest innovations in technology for the last 50 years. While I'd like to say I'm writing this on a MacBook (I used to have one but some devil stole it, along with my two iPods a few years ago), I am writing it on a Windows PC who's look was influenced by the Mac's original GUI. Plus, outside of working hours, I'm contantly downloading tracks off iTunes to play on my new iPod. And I've got friends who rave about their iPhones and iPads. Jobs changed the world in ways few people have. And for that we should be thank full.

Baby books for bedtime!

Reading a book before going to sleep is one of the simple joys of life and it starts when we are very young. Babies and little ones love to cuddle up for a story before sleep but beware the book that makes them more awake!
Start with a story that sets the mood – for toddlers try Baby Bird’s Blankie in which Baby Bird is playing with his blanket and not getting sleepy. He keeps dropping it from his nest and poor tired Mum has to rescue it. The advent of a large crow puts an end to the game and Baby Bird chooses to snuggle down for sleep.
Follow this with the anxiety allaying Check on Me which shows a toddler settling down for the night. It reinforces the rituals of going to bed with the assurance that the parent will stay around to be sure that the night is safe.
If your toddler is still wakeful, try Sleep time. The little girl does not want to sleep and she goes through all the tricks of staying awake until she is tired enough to put Teddy (and herself) to sleep.


Kate - Children's Librarian

A Centenary of Rugby League, 1908-2008

Yes, I know it's now more than a century. But in honour of the 2012 National Rugby League season kicking off tonight, you could do worse than this magnificent record of this history of the great game. Full of photo's, facts and figures (including the infamous Super League war) and the 100 greatest players of all time (from Dally Messenger to Darren Lockyer),  A Centenary of Rugby League, 1908-2008 is the final word on the subject... until 2108 at least!