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FAREWELL TO SUMMER AND HELLO TO FALL - Grace Kravac It wasn't so long ago that we enjoyed our Strawberry Tea which was served by the Executive. Luscious fresh local strawberries topped with whipping cream and served on Barbara Drummond's home-made sponge cake was a delight to behold. Thank you to all the Friends who helped make it a special affair. Hopefully, everyone found some time to relax and enjoy catching up on their reading during the past few months. We are sorry to see Librarian, Pam Douglas retire as she was instrumental in bringing many interesting authors for us to hear. At our last meeting, she presented the Friends with a box of delicious Purdy's chocolates. Sue Kent, Librarian, has sent a sincere thank you to the Friends who catered to 300 people at the June musical evening. There were patrons perched on the front check-out counter, and the younger generation were sprawled out on the floor, and the rest of the people were standing. It was quite a feat for the servers as they were competing for the aisles along with the crowd who were looking for places to sit. In an effort to contribute to "ecological sustainability", we have purchased some clear plastic com cups, and sugar cane fibre coffee cups which are 100% biodegradable. These will be used at our receptions. Please be aware that hot drinks must be double-cupped. Yes, we did pay half price for them. It is nice to keep in touch over the summer, and Patricia Treadwell made sure we did. Along with her husband Chris, Patricia hosted an afternoon tea for the Executive and the Book Cart volunteers who faithfully tend the cart year-round. I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the proceeds from the Book Cart for August totalled an unprecedented $1370. Super team work! DIRECTOR OF LIBRARY SERVICES - Ann Goodhart The Reference Department has just acquired the full set of B.C. birth, marriage and death (including overseas casualties) records on microfilm. These civil registration records are records of vital events collected by the B.C. Vital Statistics Agency. Registrations began in 1872, but due to privacy laws, birth records are only released to the public after 120 years, marriage records after 75 years, and death records after 20 years. This means that the collection consists, in general, of the following: Birth Registrations 1854-1886 Marriage Registrations 1872-1931 Death Registrations 1872-1986 In the Lower Mainland we are the only North Shore library to have these films, as well as the Vancouver Library and Surrey Library. A request for the Friends to purchase equipment that will adapt the microfiche reader printer for reading microfilm was unanimously approved. The cost of the equipment, which will allow two people to use the new genealogy records just purchased, is $7,000. "A-Z: Magazines and Newspapers Online" A list of 15,000+ online magazines, newspapers, and journals. Patrons can search by title or subject, then link directly to the full text. Also in May, "Press Display" was launched. Patrons can read current newspapers from all over the world, in dozens of languages.