December 30, 2007 Expiry Dates

Today is December 30, which means we are poking 2008 with a short stick. The calendar year 2007 is about to expire. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word expire has many meanings. It can mean to come to the end of a period of validity, to exhale air from your lungs or even to die. Most of what we own expires. We spend a lot of time renewing identification such as your driver's licence, bank cards, credit cards and even your library card. Here's a look at things that expire.

Library Cards

Have you expired? If you're reading this, you're probably wondering how that could be. You're not really expired, but your library card could be. Whenever I tell a library patron that they've expired, I can't help but chuckle. Library cards have a 3 year life span, unless you live in a rural area, in which case they are good for 1 year. We see all sorts of old cards being renewed, so don't be embarassed because you haven't been here in a long time. We've even seen the orange paper cards that were issued prior to automation in 1986. Children are now able to get a colourful new card, featuring Zoose the Moose. Having conducted a tour for a class of school children, I can
tell you the new card is a hit. We would like to welcome you back to visit the library any time. For more information about library cards visit the My Library Card section on our webpage.

Food

I bet you've taken a mouthful of a nice cold glass of milk, only to find it was sour. Every food item has a shelf life. I was reading an issue of Real Simple magazine and they mentioned that they have a list of food and other consumer product expiration dates on their website. Did you know for example that an unopen jar of maraschino cherries lasts 3 to 4 years, but an open package of frozen vegetables lasts only 1 month? As far as a shelf life goes, it says that honey has an indefinite shelf life. The list also covers household products and cosmetics.
Source: http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/print/0,22304,676079,00.html

Life Spans

What about the animal kingdom? What sort of life span does an animal have? The average longevity of a polar bear is 20 years. This means that Bubba the polar bear at the Lake Superior Zoo, in Duluth, was close to his life span when he passed away. Born in 1989, he passed away on August 8 of this year. The domestic cat has an average life span of 12 years, and a maximum longevity of 28 years. We should all be so lucky to have a cat live 28 years. My cat Nermal lived to see her 18th birthday and I was very proud of that.
Source: The World Almanac And Book Of Facts 2007

Passports

How long is a passport good for? Passports for children (3 to 15 years of age) and adults (16 and over) are good for 5 years. Passports for children (under 3 years of age) are good for 3 years. You will soon need a passport to travel to the United States by land. So if your idea of fun is a day trip to Grand Marais for lunch and shopping, you're going to need a passport. The good news is, if you were issued a Canadian passport after January 31, 2002, you may be eligible for the simplified renewal process. To find out if you are, or for any other passport questions check out the Passport Canada website.
Source: http://www.ppt.gc.ca/

Other Cards

When do health cards expire? Your photo health card has an expiry date that is linked to your birth date. Renewal forms are mailed to you, but you can renew your card up to six months prior to its expiry. You can find information on renewing your health card, by visiting the Service Ontario website. It is a hub of government information. Here you can find out information on renewing other cards as well, such as an outdoors card, which is good for three calendar years. You need an outdoors card in conjunction with a fishing licence in order to fish.
The Service Ontario website is just one of the many sites you can find through our home page. Just click on the Virtual Collection and on the left hand side of the screen you will see a link to Service Ontario.
Source: http://www.serviceontario.ca

Articles On Expiration Dates

For further information on this topic visit our Virtual Collection and choose the Student Edition database. It is designed for high school students, but I found some interesting articles in it, by searching under the key words expiration dates. To access the databases in the Virtual Collection you will need to use your library card number and telephone number.

I would like to thank local columnist Annette O’Brien, for the inspiration for the subject of this column. If your library card has expired, please make it a new year's resolution to renew it. Since this year is almost expired, I wish you good health and happiness in 2008. Happy New Year everyone, from all of us at the Thunder Bay Public Library.

Karen Craib, Library Technician