X?wi7x?wa Library (First Nations House of Learning Library)
Vancouver, British Columbia

2023 marks the 30^th anniversary of the opening of the X?wi7x?wa Library at the University of British Columbia. Xwi7xwa (pronounced whei wha) Library is housed in a replica pithouse or kekuli house, a traditional Interior Salish winter dwelling. It is situated adjacent to First Nations Longhouse, an award-winning building constructed with Western red cedar logs and designed to reflect the architectural tradition of a Musqueam shed-style longhouse.The University of British Columbia formally recognizes the Musqueam in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded lands the university is located.
 
The collections focus on First Nations in British Columbia, but also include contextual materials about Indigenous people in Canada as a whole. As its classification system, X?wi7x?wa Library uses First Nations House of Learning (FNHL) subject headings developed at UBC in an effort to better reflect Indigenous Peoples’ self-identities, modes of understanding, and traditional knowledge. UBC Library offers an Aboriginal Borrowing Card to any self-identified Indigenous (First Nations, Metis, and Inuit) person in Canada.

The Norfolk Library will be closed on Thursday, November 23.
We wish you a happy Thanksgiving!

Foreign Correspondents in Hong Kong Then and Now
Sunday, November 19, 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

Mark Erder and former foreign correspondent Keith Richburg will introduce the BBC documentary film "Of All the Gin Joints" (1999, 45  minutes), produced by Mark. The film portrays the men and women who frequented the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Hong Kong. The FCC was used as a base for China watchers and as a retreat from the Vietnam War for those on R&R in Hong Kong. Mark is the founder of Asia Pacific Vision (APV), an independent video production company established in 1991 and based in Hong Kong. Richburg was Director of The Journalism and Media Studies Centre of Hong Kong University where he taught from 2016 to 2023. He now teaches at Princeton and is a member of the Editorial Board of The Washington Post and a Post Global Opinions columnist, where he writes primarily about foreign policy issues. Following the film, Mark and Keith will discuss their experiences in Hong Kong and answer questions. Please visit here to register.

Annual Carol Sing
Saturday, November 25, 5:00 p.m.

Please join us as we ring in the holiday season with carols led by the wonderful Liz Allyn. Cider and cookies will be served by the Library Associates as we await Santa's arrival in the fire truck and the lighting of the tree on the Village Green at 5:45 p.m.

Corner Club: World Wildlife
Wednesday, November 29, 3:45 p.m.

Animal Embassy will take children on a journey around the globe with incredible live Animal Ambassadors from diverse habitats. From the rain forest to the desert, from climbing to burrowing, animals have developed incredibly unique ways to survive.

Founded in 2002 by naturalist Chris Evers, Animal Embassy is dedicated to exotic animal rescue & adoption and environmental education. Specializing in hands-on, educational and interactive experiences, Animal Embassy has rescued or adopted more than 500 exotic animals over the years and currently maintains over 100 non-releasable animals in educational exhibits, including small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, arachnids and insects. Pictured above is panther chameleon.

Children will need a note to get off the school bus at the Library. Registration is appreciated. Visit here to register.

Classic Crawford Film Series: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)
Friday, December 1, 7:00 p.m.

Robert Dance, author of Ferocious Ambition: Joan Crawford's March to Stardom, will introduce this classic Crawford film, not to be missed on the big screen! An astute, lavishly illustrated evaluation of one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Ferocious Ambition will be available for sale and signing by the author. Visit here to find out more and to register.

Norfolk Library Book Group with Mark Scarbrough
Marilynne Robinson, Jack (2020)
Thursday, December 7
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. or 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. via Zoom

Mark has chosen Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead series—Gilead, Home, Lila, and Jack—for the Book Group discussions this fall. Over the past sixteen years, Robinson’s now-mythical world of Gilead, Iowa, and the beloved characters who inhabit it, have illuminated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Set in the 1950s in the rural town of Gilead, the series chronicles the lives of the families of Reverend John Ames and Reverend Robert Boughton. 

Jack is Robinson’s fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead’s Presbyterian minister, and his romance with Della Miles, a high school teacher who is also the child of a preacher. Their deeply felt, tormented, star-crossed interracial romance resonates with all the paradoxes of American life.

If you are new to the Book Group and would like to participate, please email Mark at [email protected], and he will email you a formal invitation link to the online discussion group.

November is National Picture Book Month, an international literacy initiative that celebrates the print picture book in an increasingly digital age. We are taking a look back and have matched up sixteen classics for you to choose from. See who advanced to the next round and vote for your favorites! Round 3 voting takes place through Wednesday, November 22. Voting will close at 12am, midnight. The leading picture books will advance to the next tier of voting, and the finalists will be announced in the November 24 Night Owl, as well as through social media. The popularity contest will continue until the champion is announced on November 30. All voting participants will be entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to Oblong Books. Click here to vote.

Click here for more information.