Magazine 2020

68 | Edition No. 23 | 2020 LIBRARY A book, too, can be a star, 'explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly,' a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe. AWrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle The unprecedented closure of schools and of course, also the libraries, early in the year, released a wave of creativity and in- novation to keep the book fires burning. Having the technology in place was a huge bonus, and the embers were kept glowing online. The events for which our libraries are so well known, took place in a whole new format, and the warmth of stories comforted us during this challenging time. World Book Day and Elmer Day were opportunities for getting the paint brushes and crayons out, and hitting the town with waves of colour as we dressed up. In August the libraries partially reopened - no lesson pro- gramme yet, but lending services resumed. And so did the fun! Eyes glowed with the light kindled by new thoughts and imagi- nary worlds, but also pouncing on mysteries of our natural world and the universe, stirred by a provocative text: “fresh life” in- deed! In September we celebrated ReadathonWeek, in a different for- mat, but with all the enthusiasm and creativity we do so well. Once again International Dot Day was central during this time, with its important message of encouraging each other to be confidently creative. What the lockdown has confirmed in no uncertain terms, is the value of books in the lives of our children. Words have a life of their own, and new experiences call for fresh words in which to communicate our experiences. The ad - ditional languages play an important role in widening our hori- zons in this regard. The corona virus not only brought a lot of changes to our daily lives, but in isiXhosa everyone also learnt new words like ik- horona (corona), intsholongwane (virus) and yithi qelele (social distancing). The new vocabulary became a part of the learning programme as learners designed informative posters and movies. Another new experience was having live lessons. ENRICHMENT Eyes glowed with the light kindled by new thoughts and imaginary worlds