(By Chris Davis in the Pincher Creek Voice, October 22, 2014)

 

Formerly a Town of Pincher Creek Councillor and local businesswoman, Sahra Hancock has assumed a new role to which she seems particularly suited at the Pincher Creek and District Municipal Library. Part of Hancock's mission is to  increase communications with the media and public. To that end she sat down with me last week to talk about her new role and ongoing and upcoming events. "The Library has just established a new position called the Community Outreach Coordinator, and I have started with this position," she explained. "There is an element of programming, making more programming available to the community, elements of public relations, and elements of  strategic planning."

"One of the things I am very excited about is we are trying to find ways to bring in more storytellers. Storytelling is one of the most elemental ways of human connection. The tools that we use to share stories are changing, the ways that we meet each other to share are changing." Hancock explained the library is partnering with other community groups to take library services to the community. "I am hoping to really promote that  element of service delivery that is available through the library here."

Hancock believes libraries are more necessary than ever in the digital age. "As more spaces become commercialized,  the library has a really important public space role."

2015 Winter Speaker Series 

Pincher Creek, in collaboration with Alberta Parks, is presenting the 2015 Winter Speaker Series "Community and Land". These talks will take place Tuesdays 7-8 pm, January 20-March 24, 2015. Details and sign up available through the R!SE network.

Lomond Community Library will be having a special visitor again this year. Tuesday, December 16, Santa Comes to the Library.  Come in and have your pictures taken with Santa, enjoy a hay ride around town to see all the Christmas lights and warm up with hot chocolate and delicious snacks while you visit with friends and family.

 

 

 

As winter entrenches in Southern Alberta, the recipients of The Crossings Branch ‘Mitten Tree’ – a very special tree, which is decorated by staff and patrons - will be happy. Item deliveries were made to YWCA’s Harbour House, Streets Alive, and Wood’s Homes. 

We have found that the students who frequent The Crossings are less likely to tamper with the tree if it is decorated with mittens destined to a worthy cause (versus shiny decorations). The Saturday Stitching Club that meets at The Crossings on contributed a great deal of the decorations with their handiwork.

(Photo by Paige McGeorge)

The Crossings Atrium Project, being funded by The Friends of LPL, will develop the entrance (exterior and interior) space of The Crossings Branch library to extend the community space that the library provides, offer a gathering space for teens and other community members, and draw people to the library.  The development of the space includes:

The modular furniture has arrived and is being well-used by the public – particularly the students from our neighboring high schools. The art club is now working on its second mural, which looks to be developing into a big blue TARDIS! A HUGE thanks to The Friends of LPL for funding the project. 
                                                                                    –Terra Plato, Manager Branch Services

 

For the past few years, Lethbridge Public Library’s adult literacy program, Read On, has had a problem; that is to find a meeting space large enough for the annual holiday celebration.  No longer can they celebrate in the Read On room, Community Meeting Room, or the Theatre Gallery – they are too small! In the period from 2007-2014, the literacy program has almost tripled in size, from 105 to 308 students.   Happily, Read On did find a meeting space at the Lethbridge Seniors Citizenship Organization (LSCO).  Here, volunteer tutors, students, and guests (150+) celebrated the holiday season. 

It was an opportunity for students, tutors, and guests to mingle, relax, and enjoy. The cultural diversity of Read On students was reflected in the Holiday Party entertainment and delicious snacks.  The itinerary included the Norbridge Bell Ringers; Bhutanese Seniors choir; the exquisite Argentine tango; line dancing by the local “Boots & Hearts” group; Bhutanese dancing; Spanish guitar playing and songs by Karma Quartette.

 

 Read On will offer 18 classes in the spring including Job Skills, Math for the Trades, Citizenship, Writing, Math, Pronunciation, and Conversation Classes.   

– Lil Radley, Literacy Services Coordinator

The Crowsnest Community Library has received a $9500
grant from the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and
Southwestern Alberta to reconfigure the lobby and work
spaces to create a more efficient workflow, as the way
patrons use the library and the way library services are
provided has changed significantly since the 1980’s (when
the library was built). Of particular importance was the need
to replace deteriorating flooring as the lobby and circulation
area have not had major improvements in decades of
service.
The Library staff and Board are looking forward to the
changes that will happen in the New Year!

 

Submitted by
Diane deLauw
Library Manager
Crowsnest Community Library

Thank you to everyone who came out to support our Annual Ham Supper on such a cold and miserable night! We couldn’t do it without the support of so many volunteers whether it was set-up, preparation, making pies, taking money, serving or clean-up and take down. We had lots of great comments on the home cooking and the great pies! The profit for the night was about $860.00 and will go towards purchasing new library materials. We will see you again next November!

 

The Southern Alberta Library Conference is just around the corner. Our conference website is up  and Early Bird registration is open. Our stunning logo is designed by Trevor Hatfield.

 

If you are interested in sponsoring our conference, having a table in the exhibitors hall or donating a door prize, please contact us!

 

We are looking forward to seeing you all at SALC!

 

Committee Members:

Hannah Loewen, Amy Genesis, Jody Mendenhall, Kerby Salberg, Trevor Hatfield, Cheryl Cochlan, Faye Geddes, Lisa Weekes, Penny Warris, and Marion Hodgson
 

 

The Chinook Arch 2015 - 2018 budget has been approved by its member municipalities. If a proposed budget includes a change to the member levy, it must be approved by two thirds of member councils representing two thirds of the population served. As of this writing, 28 (72%) of member councils have approved the levy increase, representing 90% of the population served (166,290 people). Nine members have yet to advise us of their decision. As stated in the Chinook Arch Member Agreement, the new member levies, once approved, apply to all members. This budget will allow Chinook Arch to maintain its high level of service to its members over the next four years.

 

 

Chinook Arch CEO Maggie Macdonald was recently awarded the Pat Jobb Service Award by the board of The Alberta Library (TAL). The award recognizes Maggie’s many contributions to Alberta libraries over the course of her career, and underscores her commitment to collaboration and innovation in the delivery of public library service in Alberta.

 

Submitted by Robin Hepher