Regarding the letter (Gazette, Oct. 22), “Libraries should attract more users.”
Mr. Harley seems to be woefully misinformed about what our modern library does for the community. The library is not merely a storehouse for unused books, as he seems to think, but rather a vibrant hub of community activity.
Without trotting out too many numbers and statistics I would like to address his claim that less than one percent of St. Albertans “use the library on a regular basis.” Rest assured that more than 650 St. Albertans use the library, as I am sure most people are well aware (Based on an estimated population of 65,000 populations, one per cent would mean 650 people). In fact, in August of this year over 35,000 people visited the library in person. Another 78,000 accessed the library via the web or tele circulation.
The St. Albert Library offers our community more than Mr. Harley would have you believe. This month, along with the Friends of the St. Albert Library, we hosted the sixth annual St. Albert Readers Festival – STARFest, where we welcome literary figures from all around in interview style presentations. This increasingly popular festival draws new authors and bigger crowds every year. The library is also home to many programs for adults, teens, and children including Reading Buddies, a program that encourages literacy in reluctant readers that earned the Minister’s Award for Excellence in 2016.
If this isn’t enough to show you that the library uses and needs all of the space we are asking for, consider the other services we offer, such as exam proctoring, teen slam poetry night, coding for children, knitting club, study spaces, pre-school parented reading time, resume assistance, high-speed Internet access, ukulele club, and the list could go on and on. Our space crunch is such that we must turn down groups and program ideas on a regular basis.
The dusty bricks and mortar book depository of Mr. Harley’s imagination is, as he says, obsolete, but our library in no way resembles this Dickensian ideal. We are vibrant, versatile, and relevant and if he would like assistance finding out more information about what the library really does, well we still have reference librarians to help our patrons look up accurate and interesting facts as well. Janice Marschner, St. Albert Library Board Vice-Chair
