The motor of library outreach has really started to rev in the city, especially with this shiny new silver van zipping from place to place.
The St. Albert Public Library’s community outreach literacy vehicle will tour around the city, making stops at schools and other public locations where people can walk up, get questions answered and check out some of what the library has to offer.
“We really think that this is the start of a great new chapter for the library and for our community,” stated library director Peter Bailey, during the unveiling ceremony in front of St. Albert Place on Thursday afternoon.
The van will function as a portable station for digital and literacy materials. It’s an evolution of the pop-up library concept that the library started over the last year or two, except this time it’s on wheels.
Community outreach librarian Ashley King – “She’s very popular with the kids,” Bailey noted – will drive it around the city’s public parks, neighbourhood clubhouses, schools, churches and recreation centres where she can engage the public.
“This is one way for us to respond to the needs of a growing St. Albert. This innovative addition to our services will bring popular early childhood and digital literacy programs to the community,” Bailey continued.
“The van will enable us to help people acquire digital skills and access the library’s digital collections, and will offer programming for all ages. Everything the library does is about building community and fostering connections, and the new mobile outreach service will take our motto of cultivating community to the next level.”
Some of the attractions that King will offer as demonstrations for visitors include things like the MaKey MaKey (an electronic device that can turn practically anything into a key on a keyboard), a SPRK spherical programmable robot, DASH and DOT robots that can be coded, and little Bits, which are modular electronic building blocks.
Yes, there are books on board too. Digital literacy is the new literacy, Bailey suggested, but the project will still retain part of its focus on early childhood literacy.
The cost of the van was partially covered by the St. Albert Host Lions Club as a special project to mark the centennial of Lions International.
The van is expected to roll out for the first time later this month.
