The Stettler Public Library has a new database that will introduce the wonders of language to your life. The database is called Mango and it can be accessed by anyone with a current library card from the privacy of their own home. You can learn the most popular languages such as French, German, Italian and Spanish but there are some more exotic languages that you can learn using Mango: Irish, Chinese Mandarin, Hindi, Hebrew, Danish, Czech and many more. For a little fun you can learn Pirate at Mango’s website and blog: http://www.mangolanguages.com/blog/learn-to-speak-pirate/.
Mango can also be used to teach English to those who do not speak English as their first language. There are English language course for those who speak Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. One of the wonderful features of Mango is that you do not need to download anything to your own computer because all the lessons are web-based. You can set up your own account within the Mango database so that the lessons that you are working on are saved and you don’t have to start over again.
You can check out the Mango database by clicking on the Mango icon on the right hand side of the Stettler Public Library’s webpage (http://spl.prl.ab.ca). This will take you directly into the database and into the world of languages. Enjoy.
The Library’s gardening series continues with on Thursday, May 26th at 6:30 pm with Rob Spencer sharing his expertise on common yard and garden pests. Rob will help you learn to recognize some of the most common pests and he will give tips on how to prevent and combat the annoying little bugs. Rob will be back on Saturday, June 4th from 1 to 3 pm for those who cannot make it on May 26th.
Read and Rhyme Playtime will continue until the summer at its current times of Wednesday and Friday mornings at 10:30 am. Watch the Library News and the Library website (http://spl.prl.ab.ca) for any announcements regarding dates and times for Read and Rhyme Playtime.
The Stettler Public Library is excited to have two authors come to the Library to speak about their books. On Saturday, June 11 at 2 pm we are pleased to have Killarney Sheffield come to talk about her books. She is a historical romance author from Forestburg who has written five novels and two short romances. Her books are released first as e-books and then as paperbacks three to four months later. This is will be an interesting presentation.
On Tuesday, June 14th at 6 pm, the Library welcomes Betty Jane Hegerat to talk about her book “The Boy”. In 1959, Stettler was the scene of one of the most notorious mass murders in Alberta’s history. The Cook Family (Ray, Daisy and five children) were brutally murdered in their own home. Ray’s son, Robert Raymond Cook, was eventually found guilty and sentenced to hang. Robert then became the last person hanged in Alberta. Forty-six years later, author Betty Jane Hegerat finds herself having difficulties writing a story about a fictional family. Louise, a member of this fictional family, becomes entangled in the childhood memory of the Cook murders. Betty Jane spends four years investigating the demise of the Cook family and the two families, real and fictional, then become interwoven on the written page. Is the book an investigative piece about the Cooks or is it a work of fiction about Louise and her stepson? Both stories keep coming back to the boy. Part memoir, part investigation, part novella, part writer’s journal, “The Boy” is the author’s final submission to telling the story with all the troublesome questions unanswered.
Father’s Day is fast approaching and the Stettler Public Library has a special Something Cool After School to help the kids celebrate dads. On Wednesday, June 15 from 4 to 5 pm, the kids are invited to come and make a Father’s Day Card for the special dads in their lives. This program is free of charge and all school-aged children are welcome.
The Stettler Public Library and their Royal Highnesses of Programming, Lady Sean Higgins and Lady Bobbie Mappin, cordially invited you to a Royal Tea in honour of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Canada on Thursday, June 23rd at 6:00 pm at the Stettler Public Library. Come dressed in your fanciest hat and gloves and take part in this Royal celebration. You will also get the opportunity to make your own Fascinator. Please RSVP in person at the Stettler Public Library, by telephone at 403-742-2292 or by e-mail at spl@libs.prl.ab.ca.
Reading Buddies is a program being offered this summer at the Stettler Public Library that pairs readers in preschool through five with buddies in grades six through twelve. This program will help maintain the reading skills of elementary readers and will provide volunteers hours for the teens’ resumes. Buddies will be matched according to their interests and reading levels. They will then meet once or twice a week for one hour over eight weeks. Snacks will be provided for the buddies during their reading sessions. Teen volunteers will be asked to attend an orientation. For more information about Reading Buddies contact Sean or Bobbie at 403-742-2292. Registration forms are available at the Stettler Public Library.