Unpredictable winter weather is a fact of life in Huron County. When conditions worsen and the safety of our visitors and staff becomes a concern, Huron County Library may need to close or adjust hours at any of our 12 locations.

When a branch needs to close due to weather, we will do our best to notify the public as quickly as possible.

Call ahead

During stormy or rapidly changing weather, please contact your local branch before heading out.

For the latest updates, you can also:

• Visit our website. Closure notices will appear on the homepage and in our online catalogue.

• Check our social media. We will share updates on the Huron County Library’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

We understand that weather-related closures can be inconvenient but please know that these decisions are made for the safety of our community and staff. 

Library from home

Even if branches remain open and you don’t feel comfortable venturing out, you can safely enjoy our online resources from home! Access audiobooks, movies, online learning, and so much more!

Winter driving information

Before heading out anywhere this winter, be sure to check the following sites for safety tips, winter driving information, and road conditions:

• County of Huron: https://www.huroncounty.ca/public-works/winter-road-conditions/
• Municipal road information: https://www.municipal511.ca/
• Provincial road information: https://511on.ca/

Calling all crafters! Love crafting and love seeing others enjoy what you make? Join the Fall Craft Swap where you will be partnered with another crafter in Huron County!

Make your partner a custom craft, while they do the same for you! All crafting mediums welcome – knitting, crocheting, sewing, candle making, pottery, scrapbooking, needlefelting, etc. The sky is the limit!

Guidelines: We ask that you craft TWO small items or ONE medium sized item.

• Medium = A scarf, a wallet, a set of notecards (4), a reusable shopping bag
• Small = A piece of jewelry, a bookmark, a washcloth, a facemask, a small candle

Please note that a library staff person will be in touch with you between Sept. 3 and 8 to assign your partner. You will have from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8 to craft. Please drop your completed craft off to your local Huron County Library branch between Oct. 8 and Oct. 14 (or earlier). You will receive the craft from your partner soon after. A library staff person will send email reminders along the way. Please ensure that crafts do not exceed the size of a standard tote box (28” x 17” x 15″).

*Should a partner not complete a craft, an alternate partner will be arranged. Should multiple partners not complete a craft, individuals may be paired with one another. Pre-completed crafts will be used in reassignments (no need to make an entirely new craft!).

Important Dates:

• Registration: Aug. 13 – Sept. 3
• Partner Assigned: Sept. 3-8
• Crafting: Sept. 8-Oct. 8
• Craft Due: Oct. 8-14

Registration: Huron County Library Fall Craft Swap | Huron County Connects (connectedcountyofhuron.ca)

Need some inspiration? Explore our online catalogue for a wide variety of crafty books or explore Creativebug, an online resource that offers online craft workshops for free with a Huron County Library card!  

The Huron County Library is pleased to announce the extensive collection of genealogical materials from the Ontario Genealogical Society – Huron Branch has been relocated to the Huron County Library’s Seaforth Branch.

This important collection includes:

• local family histories
• cemetery records
• census information
• church records
• other historical resources essential to those researching their Huron County roots.

Once housed at the log cabin at the Huron County Museum, the move to the Seaforth Branch ensures improved accessibility, preservation, and integration with the library’s existing local history resources.

The collection is available for in-person research at the Seaforth Branch only. OGS members will continue to be the main point of contact for the collection, providing volunteer support for research requests. Researchers can arrange appointments to meet volunteers during regular branch hours of operation by emailing huronchair@ogs.on.ca. Materials are for in-branch use only.

For more information about this collection and other local history and genealogical research materials available through the Huron County Library, visit: https://www.huroncountylibrary.ca/special-collections/

Hello Summer Readers!

This week we will stop to listen to the birds sing, the drums play, and the wind whistle- this week we are learning about “Music around the World”! This is our second-last week of summer reading club – oh how the time flies!

We are having a special guest join us from the Huron County Museum – Kathryn Scott from Museum on the go! This week we will be reading a musical story about animals and their adventures called Wild Symphony by Dan Brown.

For those who can’t come join us this week, as usual, we have musical colouring sheets that you can print at home or at your local library for some colouring fun. Take a look at our week 7 reading lists that we made for you! These books are all about music in our lives. You can check out these books and more at your library, and please do!

See you next week! 

Nadine and A.J.

The Huron County Library is celebrating Pride Month by sharing valuable resources, participating in community events, and hosting activities in our branches.

Here is a round-up of what’s happening throughout June:

Huron County Pride Outreach: The Huron County Library is popping up at this year’s Huron County Pride Festival! Find us on the Square in downtown Goderich on Saturday, June 7, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and take in the amazing activities happening throughout the day!

2SLGBTQ+ Art Exhibition: We Have Always Been Here: Join the Exeter Branch and the Huron Cultural Office for a vibrant 2SLGBTQ+ Art Exhibition in honour of Pride Month! The exhibition runs June 5-19, with exhibit opening on June 5, 4 p.m., and reception on June 12, 4-6 p.m. Learn more!

LGBTQ2S+ Resources for young people and their families: Library staff have put together a valuable resource guide to support young people and their families. The guide features links to online resources, books from our collection, local supports, and more.

Crooked Teeth: Virtual Pride Author Talk with Danny Ramadan: To celebrate Pride Month, join us Wednesday, June 18, 7 p.m., for a conversation with Danny Ramadan about his book Crooked Teeth: a Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir. Register online.

Bead the Rainbow: Celebrating Pride: Drop into Goderich and Bayfield Branches during regular branch hours through the month of June to craft your own bright, bold, and rainbow bracelets. Whether you want to show off your Pride, make a gift for a friend, or just enjoy some creative fun, we’ve got all the beads and supplies you need. 

Book Raffle: The Library is raffling off 10 LGBTQ2S+ books for a variety of ages (picture books, junior fiction, young adult, adult fiction, and adult non-fiction). Find ballots throughout the month of June at all 12 branches or visit us at the Huron Pride Festival.

Pride Craft: Drop into the Exeter Branch on Friday, June 6, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., to celebrate Pride Month by making a fun craft! All supplies will be provided. Ages: 5+

Red Dress Day, observed annually on May 5, is a National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG2S) and Two-Spirit people in Canada. It serves as a powerful visual reminder and a call to action to address the violence faced by Indigenous communities. The day is inspired by the REDress Project, an art installation created by Métis artist Jaime Black, which uses red dresses as a symbolic representation of the missing and murdered. See below a staff curated list of books celebrating the resilience of Indigenous peoples and the dark history of violence they continue to endure and heal from. Find more resources on our online catalogue.

Non-Fiction: Unbroken: My Fight for Survival, Hope and Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls by Angela Sterritt

In her brilliant debut, Sterritt shares her memoir alongside investigative reporting into cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada, showing how colonialism and racism led to a society where Sterritt struggled to survive as a young person, and where the lives of Indigenous women and girls are ignored and devalued. In her book Sterritt demands accountability from the media and the public, exposing racism, and showing that there is much work to do on the path towards understanding the truth. But most importantly, she proves that the strength and brilliance of Indigenous women is unbroken, and that together, they can build lives of joy and abundance.

Place a hold online… 

Memoir: Our Voice on Fire: A Memoir of a Warrior Rising by Brandi Morin

A survivor of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis, Cree/Iroquois/French journalist Brandi Morin discusses her life as a foster kid and runaway who fell victim to predatory men and an oppressive system, as well as her career as an internationally acclaimed journalist who reports on Indigenous oppression in North America.

Place a hold online…

Fiction: Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove

To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. At rock bottom following her daughter’s murder, ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation that raised him, but they need a new tribal marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home. In the last decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some dead, others just … gone. Now, local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter-the girl she failed to save.

Place a hold online…

YA Fiction: Looking for Smoke by K.A. Cobell

When local girl Loren includes Mara in a traditional Blackfeet Giveaway to honor Loren’s missing sister, Mara thinks she’ll finally make some friends on the Blackfeet reservation. Instead, a girl from the Giveaway, Samantha White Tail, is found murdered. Because the four members of the Giveaway group were the last to see Samantha alive, each becomes a person of interest in the investigation. And all of them-Mara, Loren, Brody, and Eli-have a complicated history with Samantha. Despite deep mistrust, the four must now take matters into their own hands and clear their names. Even though one of them may be the murderer.

Place a hold online…

YA Graphic Novel: If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie

A graphic novel about the subject of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Combining fiction and non-fiction, this young adult graphic novel looks into one of the unique dangers of being an Indigenous teen in Canada today. The text of the book is derived from excerpts of a letter written to the Winnipeg Chief of Police by fourteen-year-old Brianna Jonnie–a letter that went viral and in which, Jonnie calls out the authorities for neglecting to immediately investigate and involve the public in the search for missing Indigenous people, and urges them to “not treat me as the Indigenous person I am proud to be” if she were to be reported missing.

Place a hold online…

Juvenile Fiction: In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier

 In this moving story of legacy and reclamation, two young sisters are taken from their home and family. Powerless in a broken system, April and Cheryl are separated and placed in different foster homes. Despite the distance, they remain close, even as their decisions threaten to divide them emotionally, culturally, and geographically. As one sister embraces her Métis identity, the other tries to leave it behind. Will the sisters’ bond survive as they struggle to make their way in a society that is often indifferent, hostile, and violent? Beloved for more than 40 years, In Search of April Raintree is a timeless story that lingers long after the final page. This anniversary edition features a foreword by Governor General’s Award–winning author Katherena Vermette, and an afterword by University of Regina professor, Dr. Raven Sinclair (Ôtiskewâpit), an expert on Indigenous child welfare.

Place a hold online…

Juvenile Non-fiction: Missing and Exploited Indigenous Women and Girls by Simon Rose

Investigates the urgent crisis of Indigenous women and girls in Canada being the victims of violence, abduction and murder.

Place a hold online…

Picture Books: My Little Ochidaa by Willie Poll; illustrated by Hawlii Pichette

The word Ogichidaa means warrior in Anishinaabemowin, and this beautifully illustrated book is a tribute to Indigenous families everywhere who are proudly raising their children to carry forward their culture, language, and love with resilience, strength, and kindness.

Place a hold online…

Film: Missing from Fire Trail Road

A riveting documentary detailing the case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native American woman who disappeared in 2020. Her story exposes how Indigenous women continue to go missing in the USA, perpetuating trans-generational trauma on reservations.

Place a hold online…