November Winners

Congratulations to Lee Savage, Diana Wong & Jillian Hall who are our November winners of the Borders book vouchers. They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during November 2008.
Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card.

Holiday Opening Hours

Over the Christmas/New Year holidays, the Rockdale Library & Community Information Service will have changed opening hours. All branches will be closed on the public holidays.

Branches at Arncliffe, Bexley, Bexley North, Brighton-Le-Sands and Sans Souci will be closing at 1pm on 24 December until 2nd January 2009. Normal opening hours will resume on 2nd January 2009.

The opening hours for the Rockdale Branch are as follows
24th December 2008 - closing at 1pm
25th December 2008 - Closed
26th December 2008 - Closed
27th December 2008 - 9 am - 5 pm
29th December 2008 - 9 am - 5 pm
30th December 2008 - 9 am - 5 pm
31st December 2008 - 9 am - 5 pm
1st January 2009 - Closed
2nd January 2009 - Normal hours resume 9 am - 8pm

Photo courtesy of Freefoto -http://www.freefoto.com/preview/90-15-57?ffid=90-15-57

Summer Reading Group - Online

Please join us online for a Summer Reading Group. It will be an online group and our meeting place will be at the Summer Reading Wiki*, see below for the address.

To join either email: Rockdale Library with the subject line
Summer Reading Group. An invitation to join will be emailed to you
OR go to http://summerreadingrockdale.wetpaint.com and join the wiki.
You will need to set up an account to join the wiki. It is free to join.
The group will be run primarily online. You can post book reviews, your list of summer reads and start discussions about what you are reading.

If you don’t have access to the internet you can write your reviews and give them to staff at the library. You can also email your reviews to Rockdale Library, just include summer reading group as the subject line.

For more information please contact Natalie on 9562 1821


You personal details will be used to notify you of important details about the club. Not for any other purpose.
Please be aware that anything you post on the wiki is publicly accessible. Do not include any personal information such as your address, email or phone numbers.
You must be 18 years or older to post to this site.

*A wiki is a website that relies on the collaboration of a group to provide content for the site.

Review the books you enjoyed.

In mid November, the library updated it's Library Management System.
It may not look any different, but you now have the ablity to put reviews on items you've enjoyed or not. On the left side of the catalogue window there is a new option - How to add a review. This document gives you instructions for entering your review and guidelines to the content of your review.

Reviews will then be sent to a moderator for approval. You can see the newest review by going to the Recently Available menu at the top of the catalogue screen and scrolling down to Ratings and Reviews.

1st Wednesday book group

The 1st Wednesday book group will be meeting this Wednesday 3rd December at Rockdale Library at 10.30am. We will be discussing Merry go round in the sea by Randoloph Stow.
This will be our last meeting for 2008.

If you have read this book please come along and join us.
Phone Natalie for more information on 9562 1821

Storytime Christmas Party

Calling All Preschoolers!

Please join us for the
Storytime Christmas Party
Tuesday 9 December 2008
at 11 am
Rockdale Town Hall
448 Princes Highway
Music, Crafts, Face Painting, Food and Santa

Parents and carers: Please bring a small present, with your child's name attached (from Santa)

Reminder of the Interruption to Online Services

From the 17th of November the library will be updating it's library computer systems. This means there will be an interruption in services for three days. You will still be able to borrow and return items, and join the library. The catalogue and online and phone renewals will be unavailable. When the system is up again, you will be able to add ratings and reviews on items you've enjoyed.


You can keep up to date by subscribing to Rockdale Library News. There are two ways to do this.
1) enter your email address in the subscribe via email box on the left hand side of the screen
2) you can subscribe in a reader of your choice by clicking on the subscribe in a reader link on the left side of the screen.

Rockdale Readers bookclub

The next meeting of the Rockdale Readers will be on 21 November 2008. We will be discussing The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 and should be an interesting discussion.
If you have read this book, please come along and join in the discussion.
This will be our last meeting for 2008.
If you are interested in joining the group in 2009 please call Natalie on 9562 1821.

In October we talked about The history of love by Nicole Krauss. We discussed what types of love appear in the book, the experience of Jews in Poland in World War II and the style of the book.

Internet for Beginners classes

Rockdale Library runs Internet for beginners classes 3 times a week during school terms.
Monday 9 am
Thursday 2pm
Friday 1.30pm

The class runs for one hour and is one on one with the instructor. It looks at what the Internet and a browser is and gives the student practical experience in entering web addresses and doing basic searches in Google.

To book a session please call 9562 1824

Interruption to Online Services

Due to scheduled maintenance, there will be no online catalogue on Sunday 9 November 2008 from 6am to 2pm. During this time you will be unable to renew your loans or search for items on the catalogue.

Normal services should resume after 2pm.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Author Talk - Anita Heiss

Rockdale Library presents a talk by Anita Heiss

She will be speaking on her new book Avoiding Mr Right and her previous novel Not Meeting Mr Right.

Please join us on Tuesday, 2 December 2008 in the Rockdale Council Chambers.

Books will be available for purchase and signing.

To book or for more information please call 9562 1821

Interuption to Public PC service

On Friday 7th November 2008 the Public Internet PCs at Rockdale Library will be unavailable due to maintenance. Service should be resumed as normal on Saturday 8th November.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

October Winners

Congratulations to William Panagis, Alan Tran & Bernard Rofe who are our October winners of the Borders book vouchers. They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during October 2008.
Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card.

Demonstation of Rockdale City Council website

On Wednesday 5 November and Tuesday 11 November 2008 we will be conducting a demonstration of the new Rockdale Council website.

On Saturday 8 November there will be a demonstration of the planning portal.

Bookings are essential.
To book or for more information please call Natalie on 9562 1711

1st Wednesday book group

The 1st Wednesday book club group will meet at 10.30 on Wednesday 5 November 2008. The group will be discussing Grace by Robert Drewe.

If you have read this book, feel free to come along and join us. We will also be finalising the booklist for 2009.


In December the group will discuss Merry go round in the sea by Randolph Stowe. The December meeting will be our last for 2008.

For more information please call 9562 1821


If you would like to be part of the group in 2009 please call Natalie on 9562 1821.

Interruption to Online Services

From the 17th of November the library will be updating it's library computer systems. This means there will be an interruption in services for three days. You will still be able to borrow and return items, and join the library. The catalogue and online and phone renewals will be unavailable. When the system is up again, you will be able to add ratings and reviews on items you've enjoyed.

You can keep up to date by subscribing to Rockdale Library News. There are two ways to do this.
1) enter your email address in the subscribe via email box on the left hand side of the screen
2) you can subscribe in a reader of your choice by clicking on the icon.

September Winners

Congratulations to Yasuhir Yamanaka, Fatima Quader & Debra Wall who are our September winners of the Borders book vouchers. They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during September 2008.

Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card.

Man Booker Prize 2008

The winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2008 was announced on Tuesday 13 October.

The winner is Aravind Adiga for his book The White Tiger.

For more details, and the other books on the short list click on the link to go to the Man Booker Prize.

Chinese Book Fair 2008

Rockdale City Library

invites you to a

Chinese Book Fair '08

to help us select Chinese books, CDs, DVDs

and talking books for children and adults.

Saturday 1 November

from 11 am to 4pm

Rockdale City Town Hall

448 Princes Highway Rockdale

(Entry form Rockdale Library)

Enquiry: Stephanie on 9562 1824

Book Sale

Rockdale Branch Library is currently having a booksale in the foyer of Rockdale Town Hall. It has been extended until Monday 20 October 2008.

Come in and pick up a bargain!

Rockdale Readers meeting 17 October

Rockdale Readers will meet again on the 17th October 2008 at 5.30pm. We will be discussing The History of love by Nicole Krauss.
If you have read this book feel free to come along and join the discussion. During this meeting we will also be discussing what to read in 2009.

Our discussion in November will be about The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

In our September meeting we had a very good discussion about Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom, which centred around notions of truth, the public school and class systems in the UK in the 1940s and the impact of the Spanish Civil War.

For more information about the book club please call 9562 1821

Angus & Robertson top 100

Angus & Robertson have released their new Top 100 books list.
It was printed in the Sun Herald on 5 October 2008.
Here is the list.
If you are looking for a book to read why not start here.

Do you agree with what is on the list?
What are you top 5 books?

Wednesday Book Club meeting 1 October 2008

The 1st Wednesday book club group will meet at 10.30 on Wednesday 1 October 2008. The group will be discussing Vodka dialogue by Kirsty Brooks.
If you have read this book, feel free to come along and join us.

In November the group will be reading Grace by Robert Drewe.

For more information please call 9562 1821

October Public Holiday

Rockdale Library and the branches at Arncliffe, Bexley, Bexley North and Sans Souci will be closed on 6 October 2008 for the Labour day long weekend.
We apologise for any inconvenience and hope everyone has a nice long weekend.
The libraries will reopen at their usual time on Tuesday 7 October.

School Holiday Activity - Meet the author

Please join us on Tuesday 30 September 2008 at 2 -3 pm for a talk by Liz Deep-Jones. She will be talking about her book Lucy Zeezou's goal.
Bookings are essential. To book for this event please call 9562 1821

October School Holidays at Rockdale Library & Community Information Service

It is nearly school holiday time again and Rockdale Library and Community Information Service has an exciting School Holiday Activity program.

All school holiday activities are for primary school aged children.

Bookings are essential

Man Booker Prize 2008

The Man Booker Prize for 2008 will be drawn on the 14th October.
The shortlist is

The white tiger - Aravind Adiga
The secret supper - Sebastian Barry
Sea of poppies - Amitav Ghosh
The clothes on their backs - Linda Grant
The northern clemency - Philip Hensher
The fraction of the whole - Steve Toltz

To read more about the prize visit the Man Booker website

Prime Minister's Literary Award Winners

The winners of the Prime Minister's Literary Awards were announced recently.
The winning books in the two categories are:

Non-Fiction
Ochre and rust: artefacts and encounters on Australian frontiers - Philip Jones

Fiction
The zookeeper's war - Steven Conte

The shortlists are
Fiction
Burning in - Mireille Juchau
El Dorado - Dorothy Porter
Jamaica - Malcolm Knox
Sorry - Gail Jones
The complete short stories - David Malouf
The widow and her hero - Thomas Keneally
The zookeeper's war - Steven Conte

Non-Fiction
A history of Queensland - Raymond Evans
Cultural amnesia: notes in the margin of my time - Clive James
My life as a traitor - Zarah Ghahramani with Robert Hillman
Napoleon: the path to power 1769 - 1799 - Philip Dwyer
Ochre and rust: artefacts and encounters on Australian frontiers - Philip Jones
Shakespeare's wife - Germain Greer
Vietnam: the Australian war - Paul Ham

Rockdale Readers meeting 19 September

Rockdale Readers will meet again on the 19th September 2008 at 5.30pm
We will be discussing Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom.

If you have read this book feel free to come along and join the discussion.

In October we will discuss History of love by Nicole Krauss

For more information please call 9562 1821

August Winners

Congratulations to Tamara Adzic; Robyn Smaills & Jing Yao who are our August winners of the Borders book vouchers. They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during August 2008.

Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card.

Wednesday Book Club meeting 3 September

The 1st Wednesday book club group will meet at 10.30 on Wednesday 3 September 2008. We will be back to meeting at the library after our excursion to Lydham Hall in August. The group will be discussing Cry of the curlew by Peter Watt.

If you have read this book, feel free to come along and join us.

In October the group will be reading Vodka dialogue by Kirsty Brooks.

For more information please call 9562 1821

Author Talk - Carol Baxter

Rockdale Library & Community Information Service
Presents a talk by Carol Baxter, introducing her book Breaking the Bank.
It's a fast-paced history of colonial Sydney that tells the stroy of the country's largest bank robbery and the people caught up in it.

Please join us at
1pm Thursday 25 September 2008

Copies of the book will be available to buy and for signing
Free entry with light refreshments

To book please call 9562 1821

Reading suggestions

Have you read The kite runner or A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini?
You might like to try these books

Fiction
The namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Fugitive pieces by Anne Michaels
Moonlit cage by Linda Holeman
Swallows of Kabul by Yasmina Khadra
Mosaic by Soheir Khashoggi

Non Fiction
Bookseller in Kabul by Asne Seierstad
Journey from the land of No by Roya Hakakian
Kabul beauty school by Deborah Rodriquez & Kristin Ohlson

Rockdale Readers meeting 15 August

Rockdale Readers will meet again on the 15th August 2008 at 5.30pm
We will be discussing Kill the messenger by Tami Hoag.
If you have read this book feel free to come along and join the discussion.

Our chosen book for September will be Winter in Madrid by C J Sansom

In July we discussed March by Geraldine Brooks. Our discussion centred on the effects of war on civilians, as well as on the soldiers taking part. We also talked briefly about why authors decide to write sequels or prequels to well known classics, as March is a sequel to Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Most of the group read Little Women so long ago that we felt we may need to reread it.

July Book Voucher winners

Congratulations to Christine Talman, Bruce Turton & Po Tsui Ip who are our July winners of the Borders book vouchers.They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during July 2008.

Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card.

Wednesday Book Club meeting

Rockdale Library's Wednesday book club will be meeting on Wednesday 6 August to discuss The man who loved children by Christina Stead. We will meet at Lydham Hall at 10.30am.
If you have read this book, please join us at Lydham Hall.

The Wednesday book club meets on the first Wednesday of every month.
In September we will discuss The cry of the curlew by Peter Watt

In July we discussed The ancestor game by Alex Miller. Some of the issues we discussed was where the characters belonged, as two of the main characters came to Australia from other countries and the third was 1st generation. We discussed how this was reflected in society today.

For more information please call Deanna 02 9562 1821

Threatened fauna in Rockdale - Childrens competition

Did you know we have a number of local threatened fauna species at Rockdale?

including:

• Green and Golden Bell Frog
• Grey-Headed Flying Fox
• Pied Oystercatcher
• Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
• Bar-tailed Godwit

The last 3 are birds.

Children in Rockdale can help save their local threatened species by entering the Dymocks Golden Paw Award. By creating a drawing of these animals the children will show the community what they look like, and people will recognise them when they see them. Entries close 7 September 2008. To enter visit the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife website at http://fnpw.org.au/goldenpaw.htm

Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture at Arncliffe Branch Library

Here are examples of the murals on display at Arncliffe Branch Library.

The murals were done by local kids for the library's NAIDOC week celebrations. The murals are on exhibit until mid August at Rockdale, Sans Souci, Arncliffe and Bexley North branches.

Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture at Rockdale Library and Community Information Service

Local kids were celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture during the school holidays in July at Rockdale Library. NAIDOC week kicked off with craft activities and mural painting with Aboriginal motifs. The murals are on exhibit until mid August at Rockdale, Sans Souci, Arncliffe and Bexley North branches.

A number of performers visited the libraries in the second week of the school holidays.

Reuben Andrew brought many Aboriginal artefacts and explained their significance to the children




On his way to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sean Choolburra stopped by to show local kids traditional dancing, music and an amazing array of Aboriginal inventions.




Col Hardy and Matt Dea visited from Taronga Zoo to introduce kids to "Animals of the Dreamtime". Matt brought a snake, a baby crocodile, an echidna, a possum and many more animals and Col sang Dreamtime stories about the animals.

Rockdale Readers

Rockdale Readers will meet again on the 18th July 2008 at 5.30pm

We will be discussing March by Geraldine Brooks.

March is the father of the family in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

If you have read this book feel free to come along and join the discussion.

In June we discussed Carpentaria by Alexis Wright. This was a hard book to get into and only 2 of the group managed to finish it. Nonetheless we had a great discussion about the way it was written where dreamtime stories, myths and current events were woven together and told in the oral tradition. We also discussed the many characters in the book.

Interruptions to service

In late July the library will be updating it's computer systems. This means there will be an interruption in services for three days. You will still be able to borrow and return items, and join the library.

The catalogue and online and phone renewals will be unavailable. When the system is up again, you will be able to add ratings and reviews on items you've enjoyed.

We will notify you closer to the day when this is scheduled to occur. You can keep up to date by subscribing to Rockdale Library News. There are two ways to do this.

1) enter your email address in the subscribe via email box on the left hand side of the screen

2) you can subscribe in a reader of your choice by clicking on the icon.

June Bookvoucher Winners

Congratulations to Xin Er Yan, Bing Chen & Betty Mak who are our June winners of the Borders book vouchers.They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during June 2008.

Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card

NAIDOC Week

It is NAIDOC week from the 6 - 13 July.
Please join Rockdale Library and Community Information Service in celebrating this week with our School Holiday Program.
For resources about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and issues see the list of websites below.

Subscribe to Rockdale Library News

You can keep up to date with what's on at the library by subscribing to Rockdale Library News. There are two ways to do this.
1) enter your email address in the subscribe via email box on the left hand side of the screen
2) you can subscribe in a reader of your choice by clicking on the icon

That way you will never miss the library news.

Picture from Author talk

On the 26th June Rockdale Library hosted a talk by Barbara Ferguson. About 20 people attended to hear her amazing talk about the time she spent in Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. It raised our awareness of what children faced in times of war, and continue to face in places of civil unrest.

Photo courtesy of Nguyet Huynh-Saunders

Book Club come and discuss The Ancestor Game

Rockdale Library's Wednesday book club will be meeting again on Wednesday 2 July at 10.30.
We will be discussing The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller.
If you have read this book, please join us at Rockdale Branch Library.

The Wednesday book club meets on the first Wednesday of every month.
In August we will discuss The man who loved children by Christina Stead.
For more information please call Natalie 02 9562 1821

In June we had a lively discussion of My brilliant career by Miles Franklin. We discussed how Australian the book was, and whether we agreed with the decisions the main character made. As well as what it meant to be a woman in the 1890s on a property and how that differs to now.

How to survive the HSC stress

Come along for great tips and ideas to help you cope with this stressful
time presented by Dr Toula Tsovolos.
Parents: Join us on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 6:00pm for great ideas and refreshments!
Where? At Rockdale Library, 448 Princes Highway, Rockdale.

The events are free but bookings are essential.
Please call Rockdale Library 9562-1821.

Author Talk

Please join us on the 26 June at 1pm for an author talk by Barbara Ferguson. Barbara is a local author who will be talking about her book Rain in my heart: memories of children and war in South Vietnam 1967 - 1975,which is about the 7 years she spent in South Vietnam working with refugee and orphaned children.
To book for this event please call 02 9562 1821

July School Holidays at the Library

It is nearly school holiday time again and Rockdale Library and Community Information Service has an exciting School Holiday Activity program.
Rockdale City Libraries
July School Holiday Activities Primary School-aged Children
Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture

Arncliffe Library, 11 Firth Street, Arncliffe
Bookings essential. Ph 9562 1816
Activities will be held from 10:30am - 11:30am
Tuesday, 8 July - Torres Strait Islander Armband & Puzzles
Thursday, 10 July - Rainsticks
Tuesday, 15 July - Songs and Stories with Auriel Andrew
Thursday, 17 July - Mural Painting

Bexley North Library, 24 Shaw Street, Bexley North
Bookings essential. Ph 9562 1814
Activities will be held from 11:00am - 12 noon
Wednesday, 9 July - Rainsticks
Friday, 11 July - Torres Strait Islander Armband & Puzzles
Wednesday, 16 July - Mural Painting
Friday, 18 July - Songs & Stories with Auriel Andrew

Rockdale Central Library, 448 Princes Highway, Rockdale
bookings essential. Ph 9562 1821
Activities will be held from 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Tuesday, 8 July - Torres Strait Islander Armband
Wednesday, 9 July - Mural Painting
Thursday, 10 July - Rainsticks
Tuesday, 15 July - Songs and Stories with Auriel Andrew
Wednesday, 16 July - "Live and Deadly" - Fun with Sean Choolburra
Thursday, 17 July - Taronga Zoo Presents "Animals of the Dreaming" - (Zoomobile)

Sans Souci Library, Cnr Clareville & Russell Avenues, Sans Souci
Bookings essential. Ph 9562 1817
All activities will be held from 11:00am - 12 noon
Wednesday, 9 July - Mural Painting
Thursday, 10 July - Coaster Design
Wednesday, 16 July - Torres Strait Islander Armband & Puzzles
Thursday, 17 July - Songs & Stories with Auriel Andrew

Rockdale Readers meeting Friday 20 June

The Rockdale Readers book club will be meeting this Friday 2o June at 5.30 pm. We will be discussing Carpentaria by Alexis Wright. Carpentaria won the Miles Franklin Award in 2007.

We had an interesting discussion at our last meeting on the 16 May about The thirteenth tale by Diane Setterfield. The main discussion centred around notions of truth and how lack of truth affects identity.

If you have read Carpentaria, feel free to come along.
If you would like more information or are interested in joining either of our bookclubs please call Natalie on 9562 1821

May bookvoucher winners

Congratulations to Yu Huai He, Matthew Tierney & Alan Samsa who are our May winners of the Borders book vouchers.They have won a $25 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during May 2008.

Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card

Changes to overdue fines

From 1 July 2008 overdue fines will be calculated on a weekly basis. An initial fine of $2.00 per item will be charged, increasing by $1.00 per week for each overdue item.
When you borrow from the library, you are given a slip listing your loans and due dates.
The majority of library members do not incur fines.
In order to avoid fines:

• return items by the due date
• renew items by the due date

Borrowers with a valid email address linked to their membership record will receive a reminder notice prior to items becoming overdue.
You can keep track of your loans via the catalogue.

Upcoming Library Events

Do you have children starting school in 2009?
Don't forget to book into the Starting School Parent Information Night to be held on 11 June 2008, 6pm. Please call 02 9562 1666 to book.

There are still places available for our two How to Survive HSC Stress seminars.
The seminar for students is on Wednesday 18 June 2008, 4pm
The seminar for parents is on Wednesday 25 June 2008, 6pm
Please call 02 9562 1821 to book

Author Talk - Barbara Ferguson

Please join us on the 26 June at 1pm for an author talk by Barbara Ferguson. Barbara is a local author who will be talking about her book Rain in my heart which is about the 7 years she spent in South Vietnam working with refugee and orphaned children.

To book for this event please call 02 9562 1821

Book Club Wednesday 4 June 2008

Rockdale Library's Wednesday book club will be meeting again on Wednesday 4 June at 10.30.

We will be discussing 'My brilliant career' by Miles Franklin.

If you have read this book, please join us at Rockdale Branch Library.

For more information please call 02 9562 1824

In July we will discuss The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller

Public Holiday

Rockdale Library and the branches at Arncliffe, Bexley, Bexley North and Sans Souci will be closed on 9 June 2008 for the Queen's Birthday long weekend.

We apologise for any inconvenience and hope everyone has a nice long weekend.

The libraries will reopen at their usual time on Tuesday 10 June.

How to survive the HSC stress

Come along for great tips and ideas to help you cope with this stressful
time presented by Dr Toula Tsovolos.
Students: Join us on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 at 4:00pm for hot tips served with pizza!

Parents: Join us on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 6:00pm for great ideas and refreshments!


Where? At Rockdale Library, 448 Princes Highway, Rockdale.


The events are free but bookings are essential. Please call Rockdale Library 9562-1821.

Author Talk 22 May 2008

Please join us at 1pm on Thursday 22 May for a talk by Sharyn Munro.

She will be talking about her book "The Woman on the mountain", in which she tells how and why she lives where she lives - solitary, solar-powered and almost self-sufficient - in her mud brick cabin on a remote Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Hunter.

We will have an Author Talk mailing list available to join on the day, if you would like to receive notice of future talks.

Please call 9562 1821 to book a place.

Starting School Parent Information Night

This information session is for parents who have children who are starting school in the next couple of years.
Rockdale City Council is hosting a Parent/Carer Information Night to help parents and children get ready for the big day.


When: Wednesday 11 June 2008, 6:00pm to 7:30 pm
Where: Rockdale Town Hall - Cnr Princes Highway & Bryant Street, Rockdale
Special Guest Speaker Ms Ana Levar, Lecturer at University of Western Sydney, speaking on
"Making sure your child has a good start to school".
Staff from local primary schools and Council staff are also available for information
Parents can register for this great information night by calling Council's Customer Service Centre on 9562 1666.

April bookvoucher winners

Congratulations to Ravi Kumar, Tin Lok Wu & Joanne Randell who are our April winners of the Borders book vouchers.

They have won a $20 borders gift card for renewing their loans on the web during april 08.

Online Catalogue Service Interruption

On Sunday 11 May there will be an interruption to the provision of the online catalogue between 12 and 4pm. There will be an update of the software which will take the catalogue offline for this period.

We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.

National Simultaneous Storytime - 21 May 2008 and Library Week Activities

Please join us for National Simultaneous Story time 21 May 2008

We are participating at our Storytimes at Rockdale and Bexley. The title for National Simultaneous Storytime this year is "Arthur" written by Amanda Graham.

All Storytimes during Library Week, 19 - 25 May, will have a special guest to help celebrate. Facepainters will visit our 11:00am Storytimes on the following dates:

Rockdale: 20 and 21 May

Bexley: 21 May

Bexley North: 22 May

Arncliffe: 23 May

Sans Souci: 23 May

Book club this Wednesday

Rockdale Library's Wednesday book club will meet on the 7th May at 10.30 am. We will be discussing Tim Winton's Dirt Music. If you have read this book, feel free to join us.

The Wednesday book club meets on the first Wednesday of every month. The book for June will be My brilliant career by Miles Franklin.

For more information please call Natalie on 9562 1824.

1 May 2008 Author talk

Please join us at 1pm on Thursday 1 May for a talk by Cheryl Koenig who will talk about her book Paper Cranes.

The talk is free of charge. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

For more information or to book please call 9562 1821.

Library closed for ANZAC day

Rockdale Library and the branches at Arncliffe, Bexley North and Sans Souci will be closed on Friday 25th April 2008 for ANZAC day.

Branches will reopen at their usual time on Saturday 26th of April 2008.

2008 Ron Rathbone Local History Prize

The 2008 Ron Rathbone Local History Prize is now open. This annual award offers $5000 to the author of the best piece of original, unpublished research on any aspect of the history of the City of Rockdale.
Inaugurated in 2006 to honour the former mayor, councillor and historian Ron Rathbone OAM, the aim of the prize is to foster the research and writing of local history. Entrants in the prize are encouraged to write about any aspect of the City's past they choose: buildings, organisations, politicians, sports people, parks, rivers or events are all suitable topics for research.
The competition closes on Friday 1 August 2008. Entry forms and guidelines are available at all Council libraries or can be downloaded from Rockdale Council's website - http://www.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/cms/cmswebcontent.nsf/Content/News_Events?Opendocument

Renew your loans and win

Each month, from February 2008 to January 2009, Rockdale City Library will be giving members the chance to win one of three $25 Borders gift cards!
The promotion is free to take part in and is open to Rockdale City Library members.
Simply renew your loans during any month in 2008 exclusively via our catalogue in the library or on our website at http://library.rockdale.nsw.gov.au/ to go into the draw for a gift card

Conditions of entry

• Each month draw will take place during the first two weeks of the following month
• You must make at least one renewal via our catalogue or on the web & no renewals at the branch circulation desks or over the phone in the preceding month
• You must not have any overdue items or outstanding charges at the time of the draw
• Promotion closed to Rockdale City Library staff and relations
• Three winners will be drawn randomly by computer each month from promotion start date to close date
• Each winner will receive one Borders gift card to the value of $25. A total of 36 winners will be drawn
• Prize not redeemable for cash or other products
• Prize can be collected from the branch library of your choice within 28 days of each draw Library card and ID required to collect prize
• Winners will be notified via phone or email within 24 hours of each draw & results will be displayed at each branch library
  
  
  

Good Reading Magazine Online at Rockdale Library

For the month of April Rockdale Library is trialling the online version of the Good Reading Magazine.


To use this online resource please click on the link.

We appreciate any feedback about it!

Author talk - Thursday 1 May, 1pm

Rockdale Library and Community Information Service is pleased to present Cheryl Koenig, who will be speaking about her book Paper Cranes.
More information about her book can be found at Exile Publishing.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Please call the library to book your place.
9562 1821

Rockdale Library News

Welcome to the new one stop shop for what's on at Rockdale Library and Community Information Service.

We will up date this site as news comes to hand!

Stay tuned!