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April 2002 LIBRARY NEWS Did you know that...? This month, let’s play a game called “Did you know that...?” It’s a very simple game to play - all you have to do is keep reading. All figures, unless otherwise noted, are from 2001. Did you know that... â-  according to the 2001 census (hot off the Web site) the population of West Vancouver is 41,421? â-  of those 41,421 residents over 87% have West Vancouver Memorial Library cards? â-  482,689 people passed through the Library doors last year? â-  those Library users borrowed 945,700 items? â-  we were asked over 104,300 reference questions either in person, via the telephone or through the Library Web site (yes, you can ask us questions this way too!)? â-  the Library Web site received over 146,800 hits? â-  the Summer Reading Club had a sign up total of over 1100 children and teens? â-  Library staff offered over 400 programs for children and adults? No matter how you cut it, your Library is a very busy place (and we wouldn’t have it any other way!). REFERENCE SERVICES The Reference Department has recently received a copy of the interim report of the Hughes Commission, Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP. Long awaited by many library users, this report contains the public hearings into the complaints regarding the events that took place during the demonstrations largely on the UBC campus during the APEC Conference in November 1997. A new version of the Book of Lists published by The People’s Almanac was recently received into the Reference collection. Essentially a book of trivia, there are some interesting items one would be hard pressed to find anywhere else. There are lists of obscure words that even lexicographers would think didn’t exist: e.g., “the armhole in clothing” is an EE; “the space between the eyebrows” is an OPHRYON; “creases on the inside of the wrist” are known collectively as RASCETA ; “stomach rumbling” is WAMBLE. Then there’s another category; words that are non-existent as single terms in English that other languages have: e.g., the word DOHADA in found in Sanskrit and means “unorthodox cravings of a pregnant woman;” RAZBLIUTO was found in the Russian meaning “the feeling a man has for a person he once loved, but no longer does;” the word DRACHENFUTTER exists in German and is defined as “the gift a husband brings home to his wife after staying out unusually late.” The latter terms are not usually listed in dictionaries; the question is: do we use them if we know them? ADULT SERVICES IN THE GALLERY...”Honouring the Flower” paintings by Ursula Allen and Helen Ott will be on display in the Gallery April 2 to 30. Ursula’s paintings reflect her love for the scenery of the Pacific Northwest which has become the theme for many of her watercolours. She now uses a variety of media including acrylics, pastels and collage in which colour predominates. Helen’s goal is to be able to portray to the viewer what she sees and how she feels about nature and her surrounding environment. She is currently Secretary of the West Vancouver Sketch Club. Reception, artists in attendance, Friday, April 5, 2002, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. AUTHOR VISIT SPIDER ROBINSON The incredibly prolific science fiction writer and Nebula and Hugo awards winner is “the antidote for entropy, the blahs, and the pernicious notion that humour and good grace are absent from the SF field.” (Ben Bova) Spider Robinson will help us celebrate Canada Book Day during the North Shore Writers’ Festival held at your local libraries. Join us for a fun evening of discussion and refreshments. White Dwarf Books will also be on hand with copies of Spider’s books for purchasing and signing. Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 Time: 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. Place: Peter J. Peters Room This event is free, but please call (604) 925-7402 to register. WEST VANCOUVER MEMORIAL LIBRARY 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver, BC,V7V 1J8 Tel: (604) 925-7400 Library Hours; (604) 925-7401 Fax: (604) 925-5933 Website: www.westvanlib.org