Watching episodes of Star Trek after school and stargazing with his grandmother inspired Steven Burr to discover a love of astronomy. He’s now a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada: Belleville Centre and he, along with other members of the group, will be sharing their love of astronomy through a series of talks at the Picton Branch Library this fall on Saturday afternoons.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) Belleville Centre has been meeting at Loyalist College since 1990 and includes astronomy enthusiasts and backyard stargazers. To discover more about their group, visit rascbelleville.ca.

The first talk will be held on Saturday, September 14 at 2 p.m. and is titled “Naked Eye Astronomy”.  Learn about the wonders of the night sky visible with only your unaided eyes. Future topics will include meteors and meteorites, astronomy and culture and dark skies – light pollution and you. All are welcome to take in the talks – no experience or prior knowledge is required. The group held a number of talks for all ages at the Picton Branch Library leading up to the total eclipse this spring and their presentations were engaging, thought-provoking and accessible. Visit the library website at peclibrary.org to view the complete schedule and to see the other events planned.

Our thanks to the members of RASC Belleville for sharing their time and experience in this series of talks.  Presentations like these by experts and enthusiasts in the community like these help the library achieve its vision statement which sets out the work of the library. “The library serves our community as a gathering place for learning, creation, collaboration, personal development and inspiration.”

 The library board is now working on a new strategic plan, and everyone in the County is invited to share their thoughts about the library as it is today and envisioning how it could be in the future. The survey asks about barriers to service, language spoken at home, whether you feel represented in your library space, programs and collections and more.  Whether you are a regular patron borrowing many books each week or if you haven’t yet stepped foot into the library, your opinions and ideas matter to the board and they want to hear from you.  A good public library should reflect the priorities of the community it serves, and the results from this survey will help inform the plans made by the board.  Surveys are available at every branch of the library and at peclibrary.org.  For more information, contact Library CEO Barbara Sweet by email [email protected] or (613) 476-5962.