It's not all about games...

Obtuseness. A gentle reminder that when one has nothing positive to say, perhaps he should considering saying nothing. Ah well. Lack of vision is not a crime, and by some it's seen as a virtue. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Life/Library+games/1393761/story.html.

Perhaps if Mr. Taylor had bothered to look at OPL's mission statement, he would have seen that those activities DO fit in our mission statement, under "community building" and "connecting people with each other". It also is an inexpensive way to advertize library's services: Our Friday March 13's tournament was run by teen volunteers, all the library had to do was to provide registration and poster production and advertizing. I wasn't in the room but parents who were present in the room found the event well run and inclusive. And although the participants brought in snacks and drinks, the room and table were cleaner at the end than when they took possession of it to run their event.

Anyway, libraries are about information and people, not just books. Books are a tool. There are many other tools available. Our main purpose is to serve the community and help it becoming stronger. Video games are but another tool.

And since this is Saint Patrick's day... No, I don't have any Irish blood :). My co-workers were kind enough to tell me how to actually pronounce Leprechaun...

SLO

It's coming, but I guess that this year again, we (OPL) are not going. Le Salon du Livre de l'Outaouais will be held between March 26 and 29 at the Palais des Congrès in Hull. Here's the official website: http://www.slo.qc.ca/ . My friend Claude Bolduc http://claudebolduc.tripod.com/ goes in a frenzy about a month every year, at about this time of the year...

I must say I think it's a bit of a shame that the biggest bilingual library in North America can't go there considering that after all, Gatineau IS part of Greater Ottawa's "catchment area" and that there are a lot of potential paying users on the other side of the river. Although the Bibliothèque Municipale de Gatineau does a fantastic job with the miserable yearly budget they get, we can offer services beyond what they can offer, especially with our Databases and Overdrive products, among other things. Also, a lot of our francophone Ottawa Users cross the river to go see what's up in the Francophone Publishing world.

I sometimes come to think that the river that separates Ottawa from Gatineau is awfully wide for its size. And I don't claim it's all Ottawa's fault. Far from it.

Sushi

Miam.

Inaris, especially. I've developped a fondness for these.

Fried Tofu sheet filled with rice. A bit sweet. Fantastically tasty.