Troon Library’s Open Day was a great success

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Troon Library opened its doors last Saturday to welcome customers old and new to all the great services that are available at your library.

All the children who attended enjoyed the Bookbug sessions, storytime and Chatterbooks activities, as well as keeping Jinty Haddow busy in the morning face painting.

Luckily the weather stayed dry for the Community Safety bus manned by Robert White and his team.  The bus parked down at the beach and the children had a wonderful time playing games in the sunshine.

Our local history librarian Tom Barclay’s talk ‘Ayrshire around the World: Emigrants, Travellers and Homecomers’, proved very popular and was enjoyed by a large audience.

There was also a lot of interest in the demonstrations given by Gillian on our eBook and eMagazine services on the Kindle Fire, iPad and Galaxy Note devices.

Overall the day was enjoyed not only by members of the public, but by our staff who were very happy to see such a busy library.

Book Sale

During the month of May Troon Library will be holding a Spring / Summer book sale.  A good selection of holiday reading will be available for 50p, with DVDs for sale for £2.

May Public Holidays 2013

All South Ayrshire Libraries will be closed on:

• Monday 6 May  2013 and
• Monday 27 May 2013

Should you require to renew library items you can do so on our online catalogue - Please note:  your library card number and PIN will be required.

My Library Anytime -Your 24hr Library

Library closed? You can still download eBooks and eAudio,  Zinio eMagazines and access our on-line resources at My Library Anytime.

Do you wear NHS hearing aids? Come to the FREE walk-in hearing aid clinic at Troon Library

The free clinic provides:

• new batteries and new earmould tubing
• advice on how to use and clean your hearing aids • information on services that can help you

Your local service is available at: Troon Library, 5 South Beach, Troon KA10 6EF

When?

• Tuesday 7th May 2013 2-4pm
• Tuesday 4th June 2013 2-4pm
• Tuesday 2nd July 2013 2-4pm
• Tuesday 6th August 2013 2-4pm
• Tuesday 3rd September 2013 2-4pm

If you require further information contact Donna McSwiggan, Project Coordinator on 01563 539900 or email donna.mcswiggan@hearingloss.org.uk

Welcome to our Next Generation eRead website

Our eRead website has recently been updated making it faster and more intuitive to connect to the titles you are looking for. This new layout makes it much easier to see at a glance what titles are available for loan and the format they are available in.

Check out the video to get familiar with the new design or take a look at OverDrive’s step-by-step guide.

OverDrive Read – See Book, Read book

OverDrive Read is a new in-browser eBook reader. It works just like any eBook reading app, except you don’t need to activate or install extra software.

What do I need to begin? All you need is a computer, tablet, or mobile device with a modern web browser. Try it for yourself click to read a sample of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

How does OverDrive Read work? Once you’ve borrowed a title, click the Read button next to a supported OverDrive Read eBook on your bookshelf to open it in a new tab or window.

Anywhere, on anything
Your eBooks are stored in the cloud, which means you can read across a number of different devices and your eBooks will sync so that you don’t lose your place. Modern web browsers will save the books in the browser cache, so you can read even when you’re not connected to the internet.

For more on how to use OverDrive Read, check out their help site for a more detailed guide.

For the best user experience, we recommend using Google Chrome for OverDrive Read.  If you’re using Internet Explorer, you may need to install the Google Chrome Frame plugin .  It’s free software that installs in moments. If you need the Chrome plugin, you will be prompted when you try to open an eBook. If you cannot install the plugin you can opt to use OverDrive Read Basic instead, a reduced-feature version of OverDrive Read.

Take advantage of this great free service,  join the library.

World Book Night Celebrations

It’s World Book Night tomorrow night (April 23) where thousands of givers will be gifting 20 copies of their favourite books to their communities to share their love of reading. Join in the celebrations with staff from South Ayrshire Libraries at the Citadel Leisure Centre, Ayr on Wednesday 24 April from 5.30pm onwards.

Discover this year’s amazing reads, how many of the titles have you read?

• The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
• Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
• Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
• The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
• Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
• The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
• A Little History of the World by E.H Gombrich
• Little Face by Sophie Hannah
• Damage by Josephine Hart
• The Island by Victoria Hislop
• Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay
• Last Night Another Soldier… by Andy McNab
• Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• The Reader by Bernard Schlink
• No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Road Home by Rose Tremain
• Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
• Judge Dredd: The Dark Judges by John Wagner

Find any of these titles on our library catalogue.

Job Application drop-in sessions at your local library

Would you like a helping hand to get a new job?

South Ayrshire Libraries run free and friendly CV drop-in sessions which provide help and support with creating a new C.V. or updating an existing C.V., setting up an email account and applying for jobs on-line.

During 2013/2014 the sessions will be available from:

15 April – 14 June ’13
2 September – 6 December ’13
13 January – 28 March ’14

at the following locations on the days specified:

Carnegie Library, Monday 2-5pm
Forehill Library, Tuesday 2-5pm
Girvan Library, Wednesday 2-5pm
Maybole Library, Thursday 2-5pm

Access to Employment will also be providing additional support at Forehill Library for the following:

• Setting up Universal Job Match account
• Assistance with Universal Job Match
• Interview skills and techniques
• Letter writing skills
• Personal development
• Confidence building
• Signposting to other agencies (college, CLD, volunteering, adult literacy, housing etc)

For further information please contact Joan Black our Lifelong Learning Librarian on 01292 272244

Troon Library Open Day Saturday 27 April 2013

Come along to Troon Library’s Open Day and find out about all the great things you can do at your library.

We have lots of fun events lined up during the day for children of all ages including; Bookbug Sessions, Storytime for 4-7 year olds, Chatterbooks and Face Painting.  South Ayrshire Community Safety Van will be at the Beach Park with their Multi Usage Games Arena where children can play football, hockey and tennis.  For the younger children there will be big Lego blocks, huge Connect 4 and other fun activities to keep everyone entertained.

The Marr Resource Centre will be available exclusively for those wishing to find out how to trace their family history, with expert help from Troon Family History Society. Tom Barclay our Local History Librarian will also be giving a fascinating talk: ‘Ayrshire around the World: Emigrants, Travellers and Homecomers’.

In the afternoon Ayrshire Arts (Candles and Soaps) and Bomphray Cards and Gifts will selling lots of interesting craft work including; personalised wine glasses and phone charms.

Throughout the day we will have members of Ivy Cottage Committee, Troon Town Twinning, Citizen Advocacy Support Services (CASS) and our local community policeman Brian Downie who will be here to help anyone with any concerns. Library staff will also be happy to answer any questions you might have and be on hand to show customers how to use our online eRead and eMagazine lending services.

All events and activities are free, but tickets will be required for the Bookbug Session, Story time and Ayrshire around the World: Emigrants, Travellers and Homecomers talk.

Please contact Troon Library on 01292 315152 for more details or view our programme of events.

Looking for Funding? Launch of New Volunteering Grant Programmes

The Voluntary Action Fund (VAF) provides grants to, and works with voluntary organisations and community groups across Scotland. Their grant programmes cover a wide range of social issues and they are seeking to work in partnership with individuals and organisations from the private, public and third sectors to tackle inequalities and help build strong communities.

VAF is pleased to announce the launch of two new grant programmes to support third sector organisations with an income under £250,000 create new or enhanced volunteering projects.  The grants aim to increase the diversity of volunteers and improve opportunities for skills and personal development through volunteering.  The grant will also support third sector organisations to enhance their services and improve their capacity to deploy, support and train volunteers.

The Volunteering Support Grant will provide up to £10,000 to support organisations improve and develop their capacity to involve volunteers who are experiencing disadvantage.  The two deadlines for applications are 10 May 2013 and 28 February 2014.

The Volunteering Support Cluster will fund an organisation to employ a Volunteer Coordinator/Manager, to work across a ‘Cluster’ of 4 or 5 organisations, to develop volunteering for people experiencing disadvantage.   Maximum funding available is £30,000. The two deadlines for applications are 19 July 2013 and 31 January 2014.

“Effective volunteering can be a really powerful tool for delivering vital services to Scotland’s communities, as well as bringing substantial benefits to the volunteers themselves, the organisations they work within and the wider community.  We welcome applications to these exciting new grant programmes to support organisations develop volunteering opportunities for people experiencing disadvantage”. Chris Smith, Volunteering and Community Grants Manager at VAF

Further information, including application forms and guidance for these grants, are available on the VAF website www.vaf.org.uk

Ayrshire Photographic Society Annual Exhibition on display at Carnegie Library

Annual Exhibition 2013: Prints Section

The Ayrshire Photographic Society has its annual exhibition on display at Carnegie library. Come along and take a look at the wide variety of exceptional prints on display.

This exhibition will be on display until the end of April 2013.

New Bookbug Sessions April to June 2013

Catch the reading bug at your library!

Come along and join us for these free, fun and friendly events for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their families to enjoy together.

Each session lasts around 30 minutes and includes songs, stories and rhymes. There is usually no need to book (except for Troon Library Sessions), they take place in a very relaxed environment and are a great opportunity to spend some quality time with your little one. You can download the Bookbug leaflet below or visit our online events calendar.

• Bookbug Sessions for April to June 2013