August 2021 Greetings from the Library
 So nice to see you!
 
We have enjoyed seeing you inside the library, Tuesdays through Saturdays, since we unlocked the doors to the Port Carling branch on July 13, 2021 and we appreciate that everyone is following the safety protocols of masking, hand sanitizing, and limiting your inside visits to 30 minutes or less. (If you have a mask exemption, please call us to make alternate arrangements. 705-765-5650). We look forward to the day that we can have you inside the Bala branch, too, but are delighted that we can continue to serve you from that branch using contactless delivery of pre-ordered items.
Silent Auction
Friends of the Library online auction

It has become a summer tradition for many to participate in the silent auction at the library and, this year, it is easier than ever to keep up on your bids! There is a fabulous array of items and certificates up for grabs but don't delay as the auction closes on August 19 at 8:00 p.m. Check it out!
Be a Library Video Star!
Pass the book... or video... or... what else do you associate with the library?

August 18, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Norma and Miller Alloway Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling and we have some ideas to celebrate the milestone! One of them involves direct participation from our library users that are across the country and throughout the world... that's you! 
Did you see the toilet paper hockey challenge videos?

We're making our own version, MLPLibrary-style, but we can't do it without you! The finished project will launch August 18, 2021. Submission deadline is August 10. 
Ready, willing, and able? Go!
Watch two short videos:
  • Watch Lorna's 90-second instructional video.
  • Watch Lindsay's three-second sample clip. 
How to participate:
  1. Film in portrait/vertical mode using a cell phone. Do not use any filters. 
  2. Sound will be cut so don’t worry about background noise.
  3. Film from far enough back so the edges of the frame are between your wrists and fingertips, and your head and feet are in the shot. 
  4. Use any item that represents something about the library, (which to most will be a book or video), that you can comfortably lift and pass in and out of the frame.
  5. From outside of the frame have someone pass you the item to your right side, pass it across your front, and then pass it out of the frame to your left side. If you don’t have extra helpers you can position a chair or a table outside of the frame.
  6. Don’t forget to smile at the ‘person’ giving you the item and the ‘person’ you’re passing it to!
  7. Submit entry to  muskokalakeslibrary@gmail.com by August 10, 2021. Include your name (as you want it shown on video) and location (city, province). 
  8. Watch for the finished video compilation on our YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Instagram account. See if you can spot your clip and those of your friends and family!
Join Us
Pam Jenoff Author Event
August 18, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. on the Zoom platform. Join us as we meet virtually with author Pam Jenoff (The Orphan's Tale, The Last Summer on Chelsea Beach, The Lost Girls of Paris). Jenoff will discuss her latest book, The Woman with the Blue Star. Signed copies of her latest book will be available for $15. 
 
Email us to get on the list for this event. Zoom codes will be sent out close to the event date. 
 

Susan P. Kelly Author Event
September 2, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. on the Zoom platform. Join us as we meet virtually with author and retired registered nurse, Susan P. Kelly. Kelly will discuss her debut book on wellness, Still Sexy After Sixty: 7 secrets to finding life's sweet spot. Signed copies of her book will be available for $20. 
 
Email us to get on the list for this event. Zoom codes will be sent out close to the event date.
 
Check our programs page for these and other author events. 
This and That
  • The Port Carling branch is closed on Sundays, Mondays, and holidays.
  • The Bala branch is open 9-3 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
  • You can use your MLPL card at both the Bala and the Port Carling branch.
  • You can make suggestions online for purchase.
  • Membership application can be done online.
  • We lend out fishing rods and tackle if you want to try fishing before purchasing your own equipment.
  • We have Ontario Parks day-use permits available to check out with your library card.
  • Interlibrary loan service has resumed.
  • Check out our interactive Story Trails in Bala at the Muskoka Lakes Sports Park and in Port Carling at Hanna Park. It's a fun way to enjoy outside and reading at the same time!
  • When you're picking up your library items, please do ask for the latest Take and Make packs as well as our Nature Club packs. Also, look for the latest Positivity Pack.
  • We have used books outside for sale by donation. We are very short on fiction books, at the moment, so if you have some fairly recent books, in good condition, that you would like to donate, please give us a call! 705-765-5650.
  • We have a selection of postcards available for $1, courtesy of local photographer, Arlene Burley.
  • Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
  • Our return boxes are open 24/7.
  • WiFi codes are posted on the front window in Port Carling for use around the perimeter of the building. 
  • Videos cannot be put on hold via the catalogue but they can by telephone. Give us a call!
  • We have free online resources.
  • Ancestry Library Edition is available remotely for a limited time. 
  • The Giving Tree is a wonderful way to support your Muskoka Lakes Public Library.

Books in high demand this summer
The rose code : a novel
by Kate Quinn

Joining the elite Bletchley Park codebreaking team during World War II, three women from very different walks of life uncover a spy’s dangerous agenda against a backdrop of the royal wedding of Elizabeth and Philip.
The midnight library
by Matt Haig

Nora Seed finds herself faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, or realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist, she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place
The four winds
by Kristin Hannah

A Depression-era woman confronts a wrenching choice between fighting for the Dust Bowl-ravaged land she loves in Texas or pursuing an uncertain future in California. By the best-selling author of The Nightingale.
A gambling man
by David Baldacci

Aloysius Archer travels to 1950s California to apprentice with a legendary private eye and former FBI agent but immediately finds himself involved in a scandal in the second novel of the series following One Good Deed.

Muskoka Lakes Public Library
Box 189
69 Joseph St
Port Carling, Ontario P0B 1J0
705-765-5650
www.muskokalakes.ca/library