There's some interesting summer reading at the Prince Rupert library these days, and the theme of the latest work of non-fiction for the local readers list is the Library itself.
The Annual Report for the Prince Rupert Library is now available on the library website and it provides a pretty interesting glance into what patrons and supporters think.
By the numbers the Library's importance to the community is fairly evident, with over 55,000 visits to the Sixth Avenue West House of Reading in 2017, with the Prince Rupert Library boasting a membership of 9,305 which is pretty impressive considering the most recent population stats for Prince Rupert peg the head count at 12,200 residents.
In the Report, Board Chair Glenn Groulx noted how the Prince Rupert Library has become a gateway to the digital universe for residents, offering a range of services and opportunities for those on the North Coast to take advantage of.
The Library has done a great deal to address the digital divide, to provide access to the web and the Internet, and to support patrons who would like to learn to use computers, print off online documents, find things online, search the online catalogue, use online databases and read ebooks. The Public Library has more recently purchased a 3-D printer, and delivered a series of user workshops that provides an orientation to this new technology.
Mr. Groulx also observes as to how the Library serves as a community hub and gathering place for a number of local groups.
The Library is a community Hub that partners with many local organizations, offering non-profit organizations an affordable meeting space. The Multi-Purpose room offers so much for our community, with meetings and workshops and events from a diverse collection of groups such as author readings and storytelling, the Special Olympics, the Genealogy, Knitters, Photography and Book Clubs, to name a few.
For his part Chief Librarian Joe Zelwietro noted how 2017 had been a year of improvement for the Library, exploring how the Library has sought to improve services for the community and reach out to community partners to expand on what they can offer to those that rely on the Library for any number of services.
Our goal in 2017 was to improve services, collections, connections and the facility itself. People of all ages gather here to access information for varied purposes such as employment, continuing education, and recreation. Public internet access (work stations and WiFi), printing and fax services, children's programming, author readings and our public meeting area are all well-used. So we focused on making the library more comfortable, easier to find what is needed and working with other community groups to serve the public better.
We received two significant grants that helped refresh the library in 2017. The Multipurpose Room Refresh and Signage project was granted to us by the Prince Rupert and Region Community Foundation and the Furniture renewal project was funded by a WCC-LNG grant. These grants allowed us to purchase new directional signage for the library, new flooring and painting in the Multipurpose Room as well as new tables and chairs in the main seating area in the library.
Key to keeping the Library vital as part of the community fabric is the support from government, corporate and supporters in the general public and in 2017 a number of people stepped forward to lend assistance to the Library and its programs, they too were saluted in this years report.
You can learn more about the work of the Library in 2017 from the Report here.
Further notes of interest from the Prince Rupert Library can be found from their website and Facebook page.
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