Brampton Library Blog

Written by Natalie Haid & Skye Soobramanie

Category: Blog

Published: 03 October 2022

On the second Tuesday of every month we will be hosting Teen Social Justice League conversation from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on Zoom. The purpose of the league is to open important conversations about social justice issues in our community. We know that teens in Brampton have so much to contribute, especially when given the right platform. We reflect back on the TeenTalk conversations the library facilitated in May and again this October that touch on some of these themes. Think of the Teen Social Justice League as an extension of these conversations, but within a space devoted entirely to teens.

You don’t have to be a big reader to join. We can chat about these subjects generally, and we can refer to a variety of books, articles, pamphlets, movies or TV shows that you have come across on the topic. Below you’ll find a list of resources that you might find helpful in opening the conversation for each month’s topic.

September 13: Accessibility

Here is a list of topics and some great YA novels about accessibility:

• ADHD / Dyslexia: A List of Cages by Robin Roe
• Amputation: A Time Dance by Padma Venkatraman 
• Autism: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
• Chronic Illness: When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A. J. Steiger
• Bipolar Disorder: For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
• Blindness: Graceling: The Graphic Novel by Kristin Cashore, Illustrated by Gareth Hinds

Here are a couple of articles or publications from PressReader that highlight accessibility:

• IN Sights (Sept 2019): Are the Robots Coming?
• Sports Illustrated (features various articles on accessibility in sports)

Here are some fantastic films and documentaries on accessibility that you can find on Kanopy:

• A Cerebral Game: A Filmmaker with Cerebral Palsy & His Love of Baseball
• Deaf Jam: is the story of deaf teen Aneta Brodski's bold journey into the spoken word slam scene. In a wondrous twist, Aneta, an Israeli immigrant living in the Queens section of New York City, eventually meets Tahani, a hearing Palestinian slam poet. The two women embark on a collaboration/performance duet creating a new form of slam poetry that speaks to both the hearing and the Deaf.
• Neurotypical: A Film About Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
• The Key of G: Disability, Caregiving and Interdependence
• Wheelchair Diaries: One Step Up: An Exploration of the Lack of Handicapped Accessibility in Europe

October 11: Gender Equality

Register for the meeting by clicking this link.

Here is a list of some great YA novels that highlight the need for equality:

• Internment by Samira Ahmed
• The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
• Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno
• Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu (also a Netflix movie)
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett, illustrated by Natasha Donovan

Here are a few articles or publications from PressReader that highlight women:

• Boston Sunday Globe (Sept. 2022): Stretched and Stressed: Nurses are Facing Multiple Crises
• Business Chief (Feb. 2022): When You Empower Women You Empower Communities and Nations
• Business Update (Aug. 2022): Time for SA Women to Rise
• Communicate (April 2022): Women to Watch: 2022
• I am Woman Global (Sept. 2022)
• Lady Global Power (Sept. 2022)
• Oil and Gas (Sept. 2022): Taking Charge: How Women and Young Talent Are Shaping the Future of the Industry

Check out these films on Kanopy, which speak about gender divides and emphasize the need for equality:

• The Big Flip: Stories From the Modern Homefront
• The Codes of Gender: Identity & Performance in Popular Culture
• The Double Burden: Three Generations of Working Mothers
• Gender Trouble
• Miss Representation
• Wonder Women

November 8: Compassion

Here is a list of some great YA novels that discuss compassion:

• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (also a movie)
• Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Wrong Side of the Court by H.N. Khan
• Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan
• Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith

Here are a few articles or publications from PressReader that emphasize the need for compassion:

• Newsweek (Sept. 2022): China’s Bid to Control the World’s Data
• NZ Business (May 2020): How to Deal with Bullying in Your Workplace
• The Guardian Weekly (August 2022): Six Months of War in Ukraine 
• Global Asia (June 2022): How Russia’s War Impacts Asia
• National Post ( 6 September 2022): It Was a War Zone

Here are some films on Kanopy that emphasize the need for compassion:

• bell hooks: Cultural Criticism & Transformation
• Bullying Cultures: The Social and Psychological Dynamics of Bullying
• Constructing the Terrorist Threat: Islamophobia, The Media & The War on Terror
• Difficult People and Situations: Bullying and Harassment
• Radical Ideas in Justice and Regulation
• Social Animals: The Real and Digital Worlds of Today’s Teenagers
• Stuart Hall: Representation & the Media

Written by Natalie Haid and Olivia Olford

Category: Blog

Published: 19 July 2022

Hey teens! Tonight we will be hosting our first-ever Teen Social Justice League conversation from 6 – 7:30 p.m. on our discord channel. We will be chatting about mental health and themes from books that we have read or are currently reading. The purpose of the league is to open important conversations about social justice issues in our community. We know that teens in Brampton have so much to contribute, especially when given the right platform. We reflect back on the TeenTalk conversations the library facilitated in May when an entire panel was devoted to the subject of mental health. Think of the Teen Social Justice League as an extension of these conversations, but within a space devoted entirely to teens.

In tonight’s discussion, we welcome special guests Jiya Kaemra and Kareena Brambhatt, representatives of Miss Teenage Peel, to our discussion. The league will meet again on Tuesday, August 9 at the same time to discuss the experiences of immigrants and/or refugees. Register for the next session.

You don’t have to be a big reader to join. We can chat about these subjects generally, and we can refer to a variety of books, articles, and pamphlets that you have come across on the topic. Below you’ll find a list of resources that you might find helpful in opening the conversation about mental health.

Have your say and join the Teen Social Justice League today!

Here are some fantastic YA novels about mental health and wellness:

1. Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
2. Dear Martin by Nic Stone
3. Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
4. Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley
5. History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
6. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
7. I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman
8. On a Scale of 1 to 10 by Ceylan Scott
9. One Way or Another by Kara J. McDowell
10. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
11. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
12. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Here is a Review of Darius the Great is Not Okay by a Teen Summer Reading Club member:

“Darius the Great Is Not Okay, is a contemporary novel written by Adib Khorram, and was originally published on August 28, 2018. His casual and humorous style of writing brought a great connection with the main character of the book, Darius. The novel is about a young boy who deals with depression in school. Due to his mental illness, he questions his identity as his mother is Persian and his father is American, and mostly because his younger sister, Laleh, speaks better Farsi than him. He believes he is a failure to both his parents and often has feelings of isolation. He later travels to Iran with his family to meet his grandfather who is sick and creates a new long-lasting friendship with a boy named Sohrab. He feels a great connection with him as he is kind and doesn’t judge Darius due to his condition, as many of his other family members do. With him, he deepens his cultural understanding and learns to be a more confident person, which Sohrab possesses in him. 

I would recommend this book to those who are 14+ since it can cover sensitive topics of depression, isolation, and suicide. Out of 5, I would give this book a 5 because of the characters' development/personalities and setting, and the number of times it made me smile!”

Here are videos from our TeenTalks Series that speak to mental health and wellness:

• Kushleen — Positivity
• Ganeev — Self-love
• Rabia — Mental health

Find these  films on Kanopy about inspiring local action and developing creative outlets for mental health support and community building.

• The Boxers of Brule — At 23 years old, Shaionna Grass Rope lost her best friend Cheryl Ziegler to suicide. Though facing the same struggles, Shaionna creates a boxing team for the girls following in their footsteps, determined to end trends of youth suicide within the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe of South Da\\kota. 
• Rap Squad — In the town of Helena-West Helena located in the Arkansas Delta, students of Central High School's RAP SQUAD — an after school music club — pen lyrics to cope with personal traumas and seek healing for themselves.

More film recommendations on Kanopy:

• The Girl on the Bridge — Mental health activist Jazz Thornton takes you on a journey of her struggle to overcome a suicidal past, to help others with their struggles, and the personal cost of her advocacy. 
• Just Like You: Anxiety and Depression — 10 brave kids, 2 Emmy award winning journalists, 1 clinical psychologist at Columbia University and 1 determined mother take on the fear and stigma plaguing the mental health community.
• Uprooting Addiction: Healing from the Ground Up — Follow six people from varying walks of life — each affected by childhood trauma — who candidly share their personal stories of addiction and recovery. These testimonies are interwoven with uplifting, up-to-the-minute accounts from an equally diverse group of activists, officials, and experts, working tirelessly on the front lines of this unrelenting public health crisis.

Written by Todd Kyle, Chief Executive Officer

Category: Blog

Published: 08 September 2022

I am happy to announce that this month, the Library’s hours of service will be completely restored to pre-pandemic levels. As of September 11, 2022, Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. will be restored at all branches except South West. As of September 13, South West will be open Tuesday and Thursday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find our full hours of operation on our website. 

In addition, we are re-starting our popular After Hours Study Hall at Chinguacousy and Springdale branches. As of September 10, this will be available from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Just come by the branch on the same day during regular hours with your valid Brampton Library card to register as long as space is available. 

This past summer the Library was busier than it has been since early 2020, and I want to thank our community for continuing to use their Library, especially those who participate in our variety of programs for all ages. I had the pleasure of visiting programs at all locations recently, and it was great to see all your smiling faces as you rediscovered the joy of reading, learning, and connecting. I want to encourage everyone in the community to take advantage of all the Library has to offer, from our makerspaces to our literacy programs, from physical resources to borrow to our online e-resources. Our vision is to inspire connections. We hope you will be inspired by everything we have to offer! 

Written by June Dickenson, Marketing and Communications Manager

Category: Blog

Published: 06 July 2022

We’re so excited to confirm that paint nights are returning to our branches next week. Popular before the pandemic and now in partnership with Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives (PAMA), Visual Arts Brampton, and the Arts, Culture, and Creative Industry Development Agency (ACCIDA), Paint the Town is a wonderful opportunity to paint, learn, and socialize with other participants.

Learn techniques for creating art using acrylic paint, watercolour, and soft chalk pastels starting next week in various Library branches and at PAMA. All materials are provided on-site, free of charge.

These artist-led sessions are designed to encourage creativity while building skills and confidence in an inclusive environment. What’s more, they aim to complement and inspire participation in our Then & Now art challenge, an element of Brampton Library’s Adult Summer Reading Club.  To enjoy a summer of reading and the chance to win prizes, register for the Adult Summer Reading Club.

Ready to paint? Register at the links below for the day, time and location of your choice. We look forward to seeing you there!

Paint the town - with Visual Arts Brampton (FULL)

Date: Tuesday, July 12, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Location: Cyril Clark branch