All posts by Alison

About Alison

Alison is a Youth Services Librarian but her knowledge and interests span a lot of age groups. She is a pop culture fanatic, reads and writes voraciously and is a lifelong geek/nerd/fangirl.  |  Meet the team

K-Pop! A Librarian’s Love

, , , , , , , , ,
Me at the Stray Kids DominATE world tour at Rogers Stadium.

Debut. Bias. Maknae. Leader. Line. Lightstick. Comeback. Aegyo. Visual. Idol.

These words in a row may sound a tad nonsensical to the uninitiated but trust me, they belong together. These are just some of the terms associated with one of the biggest music industries in the world: K-pop.

What is that? Well, the simplest definition is Korean popular music. For a longer answer it’s a music industry that trains pop music stars, or ‘idols’, and mashes up different types of music with pop, like hip hop, rap, rock, electronic, salsa, reggae, etc. The artists perform intricate dance numbers, have fans all over the world, and some music videos get millions, if not billions, of views online. And with the group Stray Kids having made their way through Toronto at the end of June (I was there!) and the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters now on Netflix this seemed like a great time to gush a little bit about one of my favorite sources of music.

Continue reading →

Pride Month in 2025

, , , , , , , ,
“Person waving Pride Flag” by The White House Biden-Harris/ CC0 1.0

It’s June! That means a few things are coming up. Summer. Heat. Sun. Wrapping up school. Father’s Day. Good stuff.

But one of this librarian’s favorite favorite FAVORITE things about June is PRIDE MONTH!!!! *cue air horns*

What started as a riot in New York in 1969 has evolved into a whole month of celebrating and learning about people who do not fit in any one box. Anyone from any background, culture, race, age, religion, region, ability, size, shape, belief, life experience and everything else can also proudly wave a rainbow flag, be it who they fall in love with and how, who just catches their eye, how their gender does or doesn’t fit who they are and even just how they see themselves and how they relate to other people. Or even if none of the colours or flags suit you, you can still wave it as an ally, standing with your friends, family and your community.

Continue reading →

Cherry Blossoms in the GTA: Spring, Transience and International Relations

, , , , , , , , , ,
Cole-Jonathon Neophytou via Shutterstock

We’re on Cherry Blossom Watch everyone!

What is that? Well, that’s when the City of Toronto and its surrounding areas wait with anticipation for the cherry blossom trees in High Park and elsewhere around the city to bloom.

Cherry blossoms (桜 Sakura in Japanese, 벚꽃 Beotkkok in Korean, 櫻花 Yīng Huā in Chinese, etc.) are small five-petal flowers that are often associated with the color pink, but they come in other colors as well, like white. They’re native to areas in east Asia but they’ve been planted all over the world. They’re the national flower of Japan and they bloom for a short period each spring. In our neck of the woods that usually means late April early May, depending on the weather. They can be seen most famously in High Park, but they can also be found in other places around the city, like Toronto Island and Exhibition Place.

Continue reading →