Library Leaves - 6

Published on 14 April 2021

Wiyabu

This Edition of Library Leaves is brought to you by the words ‘spider’ and ‘Renaissance’ and the number 50.

The big news in Midcoast Libraries is that Council recently approved an allocation of up to $400,000 from the Wingham area Developer Contributions to make the amazing Wingham library even more amazing. Combined with the $500,000 grant we secured we’ll be spending close to a million dollars to make Wingham the latest jewel in the library crown.

Weather permitting, and we all know the challenges that’s presented, we hope to have the project completed around the end of June (it’s a huge undertaking). Yes, we will have to close Wingham Library for a while, but that memory will quickly fade when the community sees the extensive and dynamic changes.

Speaking of the recent floods I have to give a shout out to the library staff, who all pitched together to get our libraries open as soon as possible. Despite road closures and isolated staff, we had every branch open within three days of the onset of the floods. Also, another shout out to all Council staff who worked incredibly long hours getting the recovery process underway and setting up the new Recovery Centre in Taree.   

Thanks to the floods, spiders, en masse, have been in the news. Here’s a couple of arachnid facts you may not be aware of. Even though they typically have eight eyes, most spiders are near-sighted. Jumping spiders can leap fifty times their own length. In human terms that would mean a high jumper could pretty much clear the Sydney Harbour Bridge, from sea level. Check out the classic Far Side cartoon for a bit of a giggle.

Word of the Edition: Couple. I had always thought couple means two (so does the dictionary) but I now have to make sure I say two when I ask for something because I’ve been regularly asked for an exact number. Apparently, for some customers it can mean more. Wow. I guess I’ll have to be careful about referring to happy couples in the future.

I saw a post recently about Renaissance babies: Check it out here. Which one are you?

That reminded me of some classically bad restoration projects here. My favourites are 1, 4 and 7, though all are worthy of inclusion.

Dad Joke (in French): Combien d'yeux a une araignée? (How many eyes does a spider have?)

A: 1 (think about it)

Djurumi. Gapu.