A Message from Mark Williams

Hi everyone,

With the warmer weather finally upon us, we are delighted to be able to share details of our upcoming programmes and other resources to keep you inspired during the summer season.

Pride Month is in June and we have a number of programmes that help celebrate and promote the contributions that the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has made to the world of literature and libraries, along with celebrating the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in the Milton and Halton Region. Check out beinspired.ca for more information including our ever-popular storytimes hosted by Fairy T and even more hosted by Milton’s Federal MP and MPL Community Ambassador, Adam van Koeverden. 

June is also National Indigenous History Month, which celebrates the contributions of Canada’s Indigenous communities through literature and culture. As you will recall, we were thrilled to commence the indigenisation of the garden at Beaty with a beautiful Community Circle last month and the first steps in preparing the garden to be ready for planting are now officially underway! Read on to learn about upcoming programming and how you can help with our efforts to create an Indigenous garden through our volunteer opportunities.

We were also delighted to be able to extend our partnership last month with Food for Life through the installation of a state-of-the-art Penguin Food Locker at our Main Library. In doing so, we are making nutritious food more accessible to those in need, within the Milton Community. Learn more about the initiative here.

For details on all of these initiatives and more of what’s to come this month, read on to find out how you can get involved in all that MPL has to offer!

Thanks,

Mark Williams, Chief Librarian

June is...

A Welcoming Seat

Last spring, we worked with the Town of Milton to install rainbow Pride benches at all MPL locations. The benches are available year-round for residents to enjoy sitting in the outdoors while representing a safe space for our 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Visit one today!

Rainbow Reads Storytimes

Celebrate Pride Month with special guests Fairy T and MP Adam van Koeverden! Join us at one of our 3 drop-in Rainbow Reads storytimes:

Teen Pride Programme

Wednesday, June 15 from 6:30 pm - 8 pm

Celebrate Pride Month with MPL and Pflag Halton! Join us for our in-person Positive Spaces Volunteer Opportunity.

Karma’s Drag Masterclass

Wednesday, June 29 from 6 pm - 8:30 pm

Drag is an inclusive and powerful art form. It allows for creative exploration of your identity and can create a powerful and confident alter ego that you can access at any time. Are you interested in learning the art of Drag? Sign-up for Karma Kameleon’s Masterclass, where participants will learn how to do drag make-up, style wigs/hair, and give engaging performances.

Rainbow Reads Book Lists

We have curated book lists to help you celebrate Pride all month long! Check out this diverse book collection to learn more about the lived experiences of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

National Indigenous History Month

Indigenous Garden Update:

Garden preparation is now underway for our Indigenous Garden at Beaty Branch!

We received an overwhelming response from our community to help Miinikaan innovation and Design and Grandmother's Voice prepare the garden. Red bee balm, sunflowers, elderberry, white sage, and milkweed are some of the seeds that will be planted in the coming days and the garden will mimic the meandering river.

Exciting news! We're hosting a Garden Club on Thursday, June 9 from 6 pm - 7 pm, which will offer you the opportunity to meet new people and continue to watch the Beaty garden grow into a vibrant space for all. 

We can't wait to see the final result and invite the community to enjoy the garden once it starts to bloom with new life.

An Evening with Clayton Thomas-Müller

Saturday, June 25 from 2 pm - 3 pm

Join us for a virtual and engaging discussion with author Clayton Thomas-Müller to discuss his national bestseller, Life in the City of Dirty Water, which was a CBC Canada Reads Finalist.

Your Next Great Read

Check out this curated book collection and learn more about the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Garden Ambassador Volunteer Opportunity

Volunteer to help maintain our Indigenous Garden at Beaty, and learn about Indigenous stories in celebration of National Indigenous History Month!

Food for Life Food Lockers

In partnership with Food for Life, we launched our Penguin Food Locker initiative last month!

These refrigerated food lockers are an innovative, user-centered approach to addressing food insecurity in the community. For transitional youth, accessing existing food resources can be a significant barrier. Located at our Main branch, these lockers will give youth access to fresh food beyond traditional hours.

If you haven't already, drop by Main to check out the Penguin Food Lockers!

Starting a Vegetable Garden

Saturday, June 18 from 2 pm - 3 pm

Grace Moores of the Milton District Horticultural Society will cover everything you need to successfully start a vegetable garden in pots or raised beds.

Grace will be sharing tips on soil, spacing, seeds, succession planting for the fall, and how to protect your plants from critters and disease.  Providing all you need for a successful growing season.

Our Accessible Digital Collection!

We're pleased to announce that we’ve partnered with the Internet Archive to further expand our collection of accessible digital resources!

If you or a loved one is living with a disability that impacts reading you can now access thousands of digital books in multiple accessible formats.

HDSB Drop-in

Saturday, June 18 from 10:30 am - 12 pm

Do you have a child starting school next year? Do you need assistance in registering your child? Join HDSB Welcome Centre to learn the process of registering your child for next year’s school term. In this walk-in service, patrons will have the opportunity to speak with a representative from HDSB and address any questions they have about registering your child in school.

Study Skills Workshop with Laurier

Thursday, June 16 from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Calling all teens! Join the Study Skills team from Wilfrid Laurier University for a review of effective study strategies to help you get a head start as you prepare for your final exams.

Get in Touch With Us!