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Arthur, his stories and me

An illustrated talk based on the delightful and truly fascinating story of Arthur Ransome, best known for “Swallows and Amazons” is taking place at Enderby Library at 4.00pm on Wednesday 4 February. Enjoy this dramatic telling, mixing fact and fiction together using sound, pictures and a substantial narrative.

Some will view the show as a special travelogue. Others as a light literary experience. Many will recall childhood thrills as they remember some of the adventures depicted in the books. An enthralling, magical talk by Douglas Maas.

The talk will last approximately one hour with refreshments afterwards. Please contact the library to book your free place. www.leics.gov.uk/enderby_library

Focus on Healthy Living

If your New Year’s resolution is to get fitter and healthier then Leicestershire County Council’s libraries can help you. Libraries have books and information to help everyone change to a healthier lifestyle. Libraries across the County have books on healthy eating, exercise and fitness as well as local walks and keeping children healthy.

A new webpage, Focus on Healthy Living, highlights useful websites that give information and tips for a healthier lifestyle. For those who want to take it one step further, libraries can provide information about local clubs and courses.

To find out more, see www.leics.gov.uk/focusonhealth or visit your local library.

The art of "perfect snogging"

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging will be shown at Snibston Century Theatre on Friday, January 23.

The film, based on the best-selling books by Louise Rennison (check out our library catalogue to reserve a copy!), follows the life of Georgia Nicholson, an eccentric and irresistible teenager struggling through life. Georgia's main aims in life are to get a gorgeous boyfriend and throw the greatest 15th birthday party ever.

The film is rated 12A and the showing starts at 7.30pm, with doors opening at 7.00pm. Tickets cost £3.50 on the door. The Century Cinema is at Snibston in Ashby Road, Coalville LE67 3LN. A unique venue and film not to be missed!

www.leics.gov.uk/libraries

www.snibston.com

www.centurytheatre.co.uk

Family win Wii in library storywriting competition

The Johnston family from Braunstone Town are celebrating winning a Nintendo Wii . The prize was awarded to the family for creating their own version of a traditional story for Telling Tales, a story writing competition run by Leicestershire Library Services for the Family Learning Festival that took place in October.

Their winning story Little Red Hoody was a contemporary version of the traditional tale which tackled issues around bullying in a light but sensitive way.

What made the story extra special was that three generations of the family had spent the day together out in the woods dressing up and bringing their version of the story to life. "We not only got to have a good fun day out, but also appreciated spending extra time together as a family planning our story and problem solving together," said Mr Johnston.

Children from Chatterbooks, the library services’ reading groups for children, helped to judge the 80 entries for the Telling Tales competition which was just one of the Big Book Bash activities put on by Leicestershire Library Services to help bring stories to life for the Family Learning Festival.

The adult judges of the competition were impressed by the number and quality of the entries.

"It’s clear that the Wii has been a great incentive in getting families together to create their stories – the results of their efforts are outstanding".

Details of all prize winners can be found on the libraries website .

www.leics.gov.uk/family_learning_week

Know your energy consumption, conserve energy and save money

Visit your local library today to take advantage of a free one week loan of a wireless energy monitor. By using a device, energy bills can be considerably reduced by taking simple steps to improve energy efficiency in the home up to £340 per year.

The Environmental Action Team from Leicestershire County Council has joined forces with all Libraries to set up this new scheme to help conserve energy. These monitors can be borrowed for one week at a time, absolutely free. The OWL energy monitors are easy to install, simple to use and helps to reduce your carbon footprint. A monitor, which is attached to the main electricity supply cable, shows how much energy is being used at that time. By switching off electrical devices and leaving one running, the OWL shows how much energy is required to power that particular device either when on or on standby.

It is estimated that householders in Leicestershire waste over £13 million by leaving appliances on standby. The average household in the UK spends around £1,300 per year on energy, which is set to increase even more with sharply rising energy prices.

For example, a PlayStation 3 left in idle mode uses the equivalent of three 60-watt bulbs; and could add £164 a year on to electricity bills. Julian Bird, from Tilton on the Hill who has recently borrowed an Energy Monitor through the loan scheme has discovered he can save up to 5% energy per year just by switching his laptop off standby. He has now also switched over to energy saving lightbulbs, is switching off lights when leaving a room and turning the room thermostat down in a bid to save energy and save money. He has estimated he will be able to make a 17% reduction in his energy bill over the next 12 months.

72% of consumers said they would reduce their energy consumption if they knew how much they were using, according to TNS / Future Foundation research.

http://www.leics.gov.uk/familychallengemonitors

Don’t forget your PIN!

To safeguard our customers’ identity online, Leicestershire Libraries are running a campaign to help you remember your PIN (Personal Identification Number) when using the public computers.

From 2nd January 2009 if you forget your PIN you will not be issued a temporary number, but will need to apply for a new one. This new policy is for your own safety to prevent other users from stealing your identity online.

If you do not have a PIN or if you have forgotten it, you can simply tell a member of library staff that you need to apply for a new one, and you will receive it after a few days.

You can use your PIN to:

• book and use the library computers for free


• renew items online or by phone 0845 602 2815


• reserve books online

Remember to keep your PIN safe and don't let anyone else use it. You can change your PIN to something memorable by visiting www.leics.gov.uk/libraries and clicking on My Account.

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