What motivates a pilot to sit in the cockpit of a light aircraft for days, overloaded with fuel, alone over a vast ocean? This is the remarkable story of the late Jim Hazelton, local pioneer Australian aviator by author Mark Nelson.

The first Australian to fly the Pacific solos in a single-engine aircraft in 1964, Jim crossed the Pacific over 200 times, revelling in the hazardous business of ferrying light aircraft.

Renowned for his unique instructing style and flying ability, Jim was respected and admired by all who shared his cockpit. He was a pilot with a rare gift, a man who found himself literally at one with the sky.

The event is supported by Collins Booksellers, Orange and books will be available for purchase at the event.

Join us to launch the book Jim Hazelton Born to Fly on Thursday 3 June at Orange City Library, Byng Street, Orange from 5.30pm – 7pm. Please book your place online via Eventbrite or call 6393 8132.

Once again, National Simultaneous Storytime was a huge success with 1,939,596 readers across 31,696 locations including Cowra, Forbes, Manildra, Molong and Orange. We did the math and given where the International Space Station was at 11:00 AEST, which was at 418 km altitude, if the participants were all holding hands, we could get there and back 3.5 times.

Thank you to all who dressed up and joined in the shared story. We hope we have inspired you to keep exploring space!

There is a new gateway to our events and online resources! Download the Central West Libraries App from the App Store or the Google Play Store. You will need your library card and your password/PIN. If you need help with your password or don’t have one, please call us on 6393 8132.  Then e-books, audio books, e-magazines, movies and more will be at your fingertips. It will make it even easier to search the catalogue, reserve books and renew your loans!

The story, about a young girl’s dreams of life in space and completing her mission, will be read simultaneously to more than one million children across Australia and New Zealand. Come along and join the intergalactic fun.

#NSS2021 #nswpubliclibraries

Bestselling local author, Kelly Rimmer has recently penned, The Warsaw Orphan. The Warsaw Orphan enthralls readers with authentically woven moral dilemmas, complications and unavoidable truths of war.

It is Kelly’s most meticulously researched, compelling and emotional novel to date. Her family history saw her travel to Poland to research, which Kelly still says is ‘one of the best things she has ever done in her life’. She spent several weeks in Poland and her research had a profound affect on her, inspiring her writing, Kelly says the best fiction always contains threads of the personal.

The event will be supported by Collins Booksellers, Orange and books will be available for purchase and signing on the night.

Enjoy morning tea with Kelly Rimmer at Canowindra’s Montrose House at 71 Gaskill Street, Canowindra on Tuesday 11 May at 10.30am. Please book your place online or call Canowindra Library on 6344 1796.

Meet Kelly Rimmer at Orange City Library on Thursday 13 May at 5.30pm. Please book your place online or call Orange City Library on 6393 8132.