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November 2002 LIBRARY NEWS C5^a RMONY Harmony is the name of the beautiful stained glass window located in the Main Hall of the Library. The window was created in 1931 by John Henry Dearie after an oil painting by Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee. It was produced in the stained glass studios of Morris & Company in England. The window was commissioned by Henry Athelston Stone, a Vancouver businessman and a founder of the Vancouver Art Gallery. He presented it to the new Vancouver Art Gallery in memory of his son, Lieut. Horace Gordon Stone, who died on active duty on December 15, 1918. The window was located in a prominent spot visible from the front door until World War II when it was taken down and put in the basement of City Hall for protection. Following the war, it was returned to Mrs. Allan Gentles, sister of Lieut. Stone. Mrs. Gentles, a resident of West Vancouver, was aware of the new library being built on Marine Drive as a memorial to those who died in World War II and in 1950 she presented the window to the Library in memory of her brother. This lovely piece has been relocated as the building changed but it has always enhanced the library with its special beauty and meaning. The graceful image is featured on our new library cards and many of our publications as well as our website (www. westvanlib. org). Some time soon (perhaps during the reception on November 11'^) take a moment to appreciate this treasure of the Library. Please join us following the Remembrance Day Parade for the annual reception sponsored by the Friends of the Library. 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 REFERENCE DEPARTMENT The academic community and its terminology has a rather humorous side to it when we look into the histories of some of its most com- monly used terms. For example, symposium, defined as “a scholastic conference for the discussion of a particular subject and exchange of ideas,” has its roots in the Greek synposion, (syn - “together” + pinein = “to drink”), thus “drinking together.” In Ancient Greece, the synposion manifested itself as an “after-dinner drinking party” ... the term later migrating into Latin as symposium, and taken a little more seriously since the word was a foreign import, thus possess- ing an aura of sophistication. The sibling event to the symposium was the Latin-derived compotation {com - “with” + potare = “to drink”). While drinking was the first order of business at a compo- tation, the symposium became a little more highbrow, much more like a colloquy (Latin com = “together, with” + loqui ^ “speak”), or a conference with conversation. Another academic term we hear is syllabus, known to university and college students as “an outline or summary of the main points in a course of study.” However, the spelling was actually a creation of a 15“’-century printer’s blunder. The correct term should have been sittabas, but the printer spelt it as syllabos, which was slightly changed to syllabus, a short while after. What we should be hearing today is sittabas, rather than syllabus. Symposium ox pub crawl, call it what you will.. .academic or plebeian, when one sees double, the typos are likely to be overlooked. Sources: Webster’s Word Histories; KoherXWendhckson, Encyclopedia of Word & Phrase Origins. ADULT DEPARTMENT IN THE GALLERY ... This month the Gallery is celebrat- ing diversity and colour in this non-objective, abstract, abstract realism, and primitive landscape group show featuring: Barbara Acheson “Sail to Discovery” Acrylic; Jane Dunfield “Playful Connections” Acrylic; Jill Royall “Metamorphosis” Acrylic; Deborah Stephan “Our Peaceful World/ Unravelling World” Watercolour and Charcoal. Opening reception hosted by the Gallery and the exhibiting artists is on Friday, November 1, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. AUTHORS and POETS Peter Stursburg, former CBC journalist and author of over a dozen books, will be speaking about his fascinating new memoir. No Foreign Bones in China. This insightful book recreates the story of Stursburg’s British colonial family through the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, two world wars and the rise of Mao as they witnessed the tur- bulent birth of modem China. The family was settled in Pagoda Anchorage, the heart of the Chinese tea trade. They expected to spend their lives in this beautiful place, but they were forced to leave. In a dramatic display of pro-Chinese nationalism, foreign- ers were expelled from the countryâ€"even to the bones lying in their graves. Date: Monday, November 4, 2002 Time: 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Place: Peter J. Peters Room George McWhirter, a great Irish bard and presently a professor in the Creative Writing Department at UBC, will be here to read his poems and talk about poetry. His latest collection of poems. The Book of Contradictions, is a richly textured, compellingly musical work. It is a journey into the landscapes of childhood and youth, marriage and fatherhood set in Ireland and Canada. The music and wit of these poems will delight you. Date: Monday, November 18,2002 Time: 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Place: Peter J. Peters Room Join us for these two entertaining evening programs; the events are free, but please call to register at 604-925-7402, or sign-up at the Fiction Desk. [i