July 2023

Journey Through Time this Summer! 

Ever dreamed of time travel? With this year’s Summer Reading programs for kids, teens, and adults, you can roam with the dinosaurs, delve deep into the Paleolithic, imagine future technologies and cityscapes, and conjure up new histories, alternate realities, and so much more. This year, our Summer Reading programs are inviting everyone to “journey through time”.

Ready to dust off your DeLorean or take your Tardis for a spin? Sign up below and read your way through the ages.

Sign up here!

What's happening

Drawing Workshops with Jeni Chen for kids 

Save the date for two virtual workshops with this year’s BC Summer Reading Club Illustrator Jeni Chen!

Jeni is the artist behind the 2023 time travel theme – Journey Through Time —  for this year’s SRC. She has also authored and illustrated her first children’s picture book, Emet’s Box, a story that encourages self-discovery and finding one’s passion and an ode to her son.

July 18 – for ages 9+

July 27 – for ages 5 to 8

Register here

Virtual Gardening Series - Weeds 

Weeds are a big topic and a big problem. After we figure out what a weed is, we’ll examine the terms noxious, invasive, naturalized and native. We’ll look at some of the weedy botanical species in BC and talk about weed control and when you should report a weed sighting. We’ll take a deep dive into weed resources for identification, effects on biodiversity, climate change, and the economy, and actions you can take to reduce the weed invasion.

July 17, 6:30 - 8pm

Sign up now

We are Podcasters! 

Have you listened to Meet Me in the Stacks, a podcast for book-ish people? On our show, we take deep dives into subjects that inform, entertain, and enlighten. You don’t have to be an avid reader to find enjoyment in our show, but of course, if you are, you definitely don’t want to miss an episode.

What are you waiting for? Meet us in the stacks today and satisfy your inner (ear's) most craving. 

Register here

Taurus biblioscope

Hey Book Lover! What's Your Sign? 

Every month we search for the perfect book pairing for each zodiac sign. This July, there's nothing for you Cancers to feel crabby about. Need a great read in a pinch? We've got you covered!  

What's my biblioscope

Legit Librarian Hack

Video Games at VIRL      

Video games at the library. You’re reading it correctly. We have video games. At the library. And you can check them out just like you would a book or a DVD — all you need is your library card!

Did you know that video games are an interactive and engaging way for people of all ages to engage in mentally stimulating activities, and that many games promote STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics)? Playing games can result in enhancing problem-solving, creativity, logical thinking and teamwork skills. Video games are also able to teach real world concepts such as environmental sustainability and alternative energy.

They’re also a lot of fun.

We’ve got games for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox, and for all ages and interests. Due to their immense popularity, video games are available for a one week loan.

So VIRL fans, are you ready to get your game on? 

virl.bc.ca/read-watch-listen/play/video-games/

Get started right now. 

Click here to get more great hacks

Indigenous Collection 

VenCo, by Cherie Dimaline, February 2023

From the publisher, Random House Canada:

Lucky St. James, orphaned daughter of a bad-ass Métis good-times girl, is barely hanging on to her nowhere life when she finds out that she and her grandmother, Stella, are about to be evicted from their apartment. Bad to worse in a heartbeat. Then one night, doing laundry in the building's dank basement, Lucky feels an irresistible something calling to her. Crawling through a hidden hole in the wall, she finds a tarnished silver spoon depicting a story-book hag over letters that spell out S-A-L-E-M.

Which alerts Salem-born Meena Good, finder of a matching spoon, to Lucky's existence. One of the most powerful witches in North America, Meena has been called to bring together seven special witches and seven special spoons—infused with magic and scattered to the four directions more than a century ago—to form a magic circle that will restore women to their rightful power. Under the wing of the international headhunting firm VenCo, devoted to placing exceptional women in roles where they can influence business, politics and the arts, Meena has spent years searching out witches hiding in plain sight wherever women gather: suburban book clubs, Mommy & Me groups, temp agencies. Lucky and her spoon are number six.

With only one more spoon to find, a very powerful adversary has Meena's coven in his sights—Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself. As the clock ticks toward a now-or-never deadline, Meena sends Lucky and her grandmother on a dangerous, sometimes hilarious, road trip through the United States in search of the seventh spoon. The trail leads them at last to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where Lucky's final showdown with Jay Christos will determine whether the coven will be completed, ushering in a new beginning, or whether witches will be forced to remain forever underground.

Place a hold now

Vancouver Island Regional Library  |  90 Commercial St. Nanaimo BC  |  communications @virl.bc.ca