30/09/2015

Audio Books, Talking Books


Members with low vision, making it difficult to read standard print, or members who find it hard to hold or handle a print book, or Individuals who have a reading disability can borrow Audio Books or Talking Books (Books on CD)



To access the Audio Books, click on the link and select a book with the ear plug sign

eMedia Audio Books 


To borrow a book on CD, choose from the list, or come tothe Library and browse.

Talking Books

13/09/2015

Come one, come all!

Welcome to the new and improved blog of the team at the Beaconsfield Library.
 
You will find, among other things:
  • Reading suggestions from members of our staff and patrons;
  • Details about our services and programs;
  • As well as news regarding the cultural and literary world.
 
Through this virtual meeting space, you will discover the areas of interest and specialties of the members of our great team.
 
They will share with you their favourite reads and will make recommendations about other resources of the library such as ebooks, movies and CDs.
 
We hope that lots of virtual conversations that started here will also continue at the library…
 
Thanks to Anne Bourel, our section head – public services, our old blog has gotten a much needed facelift. She has created this dynamic and a very user-friendly platform.
 
If you want to share with us one of your most recent reads, feel free to contact her. It will be a great pleasure to post your reading suggestions on our blog.
 
Happy reading!
 
We are looking forward to welcoming you on our virtual plaform, but most importantly, at our library!
 
Élizabeth Lemyre
Head Librarian – City of Beaconsfield
514 428-4400, ext. 4474

01/09/2015

Recommended by staff- Neuroplasticity

How wonderful and amazing we humans are!  We are just beginning to understand this in part thanks to talented authors in the scientific field of neuroplasticity that have written, not just for their peers, but for the general public. The science of neuroplasticity popularized by Norman Doidge is centered on our understanding of the brain, formerly thought to be a fixed and unregenerative organ, that if injured or diseased, was subject to only very limited recovery, is in fact capable of much more significant self-repair and healing.  If you are curious to learn more:  the first book to start with is by Canadian-born, medical doctor,  psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and author Norman Doidge entitled The Brain That Changes Itself: stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science c2007 

This book is a compilation of case histories that read like a story with scientific explanations. Doidge has been praised for his writing style.  This book has been translated into 18 languages and was the number one bestseller in both Canada and Australia in 2008.  Doidge has written for and appeared in documentaries demonstrating examples of neuroplasticity.  Some of this work was used as part of the narrative basis for the PBS special The Brain Fitness Program c2008  also in our DVD collection.

The logical second is the recently published
 The Brain's Way of Healing:remarkable discoveries and recoveries from the frontiers of neuroplasticity c2015  by Doidge.  This book focuses also on treating brain injury and illness through neuroplastic healing and discusses cases where patients recovered from conditions including long-term chronic pain, strokes, autism and other near-miracle recoveries.

To quote Doidge, "But truth be told, the real scientist begins not with a particular task but a sense of wonder at how the world works."